The First Contact War
by 1Ragnarok1
Summary: In 2621 a Galactic Republic vessel is found in the Orion Arm, this springboards the United Earth Government into a galaxy at the start of the Clone Wars. A war that will test the 2nd UEG Expeditionary Force as well as the UEG finding out where it fits in this new galaxy, and their new neighbours.
1. First Contact

**The First Contact War**

Chapter 1 First Contact

 _14th June 2621 Earth Standard calendar, Corporal Jake Fernandez aboard United Earth Government Frigate Normandy briefing room, orbiting Eden en route to distress signal from unknown ship._

"At 0800 hours a distress signal was picked up from an unknown ship dead in space. Your mission is to board that ship and discover who is on board. You are to go in armed as we can't tell what you'll run into, take boarding gear as well" stated the CO.

"Sir what are the rules of engagement?" Inquired one of the Marines.

"Don't fire unless fire upon. The Insurrection hasn't been seen in years and the independent planets don't have any trade with Eden. Now then, we'll come along its port side and dock with it, after that we'll undock and move to a holding position to the rear of the ship. We have only picked up a few lifeforms towards the center of the ship. We'll be docking in five minuets, Get going to the starboard docking tube. Dismissed"

With that the CO left the briefing room.

"Okay Marines lets go! "Yelled Jake.

"Oraah!"

 _At the starboard airlock._

The twelve Marines stood anxiously waiting the two ships to dock. The Marines were dressed in their brown armor with their assault XOS-3 exoskeletons with their AC160 assault rifles; it looked like a cross between a M16 and AUG3.

"So do you think its inni's? Ten credits say its inni's" said private Jones.

"The Inni's have been gone for thirty two years, they aren't coming back thanks to Dommel" replied another Marine.

"It could be aliens"

"You fill your head with to much Sci-Fi Rick"

"Yet we have plasma guns and exoskeletons," countered Rickey "Hey, Corporal. What do you think we'll find?"

"Maybe your sense of humor"

"Hey! My sense of humor is perfectly fine! Not my fault that you don't appreciate good quality Humor"

"Good quality my ass"

The marines didn't hear any thunk as they expected to as their system sensors revealed that they were slowing down, raising confusion from the Marines.

" _Opening airlock in sixty seconds there doesn't appear to be anywhere to dock so we'll be switching off artificial gravity, you'll have to cut your way in"_ came over the intercom

The Marines donned their helmets Masks and held their breath. The artificial gravity switched off.

"Magnetics on!"

With a Hiss the Door opened revealing the inky blackness of space and the red ship below them. Mike saw the ship had three cylindrical engines at the back and a large pod to the front; the middle of the ship had sections that extended from it in a rhombus shape. The ship was clearly damaged with black scorch marks covering the ship with a hole in the portside of the ship exposing its systems.

"Basic ship boarding from the Outside, use the laser cutters to make an entrance, keep an eye on you air consumption, make sure your magnetics stay on, don't drift off into space. Let's go Marines!"

With that Jake pushed himself out off the air lock towards the stricken ship followed by his squad. Jake drifted towards the ship using his momentum to flip over so he would land feat first. With a thunk the magnetics in his boots attached themselves to the ship followed shortly by his squad.

"Normandy, were all on the ship can you locate an entry point?" Jake inquired over the comm.

" _Scanners show there is a hall way near top center of the ship; if you make your way there you should be able to cut your way through. Scanners also show that most the ship is decompressed except for the pod at the front. Were moving to holding point Normandy Out"_

"Thanks _Normandy_ , were Oscar Mike"

With that the marines mad there way to the top of the ship as instructed as the Normandy moved to its holding position to the rear of the ship they were on.

"Peters, Smith, use your laser cutters and get us an entrance"

"Yes sir" they chorused.

Jake watched as they slowly cut through the ships hull. It took five minuets of cutting but they finally reached a corridor.

"Lights on Marines, Rick with me" Jake said as he switched on his AC160's flashlight and his helmets built in lights, and jumped in through the opening, Rick followed in quick succession. The fist thing he saw when he went through was metal debris littering the corridor.

"Clear!" yelled Jake.

The remaining Marines quickly entered after.

"Peters take Smith, Ryans, Williams and Itami and continue along this deck towards the bridge, recover maps, navigational data and ships logs, anything that will tells us where this ship came from and who built it. I'll take the rest of the squad to the deck that is below us and move towards the pod at the front of the ship to look for survivors. Rendezvous back at the entrance we made in thirty minuets if either group isn't their call for Evac then come back to neutralize what ever took out the other squad"

A chorus of confirmations came out from the squad. Jake and the remainder of his squad moved towards the stairs that took them towards the lower deck. The corridor the found had a number of rooms to its sides.

"Check your corners; make sure each room is clear"

Jake walked towards the fist two rooms with rifle raised and signaled for Rick to take the left side. Jake held up against the wall before turning and entering the room. Moving his rifle from the left side of the room to the right side, seeing nothing dangerous.

"Clear!"

"Clear! "He heard from rick

"Must be the crew quarters with all the bunks"

Jake and his squad repeated this for all the crew quarters until they reached the last two.

"Clear!" Jake called out for the final time.

"Sir, I think you need to see this!" He heard rick yell.

"What is it Rick?" Jake said. What Jake saw next shocked him. He saw a blue female humanoid with a set of weird... well he didn't know what they were; she was wearing a strange brown robe or tunic.

"That's an alien," Rick stated.

"Thanks Rick once again your observational skills prove to be superb"

"Is this too soon to point out I was right"

All rick got in response was a couple of glares from his squad mates.

"Must have died from the decompression"

"Let's not dwell on it. We'll get the body on the way back so our scientist can study her. Let's keep moving the pod is just ahead"

Jake and his squad progressed down the corridor passing through an airlock that revealed the entrance to the pod.

"Place Harmonics on the door "Jake ordered.

Emily reached into her pack and took out for discs. Throwing two to Jake he placed his on the top and bottom right side the door while Emily did the same on her side. Emily pressed a few commands on her wrist computer and they activated creating a screen that showed bio density. The screen revealed several people inside.

"Is there anyway to contact them" asked Jake.

"There seems to be a comm link from that control panel that we can communicate with them from "Replied Emily looking at her wrist computer, then went about collecting the Harmonics.

Jake reached forward and pressed a button.

"This is Corporal Jake Fernandez of the United Earth Government Marines; we are here to rescue you. If you are receiving please respond."

Jake waited for a response. Nothing. He tried again.

"I repeat. This is Corporal Jake Fernandez of the United Earth Government Marines; we are here to rescue you. If you are receiving please respond."

He waited again. This time he got a reply.

 _"This is Twi'lek senator Alema olgkru of the Galactic Republic; I'm in the salon pod with several other members of the crew and passengers. We are all that survived the pirate attack and decompression. We made a random hyperspace jump to escape but the full coordinates weren't put in so we've jumped to an unknown part of space. Thank the force someone found us. I've never heard of the United Earth Government?"_

"I've never heard of the Galactic Republic or of a Twi'lek before?"

 _"Very strange then. But we can talk about that later. How do we get out of here when the rest of the ship is decompressed and the pod is jammed due to damage?"_

Jake thought for a moment. He had an idea.

"Do you have any spare air available?"

 _"Yes. We have air recyclers and spare tanks that store air but we don't have much left why?"_

"If we combine our air in our Oxygen tanks and your remaining air. If we were to close the airlock on outside we should be able to fill it with air, if we our quick we can use the remaining air in our tanks the spare breathing masks to reach our entry point in the ship. If we call for an Evac before we do this we probably will have enough air to do this."

 _"That's risky but it just might work. I'll get everyone ready while you call for Evac. Call when you're ready to start."_

With that the line went dead. Jake reached for his earpiece.

" _Normandy_ do you copy?"

 _"We copy Corporal what do you need"_

"I've made contact with the survivors and it turn out their aliens from another civilization who were attacked by pirates"

 _"Repeat last, it sounded like you said aliens?"_

"There aliens"

 _"Okay... What do you need?_

"I need immediate extraction from our primary entry point due to the fact that we are going to be low on air. Be aware we will be bringing along several extra passengers"

 _"Copy that, Warbird en route now ETA two minuets. Normandy out"_

"Good, Peters do you read?" Jake said switching channels.

 _"I read you sir"_

"Have you found anything?"

 _"We found maps, logs data. Heck we even found a database covering politics, economics and very recent history of this Republic, although its very basic"_

"Okay, we've found alien survivors and extraction is in two minuets. Get your ass to our primary entrance point on the double"

 _"Copy sir, over and out"_

"You all ready"

"Yes sir!"

Jake reached control panel shutting the airlock and ceiling it then for the comm.

"We're all ready on our side"

 _"So are we. Venting air now"_

"Vent air" Jake yelled entering the command to his air tank to vent seventy six percent of his air leaving him with thirteen percent left. Enough for twenty minuets. A hissing sound could be heard from the air entering the room. Once the room was full of air the door to the pod opened and four twi'leks a strange brown alien that looked reptilian with spike coming out from his head and two more aliens that were red and white with blue and white stripped horns all wearing robes again appeared. A Marine each went to one of them and handed them a breathing mask except for Jake who handed out a second one to a red and white one.

"Follow me. Once we decompress we won't have long to reach the transport" Jake instructed receiving nods from those around him. He taped the command to decompress. The air was sucked out and the airlock opened.

"Go!" he yelled and they all took off the extraction zone. Dashing through the corridor and up the stairs back to where they entered. Jakes had bleeped notifying him that his air was down to ten percent. He instructed them to hold on as they boost jumped through the hole they made to the Waiting Warbird VTOL that looked similar to a twenty first century v-twenty two osprey except with thruster engines. Once inside, reunited with his squad and the compartment compressureised again he breathed a sigh of relief. He had just made first contact with an alien race, with one of its senators no less and saved them. A pretty good day in the office if he did say so. He however didn't expect the Twi'lek Alema to hug him crying in relief.

"Thank you" she said into his shoulder crying. All he could do was put an arm around her to comfort her.

 _15th July 2621 Earth Standard Calendar, President Keith Richards of the UEG, on board the Earth Senate Station orbiting Earth addressing the First contact Issue._

Pacing down the corridor to the presidential seat where he was going to have to address the rumours of meeting aliens that had started three weeks earlier a week after he had been informed about the _Normandy_ 's findings. He had spent the past month discussing with his advisers and heads of state and the military, what to do with the information they received from the alien survivors and what was recovered from the Consular Cruiser, the ship that had been found. The decision was made to address the public and the senate and cast a poll that everyone could take part in, whether to or not to reveal their existence. Depending on the outcome the senate would vote on if they should join the Republic or stay independent. His address was to be broadcast on every platform so as many people as possible could hear.

"All stand for the United Earth Government president"

Keith moved to the podium just in front of his and the security councils seat.

"My fellow People" He started "For three weeks now, rumours of us making contact with alien life have been circulating. I would like to address these rumours head on. Have we made contact with alien life? "He" paused "Yes, we have."

This raised many murmurs from the senators from each planet and member country.

"We met three types of aliens called Twi'leks, Togrutas and a Zabrac. They come from a galactic body known as the Galactic Republic, and democratic republic that has stood for a thousand years made up of hundreds of different races. We now face the greatest decision of our generation and arguably of our race, do we reveal ourselves to them or do we hide away. To them we live deep into uncharted space so it is unlikely we will be discovered soon. The ones we made contact with arrived on a ship badly damaged from a pirate attack, they found us by accident. In one weeks time there will be a poll on this issue. Anyone of any standing will be allowed to vote. Once that has been done, should we decide to reveal ourselves the senate will vote on whether or not we join the Republic if they offer us the option? The military will disclose all information that we have learnt from the ship the aliens came from and the aliens themselves to allow for a relatively in formed decision. Remember. This decision will affect our future for the rest of our existence." He finished before walking off back stage to a stunned and quite room.

"Do you think I did the right thing?" he asked his secretary

"I don't know sir, I don't know"

 _22nd July Earth Standard Calendar, President Keith Richards of the UEG, on board the Earth Senate Station orbiting Earth addressing the First contact Issue poll._

"The votes have been cast across one hundred and fifty two planets. The decision had been made by one thousand and thirty six vote difference. We are to reveal ourselves to the Republic. Now the senate will be given a Intelligence report made with the help of the aliens describing the Republic government and policies in much greater detail to decide if we should join the Republic should they offer us a place. The decision will not be made until all members have cast their vote"

Minuets passed as senators looked over the information presented to them, talked among themselves and casted votes. It took half an hour to decide but a unanimous decision was made.

"In a unanimous vote, we will not join the Republic should the opportunity arise. Ambassador Ryuko Mori of the Japanese Federation will go accompanied by the Second UEG Expeditionary Force led by Field Marshall Dommel and Commander Sparrow. They will leave next Febuary"

 _23rd July 2621 Standard Earth Calendar, 2nd UEGEF Fleet recalled immediately from operations to return to Earth at best possible speed._

 _24th July 2621 Standard Earth Calendar, it is found in blood samples from the aliens that they contain what they call 'mediclorians', a cell that allows them to use the force. It is found white blood cells attack mediclorians._

 _27th July 2621 Standard Earth Calendar, 2nd UEGEF Fleet arrive at Earth._

 _28th July 2621 Standard Earth Calendar, 2nd UEGEF briefed on First Contact Voyage._

 _1st September 2621 Standard Earth Calendar, 2nd UEGEF personnel given leave until 2nd January 2122 to spend time with family before leavening on possibly last voyage despite Republic's Reputation._

 _26th September 2621 Standard Earth Calendar, UEG authorises the construction of two new Fleets the 6th and 7th fleets encase the Republic is proved hostile_

 _3rd October 2621 Standard Earth Calendar, Ambassador Mori requests that Personnel and unit history be given over to her so she can trust the people she be staying with on the journey, UEG complies._

 _11th November 2621 Standard Earth Calendar, Ambassador Mori meets with Field Marshall Dommel and Commander Sparrow to get to know each other better as they will have to work together on voyage. Ambassador Mori openly discriminates against Commander Sparrow for being a clone saying he is 'beneath her', Tensions build between the two._

 _8th December 2621 Standard Earth Calendar, Field Marshall Dommel Request that UEGEF Fleets are upgraded from five ships to ten. Construction begins a week later but they won't be ready for 8 months._

 _3rd January 2622 Standard Earth Calendar, All personnel of the 2nd UEGEF return, all ships fully supplied._

 _19th February 2622 Standard Earth Calendar, 2nd UEGEF makes warp jump to the Republic with heavy media coverage. The seven survivors of the Republic ship also come along as well as the crew and passengers that didn't survive so they can be returned to the Republic._

 _21st February 2622 Earth Standard Calendar, Commander Luke Sparrow aboard UEG Terra part of the 2nd UEGEF._

Commander Luke Sparrow stood aboard the bridge of the _UEG Terra,_ a liberator class star destroyer, part of the UEG 2nd expeditionary force. He watched the men go about their many different jobs in their grey BDUs with the beeping of consoles and other sound effect buttons and noises associated with the bridge. He looked outside at the blue, white and black vortex that the ship sailed through.

"Sir we're coming out of warp shortly" called out the chief navigator over the noise of the bridge.

"Put us and the rest of the fleet on combat alert, we don't know what we'll meet out here is hostile or not"

"Aye sir"

"Smith, alert the field Marshall and the ambassador we are about to exit warp," ordered Luke

"No need Commander, I'm already here," announced Field Marshall Dommel.

Field Marshall Dommel was a brilliant strategist in his early forties. He had won many impossible victories against the Insurrectionists in the second interplanetary war. He had grey hair and was fairly tall and his men would follow him anywhere.

"Good, now I don't have to be responsible for the fleet anymore"

"Being in command isn't that bad"

"Sir coming out of warp"

A portal ahead seemingly appeared from nowhere ripping space apart reaveling the blackness of space in front of them in contrast to the blues with white and black splotches that colored warp space. The _UEG Terra_ was the first ship to appear followed by 4 other star destroyers. In the distance a mid sized green planet with two moons could be seen.

"Sir, _The Midsummer Night_ , _Savannah_ , _Sydney_ and _The Dawn_ report all systems green and combat ready if need be"

"Understood, order them into delta formation and have us move towards the planet"

"Yes sir"

The five ships moved into formation, three at the front and two behind and began to move towards the planet.

"Sir Scanners are picking up seven ships!" yelled one of the crew.

"Open up channels on all frequencies; let's find out who were dealing with"

The Communications Officer Michael Philips taped a few keys on his command console.

"Okay sir whenever your rea-"

"This is the Resolute, we are under attack by separatist ships we need immediate help, anyone please respond"

"Have all ships move to combat speed and launch Lightning fighters and zeros to help!" ordered Dommel

"Sir how will identify which ship are the one we are helping and the ones we are destroying"

"Look for the ship that is taking fire and attack the ships that are attacking it"

As the Lightning Fighters and Zero Fighter/ground attack craft raced forward to engage enemy fighters and ships while the star destroyers moved in to engage the enemy ships, they saw a wedge shaped ship shooting blue lasers at the attacking six ships that shot red lasers. The fist the droids new they were under attack was when their Fighters were destroyed suddenly by four hundred unknown spacecraft's and the firepower of five liberator class ships opening fire. The long range shock cannons stuck first, their blue lasers spinning and combing into a single blue beam that tore through the frigates destroying one, superheated Plasma from the Plasma Cannons slammed into the second CIS frigate melting its starboard side crippling it while a third had its reactor breached and went critical, exploding in a mini supernova as the two of the remaining three CIS ships turned to engage this new threat unleashing there main guns upon five mysterious ships that had suddenly appeared while the fourth continued its attack on the republic ship. Luke watched as the zeros unleashed their payloads of rockets and torpedoes upon the ship destroying its shields and life support systems. Lightning fighters engaged droid ships in intense dogfights, although slightly slower they could take more hits unlike their enemy.

"Field Marshall enemy ships are engaging us"

"Are they in range of the Turbo Cannons yet?" inquired Luke

"Righhhht about... Now, Turbo cannons opening fire"

Luke watched the Turbo cannons join their fire with the longer range Plasma Cannons. He noted how the UEG ships fire was slower but seemed to be more accurate and more damaging while the enemy ships fired faster but less accurately as a result, but those that hit the ships shield did some damage but no too great, but the shear weight of fire was depleting the shields at a rapid rate. The CIS frigates not able to withstand the superior firepower one by one were destroyed in a mixture of fiery explosions and melted hulls. The first one took a direct hit to the bridge sending a ripple of explosions down the spine of the ship, the second took fire to its engines immobilizing the ship and was torn apart being unable move and the first ship seeing its weapons had no major effect on the mysterious ships rammed the Savannah at full speed causing Luke to look on in concern at the attack that left the Savannah with a depleted shield and destroyed some of the left hand side of the ship. The lightning fighters moped up the remaining droid fighters while the zeros pursed the now heavily damaged remaining frigate. He watched the Zeros weave in and out of the enemy ships fire harassing it until cannon shot destroyed the bridge, sending the ship into a dive towards the moon. He watched the ship go up in a massive ball of flame as it hit the moon

"Sir all enemy ships destroyed, we lost twelve fighters and a zero fighter, the _savannah_ is venting atmosphere and will need to be repaired at the next opportunity," read out Philips

"Send a message to that ship we saved, request to come aboard i want to know what we walked into. Luke you and your squad are to go, and take the ambassador with you"

"Do I have to take the ambassador with me?" whined Luke.

"I know you don't like her but still, she is going like it or not, you might need her diplomatic skills" Dommel said in a stern tone that made no effort to hide his annoyance at the relationship the two had acquired over the week long journey.

"Understood sir" Luke said dejectedly.

 _In the starboard hanger ten minuets later._

Luke and his squad were donning armor and checking their weapons. Luke used a modified M416 with a HD-33 scope with a times two magnifier, a green laser sight and ergo grip with a heavy barrel, he used a M1911 pistol as his side arm which had a flashlight attachment, both were modified to fire plasma. He wore standard marine armor, which was brown. To his right was lieutenant Jake Crawford who used a standard issue marksman rifle, the MR-T5, that looked similar to the MK11 Mod with times twelve scope and bipod, he wore a stripped down version of the marine armor, he had blue eyes and blonde hair and was quite tall. Next was Simon Riley the heavy weapons man he used a Light Machine Gun similar to a M249, the LMG-5 and his marine armor had extra protection and areas to keep his rocket launcher and extra ammunition for the squad, he was a really tall man with brown eyes and hair. Lastly the new member of the squad Amy Winters she was small with black hair and green eyes. She used a standard issue assault rifle, the AC160, and had Spas-35 shotgun that used armor piercing slugs. All of them except Luke used the XOS-3 exoskeleton; Luke used the experimental XOS-9 exoskeleton.

"So we have to bring the ambassador with us and are we bringing the guests with us?" asked Amy.

"Yes we do, and no we are not as we don't know who we are dealing with" replied Luke.

"Isn't that a bit risky, what if we are attacked at some point, she could be killed," piped up Riley.

"Let's not get our hopes up before the mission. And as much as it pains me to say she is an amazing negotiator."

"You two still can't get along, I know she knows about your past and looks down on you because of it but you've thought she would have gotten over it by now" said Jake, as they were talking Ryuko Mori walked in through the entrance into the hanger.

"Is the Transport ready for departure?"

"Yes we were just waiting for you to show up"

"Good, let us get going clone" disdain evident in her voice.

With that she turned on her heel and walked up the ramp and into the Warbird VTOL.

"She is such a bitch isn't she" commented Jake.

"On our way princess" mocked Luke receiving an annoyed growl in response. Grinning he entered the VTOL with his squad.

"Welcome to air Marine Corps, this is your captain speaking. The temperature outside the ship is below freezing, in the event of an emergency there is nothing you can do about it as we will be dead, once again I would like to thank you for flying air marine corps even though you don't have a choice. Our ETA is approximately 5 minuets," announced the pilot over the intercom.

 _Anakin Skywalker aboard the Resolute in the main hanger with senator Amidala and clone captain rex_

Anakin was nervous, firstly six separatist ships nearly destroyed his venerator, then five unidentified ships suddenly appeared from nowhere and destroyed those six ships and now they wished to come aboard as this was their apparent fist time meeting another species. Padme was excited by this prospect of meeting a new people and welcoming them to the galactic community, the two had briefly argued about how many clones should be there when they arrived and had compromised with having Rex and nine other clones.

"General, the admiral says they'll be landing in a minuet"

"I still don't think this was a good idea"

"I won't disagree with you but were not in any position to make demands with the state of our ship"

"I know, that's what worries me"

"You really should stop worrying Ani they seemed pretty sincere on the message they sent us, besides if they wanted to kill us they would have, you saw what their ships did to the separatists"

Anakin sighed knowing she was right but it did little to stop his concerns. Just then the main hanger doors opened causing everyone present to turn and see the transport come in. What they saw was a craft that was bigger than one of their LAAT gunships, it had a large main section with two wings coming of the top middle of the craft with two engines of the tip of each wing which had a sliding door on each side with a ramp on the back, the whole thing was colored grey. It flew in through the doors and maneuver to the allocated section of the main hanger its engines then turned in opposite directions spinning the craft ninety degrees to the right allowing it to reverse in and land with a thump on the deck. Then with the wir of the hydraulics system the rear ramp opened reveling four soldiers and what Anakin assumed to be a negotiator. But what shocked him most was the fact they weren't a different species but that they were... human. The woman had black hair and eyes and was shorter than all the others except the female marine she, wore a black and white suit. Looking at the marines with strange brown armor with strange metal exoskeleton, he saw two of them in their thirties and the other male looked to be in his early twenties and the female marine looked nineteen.

"I am Ambassador Ryuko Mori of the United Earth Government and Commander Luke Sparrow of the United Earth Government Marine Corps and you are?"

 **So this is my first fanfiction so all constructive criticism is welcome. I do not own Star Wars The Clone Wars, it belongs to Lucasarts and Disney. This will contain elements from both Halo and COD Advanced Warfare, I don't own those either.**


	2. Negotiations

**The First Contact War**

Chapter 2 Negotiations

 _21st February 2622 Earth Standard Calendar, Commander Luke Sparrow aboard the republic ship Resolute._

"I am Ambassador Ryuko Mori of the United Earth Government and Commander Luke Sparrow of the United Earth Government Marine Corps and you are?"

Luke and the rest of his squad were stunned but hid it well, there were humans here... well at least they looked human. He noticed ten armoured soldiers completely covered in white armour, one had some sort of material covering his chest and shoulders, he assumed this was the commanding officer. Turning his attention to the unarmoured man and woman he noticed that the man was tall with brown hair and brown eyes like the woman who he couldn't deny looked quite beautiful who was shorter than the man.

"I am Senator Padme Amidala from Naboo representing the Galactic Republic and this is Jedi knight Anakin Skywalker and clone captain Rex of the 501st legion" the woman now identified as Padme spoke.

Luke suddenly looked at the white armoured men around them and the technicians working in the hanger and noted how they were all the same height and how the faces he could see all looked the exact same, they were using a clone army!

"If you would follow me there is somewhere more comfortable to do this" the Jedi said.

"I think that would be a good idea" said Luke slinging his weapon onto his back, "lead the way"

 _5 minuets later in the Resolulte's conference room below the bridge._

"Here we are" announced Skywalker.

Luke took the opportunity to look around the room and saw a circular table with twelve chairs around it. Padme gestured to the left side of the table, Luke and Ryuko moved to sit down while the rest of the squad opted to stand for the time being.

"Now" said Padme now siting down "I think we should get down to business. Exchange in history and culture to better understand each other"

"That won't be a problem if we can get yours, also our government would like to keep our systems location a secret for the time being but we come from what we can tell for you, uncharted space" stated Ryuko.

"That is understandable, next we can draw up a treaty that we can present to your government and to our senate and chancellor"

"That seems like a good idea"

"I hope you don't mind if I interrupt for a second" stated Anakin "but what were those weapons you used and those fighters, if you don't mind"

"At the moment I am not at liberty to discuss our military capability, unless we enter some form of alliance, just know that our military is probably small compared to yours but very powerful" Stated Luke.

"Do you really think we should tell them our capabilities so openly even if we are in a treaty?" Demanded Ryuko

"I don't see a problem with it after all they'll probably do the same for their ships and troops for us, they also don't know where are systems our so I don't see a problem, Right?"

"Of cause provided you do not attack us" replied Padme "By the way what are those exoskeletons you are wearing, and if you don't feel too offended aren't you a little young to be a Commander?"

"Well for the exosuits allow the user to enhance strength, speed and agility. As for my rank at my age, I was created artificially to be a super soldier clone by a terrorist organisation that excelled in combat and tactics until field Marshall Dommel, who is my CO and on the _Terra_ right now, found me and made me his protégée. Aside from increased strength, agility, reaction time and higher brain process, they gave me a chemical to reduce my ageing so I could fight for longer so I age three times slower the normal human rate"

Luke noticed the clones look at him in what he assumed as interest.

"Oh... right..."started Anakin "You keep on mentioning plasma, do you not use lasers like us?"

"No as we couldn't find a way to power it all and the beam would need to be constantly powered so we just superheat a bunch of atoms that then combine to make plasma that we use in our weapons for ships, spacecraft, tanks and infantry weapons"

"Well if you boys are going to talk about your toys, me and Senator Ryuko we go next door to discuss the politics "spoke up Padme.

"That's fine, Crawford, Riley you go with Miss Mori. I hope you don't mind you seem trustworthy enough, its just procedure."

"That's fine"

"In that case I and General Skywalker will talk about whom we attacked and the inevitable fallout from doing so"

Padme, Ryuko walked out followed by Jake and Simon, leavening the clone captain, the Jedi and the two Marines alone.

"So "Luke started "who did we just fight?"

"You just fought six Separatist frigates and their fighter compliment."

"And the Separatists are...?"He trailed off

"A group of systems that originally wanted to break free of the Republic, but turned violent when they allied with the Sith who are simply the opposite of us Jedi who use the dark side of the force" explained Anakin

"What is this 'force' you keep referring to?" asked Amy.

Skywalker merely reached out his arm towards where she was standing. At fist she didn't feel anything before she realised she was beginning to float in the air causing a shocked and confused expression to cover her face. As soon as it happened she was back on the ground glaring at the Jedi and the others as they were all laughing at her expense.

"Other than that we can jump higher pull, push and lift objects, such as your comrade. Moving on, the Separatists will probably want revenge"

"We figured as much, I assume you are at war with them"

"That is correct"

"We intend to send a report back to command and the government. We could probably draw up a treaty for mutual support to combat the Separatists"

"How many Fleets and men do you have?" Rex spoke up for the first time.

"We have three expeditionary fleets, and a lot of naval fleets. Our military is very large for the amount of planets we hold. In fact we are receiving three 17 kilometre ships."

Luke looked on with hidden amusement from the expression of the Jedi at the sound of a seventeen kilometre ship, three of them no less. It had however cost the UEG a lot of money to make them and the fleet expansions weren't cheap either.

"That must be very expensive"

"It is... Anyhow, we could probably send all three expeditionary fleets to assist you, but any other fleets probably will come later if at all. Despite being deep in your uncharted space the higher ups don't want to take any risks of being found and attacked"

"I can see why that may be the view of your government"

"Let's start drawing up this treaty then shall we"

 _Earth-Republic Alliance (ERA)_

 _ **Article 1**_

 _The Parties must settle any interplanetary dispute in which they may be involved by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security and justice are not endangered._

 _ **Article 2**_

 _The Parties will contribute toward the further development of peaceful and friendly interplanetary relations by strengthening their free institutions, by bringing about a better understanding of the principles upon which these institutions are founded, and by promoting conditions of stability and well-being. They will seek to eliminate conflict in their international economic policies and will encourage economic collaboration between any or all of them._

 _ **Article 3**_

 _In order more effectively to achieve the objectives of this Treaty, the Parties, separately and jointly, by means of continuous and effective self-help and mutual aid, will maintain and develop their individual and collective capacity to resist armed attack._

 _ **Article 4**_

 _The Parties will consult together whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territorial integrity, political independence or security of any of the Parties is threatened._

 _ **Article 5**_

 _The Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in United Earth Government or Galactic Republic shall be considered an attack against them all and consequently they agree that, if such an armed attack occurs, each of them, in exercise of the right of individual or collective self-defence (recognised by Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations UEG), will assist the Party or Parties so attacked by taking forthwith, individually and in concert with the other Parties, such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the area._

 _(UEG) Any such armed attack and all measures taken as a result thereof shall immediately be reported to the Security Council. Such measures shall be terminated when the Security Council has taken the measures necessary to restore and maintain interplanetary peace and security._

 _ **Article 6**_

 _For the purpose of Article 5, an armed attack on one or more of the Parties is deemed to include an armed attack:_

 _on the territory of any of the Parties in the United Earth Government, or Galatic Republic, on the territory of or on the colonies under the jurisdiction of any of the Parties in the Orion Arm area or Galatic Republic space;_

 _on the forces, vessels, or aircraft of any of the Parties, when in or over these territories or any other area in galaxy in which occupation forces of any of the Parties were stationed on the date when the Treaty entered into force or the Orion Arm or the Galatic Republic._

 _ **Article 7**_

 _This Treaty does not affect, and shall not be interpreted as affecting in any way the rights and obligations under the Charter of the Parties which are members of the United Earth Government, or the primary responsibility of the Security Council and the Galactic Republic for the maintenance of interplanetary peace and security._

 _ **Article 8**_

 _Each Party declares that none of the interplanetary engagements now in force between it and any other of the Parties or any third State is in conflict with the provisions of this Treaty, and undertakes not to enter into any interplanetary engagement in conflict with this Treaty._

 _ **Article 9**_

 _The Parties hereby establish a Council, on which each of them shall be represented, to consider matters concerning the implementation of this Treaty. The Council shall be so organised as to be able to meet promptly at any time. The Council shall set up such subsidiary bodies as may be necessary; in particular it shall establish immediately a defence committee which shall recommend measures for the implementation of Articles 3 and 5._

 _ **Article 10**_

 _The Parties may, by unanimous agreement, invite any other Orion Arm State in a position to further the principles of this Treaty and to contribute to the security of the Orion Arm area to accede to this Treaty. Any State so invited may become a Party to the Treaty by depositing its instrument of accession with the United Earth Government . The Government of the United Earth Government will inform each of the Parties of the deposit of each such instrument of accession._

 _ **Article 11**_

 _This Treaty shall be ratified and its provisions carried out by the Parties in accordance with their respective constitutional processes. The instruments of ratification shall be deposited as soon as possible. The Treaty shall enter into force between the States which have ratified it as soon as the ratifications of the majority of the signatories and shall come into effect with respect to other States on the date of the deposit of their ratifications._

 _ **Article 12**_

 _After the Treaty has been in force for ten years, or at any time thereafter, the Parties shall, if any of them so requests, consult together for the purpose of reviewing the Treaty, having regard for the factors then affecting peace and security in the their area, including the development of universal as well as regional arrangements for the maintenance of international peace and security._

 _ **Article 13**_

 _The United Earth Government will colonise a single planet where all trade to and from the United Earth Government will take place. Only aplies if Article 14 is concluded._

 _ **Article 14**_

 _After five years the United Earth Government will hold a vote on whether to reveal their location to the Galactic community unless there is need to do it before. If the vote is to not reveal the location of the United Earth Government, the vote waits another five years._

 _ **Article 15**_

 _The United Earth Government will remain a separate body from the Galactic Republic._

 _ **Article 16**_

 _After the Treaty has been in force for ten years, any Party may cease to be a Party one year after its notice of denunciation has been given._

"Well then, that's the treaty done. We'll send this back to our Government to look over and they'll notify us of any changes they want to make and you can do the same with your Government" Ryuko said feeling quit pleased with how the treaty turned out.

"It's a little sad that most of it is military" stated Padme.

"Well look at the bright side, this has just been made by us now. In a few years time it'll have new articles and articles abolished," Comforted Luke" also we found survivors of one of your ships that ended up in our space last year, their on-board the _Terra_ right now, I could arrange a VTOL to bring them over to your ship"

"That would be appreciated"

"I assume you will want to address our senate and chancellor miss Mori"

"Yes that would be most appreciated"

"Do you have a hyperdrive?"

"Yes we reversed engineered the one we found on your ship we found and installed them onto our ships, but we haven't tested them yet"

"In that case I'll send some clones to look over the ones you have and make any changes if need be"

"Thanks, that's really nice of you"

 _22 BBY Galactic Republic Calendar, The Republic Cruiser Indomitable in orbit over Courasent_

"Sir picking up six ships coming out of hyperspace!"

"Our they ours?"

"Yes we are seeing general Skywalkers and five other unknown contacts following him"

"Are they hostile?"

"They don't appear to be sir. They seem to be following him"

The Admiral looked out and saw five ships similar to the _Venerator-class_ he was in except these were bigger and was a greyish-blue.

"Sir Skywalker has sent us a message to not attack; he says they are a group of humans from uncharted space calling themselves the United Earth Government!"


	3. The Council and the Senate

**The First Contact War**

Chapter 3 the Senate and the Council

 _22nd February 2622 Earth Standard Calendar, Commander Luke Sparrow meeting the Jedi Council._

"Pleased to meet you, we are Commander Sparrow. Grateful for saving master Skywalker and senator Amidala we are. I am Yoda" Said the small green alien.

"It is nice to meet you master Yoda and the rest of the Jedi council. Master Skywalker has told me many good things about you"

"Yes it is nice to meet you too, but in the report master skywalker sent us, it says you have little to no knowledge of the force or mediclorians. Would you mind explain that?"

"No, of course not. We know very little about the force due to the fact we have never used or heard of it before we met you. After we took blood samples from the survivors of one of your ships to make sure we couldn't be affected by unknown illnesses, we discovered what you call Mediclorians. We found that our white blood cells treat them like an infection and attack and destroy them, thus preventing us from using the force"

"That is quit disturbing" said a pink alien with an oddly tall head.

"Most strange it is, to find life surviving without mediclorians, the Universe is truly mysterious"

"Anakin says that you, Ambassador Mori, Senator Amidala and himself drew up an alliance treaty? If I may ask, why not just join the Republic?" Said a human with brown hair, presumably Skywalkers master.

"Indeed we did draw up an Alliance Treaty but as for why we did not join the Republic. We voted unanimously to not join. We did so that as an alliance we work closely together rather than depend on the other, we can deal with problems we face our way with relatively little interference of an outside force. I know that seems a bit like a warmongering decision but really we just want to be left alone to do our own thing. But with what we heard the Separatists are doing, they need to be stopped sooner rather than later"

"That is understandable, you have just taken a major step onto the galactic map, it would make sense for you to want to be hidden and left alone"

"If it's okay I would like to ask a question myself" Asked Luke.

"That is fine"

"Why are there Humans in the Galaxy that didn't come from Earth, I read the report given by the Twi'lek but it still puzzles me?"

"Humans are the galaxy's most numerous and politically dominant sentient species with millions of major and minor colonies galaxy-wide. They are believed to have originated here, on the galactic capital of Coruscant; they can be found anywhere, engaged in many different pursuits. Since they appear to be identical to Humans on your Earth, they could have been a species of extragalactic aliens who transported early Humans from Earth to the Republic. Another that parallel evolution could have produced Humans in the galaxy as well as in your system"

"That seems likely; I'll send you a copy of the treaty we drew up"

"Appreciate this we do. Leave you may" With that Luke walked out.

"This is most disturbing; lifeforms that attack Mediclorians could be used to make a biological weapon against the Jedi" Said Ki-Adi.

"I agree, anyhow Master Kenobi, you and Skywalker are to go on a relief effort to Chistophsis to help Senator Bail Organa" Said a black Human

"Understood master Windu"

 _22nd February 2622 Earth Standard Calendar, Ambassador Ryuko Mori with Field Marshall Dommel and Senator Amidala meeting the Supreme Chancellor, Outside_ _Ceremonial Office for Official Meetings, Chancellor's Suite, Republic Executive Building, Senate District, Galactic City, Coruscant._

Ryuko was nervous. She is just about to meet the most powerful man in the galaxy representing the UEG to him. She was very nervous.

"You may enter" she heard from inside the room. She, Dommel and Padmeentered the room.

"Ah senator Amidala it is good to see you again"

"It's nice to see you again Chancellor"

"And you must be Ambassador Ryuko Mori and Field Marshall Dommel of the United Earth Government. I am Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, this "he gestured to his right "is Vice Chair Amedda"

"It is nice to meet you"

"The feeling is mutual"

"I hope you don't but we already drew up an Alliance Treaty without you. My government back on Earth have approved, all we need now is you're and the Jedi council's permission"

"May we see it? We'll look over it so it will take some time to do. Why don't we reconvene later"

"That sounds like a good idea"

Ryuko left the room feeling good at how things had gone so far.

 _22BBY The Supreme Chancellor conversing with the Jedi Council, Outside_ _Ceremonial Office for Official Meetings, Chancellor's Suite, Republic Executive Building, Senate District, Galactic City, Coruscant._

Supreme Chancellor Palpatine and Vice Chair Mas Amedda with Padme Amidala around the holo-projector in the centre of the office and the holo-projector had the holographic images of senators Organa, and Chuchi along with Jedi Masters Yoda and Mace Windu.

"They basically flat out refused to join the Republic?" asked Senator Chuchi sounding somewhat shocked at the news.

"Yes they made that perfectly clear, especially their head leader, the United Earth Government President Richards" said Senator Amidala.

"Why would they refuse to join the Republic, it would be their best way of defence against attacks from the Separatists." said Palpatine, confused at the government's decision.

 _"Their military and economy is small but strong and no one knows their location"_

 _"Then why would they want to go on the offensive against the Separatists?"_ asked Master Mace Windu confused and he then said, _"They only have five hundred and ninety ships capable of fighting in a war. With two hundred and fifteen on the way. And another twenty if the fourth and fifth Expeditionary Forces are made"_

"They have discussed that part. According to a Commander Luke They are willing to deploy their entire Marine Corps and Expeditionary Force, half their fleet and eight army divisions" said Senator Amidala and she continued speaking, "They made the decision and are required it to be held by it if the treaty is signed but until they managed to build more ships that can carry their forces, they will need transport ships as their current ones aren't enough to carry all the men and supplies"

"So they expect us, to give their troops transportation throughout the galaxy? Do they even have the amount of troops to wage this war?" asked Palpatine taken aback and shocked.

" _They just might, they have six hundred and eighty-five million men and women from their planets ready for war. That's only the Planetary Defence Forces. The Marines Are one hundred and seventy million strong and the navy is over one twenty-five million strong with over a million in the Expeditionary Force_ " said Master Windu.

"All those people from one hundred and fifty-two planets?" asked Vice Chair Amedda, now sounding as if this wasn't possible or real.

" _Yes_ " said Master Yoda.

Palpatine looked shocked and looked at the ground and then regain his composure and turned to the others and said, "Maybe we should have the Senate decide on this treaty, but for now, I must say I might agree with signing this treaty."

The other looked at him, some looked shock that he agreed with signing the treaty.

"Chancellor, why do you agree with signing it?" asked the Vice Chair confused and shocked.

"Because, if Masters Yoda and Windu and senator Amidala are correct about the fighting capability of the military forces of this government, then they could prove a valuable ally for us and could aid our own forces in pushing back the Separatists." said Palpatine.

 _22nd February 2622 Earth Standard Calendar, President Keith Richards of the UEG, on board the Earth Senate Station orbiting Earth awaiting Republic response._

In an office was High Field Marshall Fernando Garcia sitting at a desk with President Richards sitting on a chair that was against the wall.

"Are you sure you agree to take this task Fernando?" asked the President.

"Yes, I am sure Mr President. Someone has to make sure everyone from our worlds comes back alive." said Garcia with a small smile.

"Alright, I just only hope we don't go to war and lose. Most of the media is nervous this coalition." said Pullman grimly as he averted his gaze to the floor.

"But unfortunately the media, the public opinion is in favour of the coalition, if a little nervous as well." replied Garcia

"Yes, that it is." said the President, then he turned to face the general again, Richards then asked "One thing I also want to do is when the Republic's public asks me how did we get our FTL from Hell they'll even ask how we colonised over a hundred and fifty planets in five centuries."

The Field Marshall thought about it for a moment and then said, "I knew someone would ask that. I'll think they'll be shocked to see we just figured it out with no outside help, it almost still puzzles me that we were able to do it and all it took was one woman's lifetime of research to do"

Just then a beeping sound came off of Richard's own desk and it was the holodisk that was given to the general like many other holodisks that were given to various military and political leaders that were involved with the Government so they could stay in contact with the Republic.

"Who is it?" asked Pullman curious.

"Chancellor Palpatine, let's see what their response is." said Shepard as he pushed the 'ACCEPT' key on the disk.

 _Inside the Senate building Coruscent Commander Luke Sparrow_

Inside the walls of the Senate building was a makeshift platform with Commander Luke, Field Marshall Dommel and Ambassador Ryuko of the UEG waited with the Chancellor to enter the main room. Reporters from various newspapers and television shows conversed among their own groups and several news camera crews had their news cameras readied. Though they were not alone, a new group of people had added to the mix. There were also a number of Holo-Net crews who had already arrived in order to get news coverage on UEG (soon to be Orion Arm Government-OAG)-Republic Alliance Treaty being put forth and the introduction of a new race.

A group of Senate Guards then proceeded ahead of the Chancellor. They proceeded down a long hallway filled with the noise of the Senate Arena. The noise became more intense as they proceeded until they filed into the main chamber through the end of the hallway.

The noise suddenly erupted into a loud cheer that thundered throughout a massive two kilometre dome containing Senators and Representatives from every planet. The sheer size of the place stunned Luke and the others behind him; there reactions were quickly hidden though. All along the top a walkway traversed the entire way around. Descending to the bottom were rows upon rows of pods containing members of the Senate. He noticed Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan sitting with another larger group of what he assumed were Jedi all dressed simply in their robes.

The small bouts of cheering and applause he quickly realized was meant for the Chancellor as he walked onto a ramp and then entered into a pod that ascended from its platform to the centre of the convocation centre. He waved and smiled and the Senate returned it with applause.

Will suspected normally the Senate didn't cheer quite as loudly as it did on this occasion, that it was more of a show to the foreigners. Whatever the reason they were all gestured to a pod a that was waiting to be boarded by one of the Senate Guards. As the Chancellor took his place the Senate started another wave of applause for the newcomers.

He stepped on and the rest of the Human delegation filed on and proceeded to a position off to the side. On a screen they could see the procession of the entire Senate.

"Welcome," he paused. His kindly and warm voice filling the hall amplified by the Speakers in his pod.

"Welcome, Senators, Jedi of the Council, and of course welcome – to our mutual friends in arms in the struggles against the Separatists' for which we have laboured so _long_ to end!" he shook his fist to emphasize his point. He kind of reminded Luke of the orators back in the UEG.

"It is my humble desire that we, the Republic, welcomes you with open arms and _embrace_ you as our brothers and sisters! We should not consider them the sons and daughters of scoundrels, of pirates, brutes, or barbarians but as our equals and part of our illustrious society!"

Luke frowned at that line. It only reinforced his sense of the distance from the rest of the Galaxy he saw. More applause and cheers went out.

"But most importantly we are here today to recognize the existence of life beyond our known galaxy! Today we welcome the Human race of United Earth Government of the Orion Arm as friends of the Republic!"

The Senate Arena was filled with more cheers and applause. Palpatine silenced them and they quieted. He paused dramatically.

"However, my friends, my fellow Senators, to every citizen and soldier listening in on today's broadcast, today it is my supreme duty to formalize our union as Civilizations in our mutual fight against an aggressor that has plagued us so…terribly and caused the deaths of our valiant soldiers and people"

 _"He certainly has a way of working the crowd."_ Luke said to Dommel, who looked over and nodded once.

"…an enemy," he continued, "which was once considered our own. But their own…selfish greed and ambition blinded them to the very ideals which we and the UEG have sought for since our formations for peace. But in the midst of their pursuit of peace they were dragged into this war, of their own choice, to save our people from death! Already they have saved the ship that Senator Amidala and General Skywalker was on with only three ships against six separatist!"

As he finished with a yell, uproar of agreement filled the Senate.

"But they emerged victorious! They have since proved themselves by attacking those six separatist ships and with little effort and _utterly_ crushed them!"

A louder cheer and round of applause filled.

"…and to show the Confederacy that the galaxy was wrong to deal with a so called "new" race, this new race agreed to send men to aid our course. A testament to the power they possess, a power which and will triumphed over the Confederacy!"

 _"He possesses great skill in oration."_ Dommel said to Luke.

"We have asked the United Earth Government, specifically their head of Military to tell us their story, to show us how life beyond our known galaxy existed. Please welcome Ambassador Ryuko Mori." Said Palpatine finishing soundly.

Roars of applause greeted the young Ambassador. The pod Luke was in moved upwards and took the same place that the Chancellor had occupied.

As it finished a light lit up the platform and he began to speak.

"Now, I'm not one for displays of oratory like your Chancellor here,"

Some laughs broke out at that comment.

"…but I will do the best I can. I am Ryuko Mori, and I represent the United Earth Government, while the military element of our government, the UEG Armed forces represented by Field Marshall Dommel. Our story used to be one filled with war. From the beginning our accounts show an exorbitant, even horrifying amount of war that stains the pages of our progress. But that was put behind us centuries ago when we finally turned our attention to the stars and within decades had broken past the limits of our home planet and began to expand. But within that expansion the old ideas of power, greed, and oppression began to take place, thus in that conflict forming what we know as the UEG."

She paused and cleared her throat.

"But finally we forget those problems and society progressed in leaps and bounds far beyond what we had done before. It was a Golden Age for the Human race until we were suddenly plunged headlong into a terrorist war with a minority group of colonist called the Insurrection. The Insurrection believed they were the voice of the outer colonies; this task was carried out, mostly, by the terrorist attacks. We were then hurled headfirst into a war that lasted decades, but one by one the worlds became horrified at the acts committed in the name of freedom and the insurrection began losing public support. Until thirty-three years ago when their last strong hold fell after a nearly ninety-year war. And now…today we wish to stand by you as allies, to ensure that those who have decided aggression is the answer are re-corrected in their belief that we may have peace and return to our lives. Thank you."

 _"The woman is always to the point."_ chimed Dommel.

Another roll of applause echoed throughout the two kilometre dome as the pod settled down again.

"Thank you, thank you." Said Palpatine as the pod rose up again. "Thank you Miss Mori, for your remarks."

"I would like to put forth a movement." came the voice of Senator Padme Amidala as the Chancellor finished rising to the middle.

"The Senate recognizes Senator Amidala from Naboo." Said a blue skinned alien next to him.

"I move that as of today the Allied Species and the Republic enter into a state of alliance..."

 **So next chapter will be about the lore of the United Earth Government (Orion Arm Government) and it's military strength and tactics.**


	4. The Orion Arm Government

**The First Contact War**

Chapter 4 The UEG

 **History of the United Earth Government**

In 2199 the first Warp Drive was made by Australian Inventor Steve Brown, western countries with China and Russia colonised the first outside Sol System planets. The Unified Earth Government traced its origins back to the interplanetary war of the mid- to late-22nd Century in the Sol system. With numerous Earth governments fighting independent battles against Independence Movement terrorist forces, the UN became involved, eventually using the war to absorb most, if not all Earth governments into itself except the UK, USA, France, Germany, Canada, China, Japan and Russia, forming a global government to combat the terrorists and stabilize the planet and its other world colonies. The UN won the war and the Unified Earth Government was formed, with its' primary defence, scientific and exploratory force being the newly formed UEG Navy. Although the UEG seemed to have complete control over Earth and its colonies, the UN still existed as an organization and a political entity in the 26th century.

Human occupied systems were known to encompass a relatively wide radius of the Orion Arm of the Milky Way Galaxy, in various stages of colonization; from the well-developed Inner colonies, to the relatively recent and struggling Outer Colonies. So far, 152 colonies excluding 19 industrial planets are part of the UEG while there are 15 Military training 2 corporate 13 Garden/Farming planets. There are however 3 independent planets that exist outside the UEG. Most of these colonies, under the influence of the UEG, were therefore controlled by planetary governors who are elected every 4 years, who have a seat in the UEG Senate. 31 of these colonies were inner colonies. 46 of these are outer colonies. 75 of these have not been placed into either the outer or inner colonies. 38 systems in total are part of the UEG.

The territory encompassed by the Inner colonies seemed to stretch in at least a 10.5-light year radius around Earth, and the Outer Colonies beyond that. By 2468, the outermost colony was Harmony, at twelve light years from Earth - later, colonies were founded well beyond in the Outer Colonies. Colonies may have been settled after Harmony, or founded during the UEG-Insurrectionist War.

The UEG-Insurrectionist war took place in 2501 and ended in 2589, during which the Insurrectionists committed many war crimes loosing the initial support they started out with which would result into their drawn out defeat.

In 2621 AD (UEG Standard calendar) the UEG discovers the Republic. After much discussion in the UEG Senate it is decided to send a diplomatic envoy with the 2nd Expeditionary Fleet that leaves in 2622 to arrive at courascent just after the Battle of Genosis. The UEG is more advanced in their A.I.'s and Commercial technology and in some areas of military technology (shielding and Shock Cannons- anti dreadnaught canons-standard armament of UEG ships-slower rate of fire but much higher damage and Exoskeletons+AST's)

The UEG is situated in the uncharted regions of space (to the republic) and agree to help the Republic in their war against the separatists but refuse to merge with the republic and do not give maps and navigational data to the republic. It also turns out that UEG humans do not have any mediclorians in their blood and their white blood cells attack and destroy mediclorians completely disconcerting the Jedi. After Contact with the Republic and their welcome to the senate, they change their name to Orion Arm Government instead of United Earth Government. In response to going to war after so shortly meeting aliens, the media coined the phrase 'The First Contact War' which was the largest military action undertaken by the government to date. The Galactic Republic and the Orion Arm Government entered a Military-Economic alliance, but the OAG did not join the Republic, a move treated with suspicion by the galactic community.

 **OAG Military Strength**

The Orion Arm Government Army (UEG formerly) (OAGA currently) or Planetary Defence Force (PDF) is 685,000,000 men and women from a hundred and fifty-two planets. Founded after the Interplanetary War, they had little to do other than training exercises and rapid disaster response. When the Insurrection war happened it initially caught the UEGA off guard but after five years the rebellion was contained to three systems. They occupied planets after the Marines moved on to the next. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd army groups, 1st and 2nd airborne and 5th 6th and 7th armoured divisions and 11th motorised division were deployed in the clone war.

Current strength:

Infantry-685,000,000

Tanks-500,000

Armoured Vehciles-12,000,000

Air/Spacecraft-740,000

VTOL-1,000,000

Star destroyers-50

Hercules Transport Ships-100

The Orion Arm Government Marine Corps (EUG formerly) (OAGMC currently) is the Orbital assault specialist group of 170,000,000 strong. Founded after the Interplanetary War, they had little to do other than training exercises and rapid disaster response. When the Insurrection war happened it initially caught the UEGA off guard but after five years the rebellion was contained to three systems. The Marines did most the grunt work of assaulting and capturing planets, moons and asteroid bases. Was deployed in mass during the clone war.

Infantry-170,000,000

Tanks-100,000

Armoured Vehciles-150,000

Air/Spacecraft-12,000

VTOL-200,000

Star destroyers-10

Hercules Transport Ships-50

The Orion Arm Government Navy (UEG formerly) (OAGN currently) is over 25,068,857 men. Founded after the Interplanetary War merged with any remaining Air/Space forces, they had little to do other than training exercises and rapid disaster response and taking out pirates. When the Insurrection war happened it initially caught the UEGA off guard but after five years the rebellion was contained to three systems. The UEGN was crucial to stopping the spread of the rebel's but destroying most of their ships. The UEGN field's only one type of ship, the Liberator-class due to its one size fits all roles. The 6th and 7th fleets that were under construction will be completed in two years. The 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Fleets were deployed in the clone war.

Servicemen-25,068,857

(Space battleship Yamato 2199) Air/Space Craft-500,000

(Imperial II-Class) Liberator Star Destroyers-500

(Executer-class) Independence Super Star Destroyers-3

The Orion Arm Government Expeditionary Force (UEG formerly) (OAGEF currently) was formed in 2509 to combat the Insurrection behind enemy lines to major success. By 2550 they had destabilised over half the remaining insurrectionist planets and had killed its leader twice. At the end of the war they were responsible for capturing the Insurrection leadership on their asteroid belt base in the Perseus system. All three groups underwent expansion in 2622 and deployed to the clone war. Plans for a 4th and 5th Expeditionary Force are in discussion. Although called the Expeditionary Force and having its own weapons and ranks and insignias, it is actually part of the UEGMC.

Infantry-1,404,090

Tanks-450

Armoured Vehciles-600

VTOL-450

Air/Spacecraft-2,700

Star destroyers-30

 **Combat Doctrine**

Orion Arm combat was heavily shaped by the Insurrection war and the lessons learned from it. It focuses on the Navy securing air superiority in space before mass Marine or Expeditionary Forces orbital assault on key locations like cities or military instillations and landing zones. A large portion of military spending goes to space-fighters and space-fighter-bombers to assist with these landings. The army unlike the Marines or Expeditionary Forces focuses mainly on armoured warfare and in particular Blitzkrieg. Most operations and practice operations before, during and after the Insurrection war consisted of mass aerial attacks for two to five weeks to allow for troop build-up, before an orbital assault, followed up by a massive armoured assault with airborne units securing key positions for rapid movement. All military branches use shock and awe tactics. Special forces play key roles by calling in air strikes, espionage, hostage rescue, assassinations and many other roles, they played a key part in the First Contact War against the separatists.

 _Main Tactics;_

 _Shock and Awe_

 _Blitzkrieg_

 _Air Superiority_

 _Orbital Assault_

 _Special Forces Operation_

 **Units**

The OAGs dedicated fighters are Lightning's or The Type-99 space attack fighter aircraft, it is equipped with two plasma miniguns, six mini plasma cannons and eight anti-fighter or anti-ship rockets. The other craft is a fighter/ground attack craft called the type-0 Cosmo zero or zero, it has four plasma miniguns and two mini plasma cannons with multiple areas for anti-tank or anti-infantry explosives, they both are slower than their Republic and Separatists counter parts, and have larger turn circles but they can take more punishment.

The OAG use the Liberator class star destroyer, its one thousand six hundred metres long and have over 37,000 crew on board— 9,253 officers and 27,850 enlisted personnel. Including the complement of 9,700 Marines adds to a total of 46,803 crew and passengers. It has a fusion shield core that protects the ship from damage. Each cruiser has six shock cannon turrets, each turret fires three energy beams which are capable of spiralling around each other to form a single, more powerful beam, capable of severely damaging or destroying enemy warship. The shock cannons are 48cm and 20cm and can fire Type-3 cannon shells which fire a short range projectile shell in an event where the energy weapon isn't available or effective. Plasma Cannons are the standard armament for all UEG ships we have about fifty on each ship and also turbo cannons that are part close range cannons and point defence guns. Our ships carry a verity of vehicles consisting of seventy-two Lightning fighters, eight Zero's, twenty paladin crab tanks, two hundred AST units, and thirty warbird transports. Every liberator-class vessel also carries consumables for 2 years. Expeditionary Forces like us have our ships equipped with drop pods capable of holding ten men each for orbital assault. From eye witness reports Republic and Separatist ships have a similar rate fire, they outgun and out fire the OAG ships but at the cost of accuracy, range and power.

The Exoskeleton is capable of increasing many of the user's physical abilities, allowing for increased movement and speed, as well as tactical purposes. Atlas is in the midst of developing a next-generation version of the exoskeleton, the XOS-9. This model is to be far more physically ergonomic with an overall slimmer model, allowing for even more flexibility in combat and is to combine features from both Assault-class and Specialist-class. Assault exo abilities include Boost Jump to jump two-three metres, Sonics for crowd control and Land Assist. Specialist exo abilities include a plasma Resistant Shield, Overdrive-speeds up the user's reaction time and Cloak. Attached to both assault and specialist are Stim packs, Magnetic Gloves and a Grappling hooks. The XOS-9 has boost jump, land assist, cloak, plasma resistant shield, Stim packs, and Magnetic Gloves and a Grappling hook, though this makes it heavier and slightly bulky.

The T-600 Titan Crab Tank, is a heavy armoured fighting vehicle developed for the Armed Forces of OAG. The tank has superior mobility compared to its traditional counterparts, as it has four vehicle treads that can double as legs in order to traverse rough terrain and avoid a variety of manmade or natural obstacles. On-board offensive weapons constitute a smoothbore cannon, a machine gun turret and twin rocket launchers. Its defensive weapons include a trophy system, which intercepts any incoming projectiles headed for the vehicle and an EMP device that is capable of disabling any enemy electronics within the vicinity of the tank, including unmanned drones.

The Warbird VTOL is a assault/troop insertion vehicle used by the OAG. It is equipped with a cloaking device and rocket pod system with a 30mm canon mounted under the cockpit. it is able to carry 40 men(at full capacity) excluding the two pilots and or it can carry two AST's underneath. The Transport variant is larger and capable of carrying an extra 40 men but still only able to carry 4 AST's underneath or a single Titan tank with no other passengers.

M4-Trojan APCs are fast, all purpose armoured vehicles that are used by the OAG. They are equipped with a 30mm plasma cannon and a anti-personnel/anti-tank rockets as well as a LMG. They have thick armour and can carry 25 men with a top speed of 70MPH.

Armoured Support Transport: The AST (Armoured Support Transport) also known as the Goliath, is used by the OAG. ASTs are equipped with an arm-mounted minigun and a shoulder-mounted micro-rocket swarm launcher, and are heavily armoured enough to withstand a little over 100 rounds of fire from most assault rifles. AST pilot enters through the suit's rear entry hatch.


	5. Christophsis

**The First Contact War**

Chapter 5 Christophsis

 _2622 March 15th Earth Standard Calendar, Luke Sparrow on Christophsis on Highway 9, Days after Republic Invasion 12_

Luke Watched the Colum of battle droids march down the highway completely oblivious to him and a squad of Marine Scout Snipers and three squads of Marine Raiders. The wind blew over his Armor with its Adaptive Camouflage Cloak that had turned itself a bluey-green color to blend in better.

"Command this is Hunter 2:1 permission to engage" Luke Said over the comm looking down the scope on his Marksman Rifle.

 _"Hunter 2:1 permission granted, Command Out"_

"Marines wait for the snipers to take out the droid leaders before you engage, Snipers engage on my mark" Luke radioed over the comm.

Luke looked down his time six scope and aimed at a droid commander sitting in the top of the tank. He found it stupid to paint it yellow as it gave away its rank to the enemy. Steadying his breathing he called out. "Mark "He pulled the trigger.

The discharge of a MR-T5 could be heard as the shot flew into the droid's head as five other shots could be heard hitting their mark. The Marines then opened up with their AC160 rifles and LMG-5s. The droids were slow to react as they always were without their commanders and were cut down under a hail of gunfire. Luke focused his sights on a super battle droid felling it with one hit. He could now hear the sound of motors from Charlie squad. The impact of the old HE shell still capable of felling light armored vehicles tore apart any enemy droids in range. By now the droids had worked out were the Marines were on the right side of the highway while Luke and the Scout snipers were still hidden on the left. The LMG-5s cut down the battle droids with their rate of fire being unmatched except by the Republics version of the minigun. Bringing three of them had been a good idea. What was once a hundred battle droids was now less forty retreating stranglers that were easy pickings for the Marines.

"Enemy tanks crossing the bridge!" a Marine yelled.

"Detonate the C17" Luke ordered into the radio. A Marine could be seen reaching for his detonator and pressing the trigger. BOOM. The bridge went up in a massive explosion cutting of a separatist route of attack on the left flank. However, any celebrations were cut short by the steady clanking sound that was getting closer. Luke peered out from cover and saw an Octuptarra Droid tank walk up the debris onto the highway.

"Hastings flank right and hit it with your SMAW we'll draw its fire" Luke ordered into the comm.

 _"Copy sir_ "Hastings responded before running off through the ruble.

"Covering fire! Snipers aim for the eyes!"

A hail of blue plasma sailed towards to droid doing little against the droid. This did however catch its attention and fired off shots towards the Marines sending debris flying. Luke shook himself of the ruble that landed on him before continuing to fire at the droid. _Come on Hastings one job, one job_ he thought to himself.

"Man down, Medic" Luke Heard from across the street and saw two Marines dragging a third who was missing his lower right leg that could be seen with a piece of metal cleanly slicing through it. He watched as the Marine was moved to safety, leaving a trail of blood to be the medic could look at him. Luke pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind. The whoosh of a rocket could just be heard over the firefight and the sound of a successful impact taking off its round head, causing it to topple to the ground due to the momentum of the rocket.

"Command this is Hunter 2:1 we need immediate CASEVAC on highway four" Luke said over the radio.

 _"Hunter 2:1 CASEVAC notified, ETA three minuets"_

"Thanks Command "Luke then switched frequencies "Bantha 2:1 do you read, what is status on other bridges"

 _"This is Bantha 2:1 we read you, charges set waiting to blow, Sit back and enjoy the fireworks_ "Amy's voice could be heard over the comm. Luke then heard a massive explosion saw three plumes of black smoke from the other bridges. He smiled at a mission well done.

"Alright Marines CASEVAC in two minutes, I want everyone ready to leave"

"Yes sir!"

 _2622 March 15th Earth Standard Calendar,_ _Forward Defensive Line, one mile west of Joint Republic-Orion Base, Crystal City, planet Christophsis, Outer Rim Territories Corporal John Sage._

"Enemy spotted" yelled a fellow Marine. John grabbed his AC160 and ran to some cover in a ruined building. Then he saw hundreds of B1 battle droids and super battle droids and three Octuptarra Droids. Opening fire, he saw his plasma continue to soar towards its blurred tanned target. The target started becoming less blurred as the plasma impacted its target which now was a large metal body with a tan colouring and the plasma impacted it, causing the metal around it to melt and tore through the metal casing of the body and pierced deep within the metal and wiring within the body and to a stop in the dead centre of the robotic body. He quickly looked around at the street below him; he was currently on the ninth story of a toppled building overlooking the street where the main fighting was happening. Below him several clone troopers had taken up cover behind the defensive wall of crystal rubble built in the street and were continuously firing at the incoming battle droids. Fighting alongside them was every able infantryman and women that the Field Marshall Dommel had stationed there as well as a Titan tank that was now maundering to attack. Luckily Slick didn't do too much damage to the fighting capability of the Republic and Earth forces last night, he still badly crippled it. All Republic aircraft was either destroyed or so badly damaged that it would take more than a day to fix and OAG aircraft were low on supplies. All but less than two Republic AT-TEs as the Republic called them, survived while a few Republic AT-RT as the Republic called them had managed to make it. Slick did some damage on the UEG Forward Operating Base's weapons depot but he still missed the armoured vehicles. There were about ten Titan tanks and some M4-Trojans APCs that were similar to the M2-bradly that were positioned behind rubble firing at the approaching droids. These Trojans were using their 30mm Plasma rifled cannons that were raining an average of thirty shots per minute which destroyed as much enemy heavy units as it could, such as AAT tanks, NR-N99 _Persuader_ -class droid enforcer tanks, Octuptarra magna tri-droids, and other armoured machines.

It also helped that the few machine guns available were set up in cover behind the front lines so to increase the time available to fire at the mass of droids.

"Sage, radio for support" ordered his sergeant.

"Command we are under attack send immediate support, repeat we are under attack we need assistance"

Despite the large number of droids, they sent and the recent sabotage, the soldiers were holding out but they wouldn't last much longer unless reinforcements arrived soon. Down below he could see two figures that stood out amongst the mass of UEG soldiers as well as clone troopers racing towards the front lines to help hold off the wave after seemingly endless wave of machines. One wore dark robes while the other wore bright white ones, both stopping to observe the chaotic battle and were conversing between each other. John then noticed something that he didn't a few seconds ago. To his horror, the droids were now getting much more near to the front defensive positions then they were a few seconds ago. He picked another target, one in the front of the enemy's advance and fired at it.

"Incoming enemy rocket, MOVE!" someone yelled.

John picked himself up and ran towards the exit but the rocket was to close. John felt a massive blast that lifted him of his feet as pain overtook his world, causing blackness to fill his vision.

 _2622 March 15th Earth Standard Calendar,_ _Same Place. Same time. Private Thomas Laskey_

Laskey was running up the street to were the battle was raging. He stopped and took cover behind a destroyed AT-TE walker. He poked his head out of cover in time to see a rocket smash into a building destroying the room it hit. He looked to the front where UEG Marines and clones were blasting away, occasionally a red laser would hit home and a clone or marine He popped out of cover behind the AT-TE's leg opening fire before returning avoiding a few blaster bolts. His helmet felt a little slipperier with the amount of sweat that started pouring on his face.

"We never should have ships back for supplies." shouted a frustrated voice to his right and he turned his head to see two men he never thought he ever see, let alone be close to. Standing a less than 10 feet from him was the two Republic generals, Jedi Master Obi Wan Kenobi and Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker.

"Well it wasn't my idea to send the ships back!" snapped Skywalker to Kenobi, clearly annoyed.

"Alright men, second wave incoming." Kenobi ordered the clone troopers who were standing next to him. Skywalker turned to one clone that stood out with his armour having blue markings, a shoulder pauldron, a skirt or kama as the clones called them, and an antenna coming from the side of his helmet.

"Rex, you and your men follow me." ordered Skywalker as he, the clone 'Rex', and a few other clone troopers with strange backpacks on ran to in a direction that wasn't toward the fighting and disappeared from Smith's sight.

At the same time Kenobi turned to a clone with yellow armour markings and ordered, "Cody, battle positions."

'Cody' gave a nod and yelled to the other clone troopers around them, "UP TO THE FRONT MEN!" and they, minus Kenobi, raced to the front of the defence line, taking positions. Smith's gaze followed them and looked ahead to see some more clone troopers, and marines race to the front.

"I don't you should be sitting down now young one." said a voice with a slight chuckle and Buck turned to see Obi Wan Kenobi standing over him with his lightsabre in one hand while deflecting a stray red bolt.

"Uhh, ye-yes sir." stuttered Thomas as he stood up at attention as best he could.

"What's your name young one?" asked Obi Wan Kenobi with an eyebrow arched sounding curious in his tone.

"Private Thomas Laskey sir." said Thomas trying to hide the fear in his voice.

"I can sense your fear, you must put it aside or else more men will have to die because you didn't help" said Kenobi and Thomas gave a nod and then the two started running to the front and just as they reached it, Thomas stopped behind the wall and watched as General Kenobi with his blue lightsabre and charged over the wall to next to some rubble in the street ahead. Soon a group of clones went over the wall to follow the general and went for cover behind some isolated boulders even though four of them were hit and killed by red blaster fire a fifth called for a medic. Upon seeing this, a group of a group of marines laid down covering fire as two more marines ran towards the downed clone. Grapping and arm each they pulled the clone back behind the defensive line but not before one was hit in the leg and used his arms to pull himself over the wall into cover. Just as they took cover, two AT-RT walkers raced past the wall and charged out towards the enemy, blaster guns firing at the droids, one of the Octuptarra droids quickly took them out though. Smith looked forward and saw the droids getting closer and quickly raised up his AC160 let plasma fly towards the enemy. Thomas then saw out of the corner of his eyes could see Kenobi in front of him his left hand in a fist as he raised it up and jerked it down. The two ASTs down with them began to unleash their withering firepower upon the advancing droids, their rockets destroy clusters of droids, their miniguns killing the survivors. One of the Octuptarra droids began to fire at them and destroyed one and knocked the other over from the force of the blast, rendering it useless.

 _2622 March 15th Earth Standard Calendar,_ _Artillery Support Defensive Line, nearly a mile west of Joint Republic-Earth Base, Crystal City, planet Christophsis, Outer Rim Territories. 1000 hrs/10:02 am._

Only a few yards behind the Forward Defence line, was the main artillery lines of the Republic forces. In a line were the Republic's cannons which were raining down blue plasma that now increased their fire as they got the order from General Kenobi. In front of the Republic cannons was thirty mortars unleashing hell onto the enemy positions. While the artillery pieces and mortars were keeping the enemy at bay, a total of two Republic AT-TE walkers and ten Trojans were currently making their way to the front to aid the infantry in the fight against the advancing droids.

 _26_ _22 March 15th Earth Standard Calendar,_ _Forward Defensive Line, one mile west of Joint Republic-Earth Base, Crystal City, planet Christophsis, Outer Rim Territories Thomas Laskey_

Just as Thomas put the empty clip into his ammo bag and pulled a loaded one and loaded it into his rifle, he heard the whirling artillery come back but more than it was a few minutes ago. Suddenly the enemy's infantry machines were pounded and thinned as the blue plasma cannon shots and Dozens of HEAT shells hit the enemy's positions and caused smoke to billow over the enemy as well as make the ground shake like a violent earthquake was happening. Despite that, the Octuptarra magna tri-droids, returned with large red laser cannon fire that destroyed several walls and boulders that marines, and clones were hiding behind. Thomas looked over the wall towards the Octuptarra and saw a black shape jump from a building and land on the top of the second one from the front and a blue beam sprouted from the shape and blocked red beams that shot at him. Shortly afterward, four or five white shapes flew in a straight line down to the ground and fired blue beams at the fourth Octo from the front which was slowing it down and surprisingly, it didn't react to them firing at it. The third Octo from the front had begun firing at the black shape on the top of the second Octo but the shape blocked the red beams with ease.

"That Skywalker guy is one crazy son of a bitch to rodeo one of them octo thingy's" remarked a marine.

"COME ON THEN!" shouted General Kenobi at the top of his lungs as he raised his lightsabre up and point it to the enemy, like the way officers from the old wars like the of old would do to lead a charge. Soon after every clone trooper had started climbing over the wall and began to charge the enemy machines. As if knowing they were charging, the artillery bombardments stopped hitting the area in front of them and instead pounded at the enemy positions several yard away.

"What the bloody hell are those guys doing? They're going to get themselves killed!" asked a marine shocked at what the clones were doing.

"What do we do now?" shouted another marine infantryman unsure of what to do just as the clones were nearly gone and the only ones behind the wall were the marines.

"What the hell do you think soldier, we cover them!" shouted Captain Irons as he began barking orders to the marines assembled, "Alpha two-six, cover them with the mortars, Delta One-Two you get those machine guns focused on the Super BDs. Delta One-One and One-Three you follow me, we're Oscar Mike!"

Soon the other officers began barking orders and the others followed their orders and provided cover fire for the clones and Jedi General while Thomas raced forward with his squad and Delta One-Three. The captain ran over the wall and began to run to the forward most piles rubble on the street which was as close to the machines the he and the two squads could get without being hit.

"Wade, Lopez, take out the forward most Octo with the SMAWS." ordered the captain as he fire two rounds and hit two B1 droids.

"Yes sir." said Wade as he and Lopez picked up their SMAWS and fired their HEDP or High Explosive, Dual Purpose, rockets which pierced the Octo's armoured head and destroyed it and the whole octo collapsed to the ground and with the foremost and the fourth octo down, that only left two of them still standing.

"Nice shot guys." shouted McKenzie as he set up a LMG-5 light machine gun and he was ready to fire at any machines he saw but he didn't pull the trigger. Thomas looked forward to see that despite the danger the clones and General Kenobi had put themselves in and suffering numerous losses, they managed to take out nearly all the regular and super battle droids in the area and all that was left was a few B1 stragglers and the two octos. Thomas looked up to the now current forward most octo and Skywalker himself was standing there on its head deflecting shots from the other remaining octo which was itself under fire from the clones who followed him in their small ambush. Skywalker deflected a large red beam back to it and it was hit. Its centre exploded and the octo finally fell due to the deflected bolt hitting it and also because of the relentless barrage of blue plasma bolts that hit it until it collapsed and the clones held their fire. Upon seeing it collapse, Skywalker then jumped down and sliced off the leg of the octo he was previously standing on and permanently taken out the Octo. As he landed on the ground and then with lightning speed, he took out two remaining B1 battle droids. After slicing across the last B1's chest area, he then stood almost triumphantly with his lightsabre still activated.

"Now that was awesome." said McKenzie to the other marines present. Now that this wave was eliminated, the rest of the marines rushed forward and stopped alongside the clones behind the last octo that Skywalker had taken out, which provided some good protection. Thomas and the two squads he came with rushed forward to join the others and Thomas had rushed to get to a position near the two Jedi Generals. He was close enough to them that he could hear their conversation.

"We're goanna need some reinforcements." said Skywalker as he blocked a few bolts with his lightsabre.

"We haven't been able to get through to Admiral, Rear Field Marshall Dommel yet."

 _Wait if they haven't, then they do even know of what's going on here?_ Thomas said in his head upon hearing what Kenobi said.

"FRIENDLY TANKS INCOMING FROM THE SOUTH EAST!" shouted a marine from an unseen position. Thomas turned around to see a group of AT-TEs and M4 Trojan APCs pull up and stopped to fire their guns on enemy positions.

"And just in the nick of time, the bloody machines are running." shouted another marine with happiness clear in his voice and some of the guys began to cheer as they saw the machines retreating.

"They're pulling back?" asked Skywalker surprised by the machines' retreat and suddenly there was a thoosh sound as twelve Zeros flew overhead.

 _"Attention all ground forces the Calvary has arrived, you can sit back and relax now"_ As Thomas watched them fly overhead and saw them drop their JDAM payloads on where he assumed the enemy tanks were. A humming sound echoing through the air as everyone started to quiet down and soon from around the corner of the buildings up ahead, a Republic shuttle appeared and flew overhead and headed in the direction of the Joint Republic-Earth base. Seeing the shuttle, the soldiers and clones started cheering again.

"The reinforcements are here" yelled a clone in the distance.

"It's about fucking time they showed up." said a marine. While many of them were cheering, there were a few who weren't. Thomas was one of them, all he did was watch the shuttle fly out of sight and back to the retreating forms of the machines now under attack by the Marine Air Arm.

"Looks like help has arrived" said Kenobi and Thomas turned to the two and saw a blue and white astromech droid rolled up and stop by the two Jedi. Most of the others were busy setting up a perimeter, tending to the wounded or collecting and/or counting the dead.

"Good to see you survived Thomas" Said Kenobi walking towards him.

"I took your words to heart sir" He replied.

"So who's the kid? Asked Anikan now walking up.

"Private Thomas Laskey 2nd OAGEF sir" He said snapping off a salute.

"Aren't you a little young to be a..." Asked Anakin not sure what branch he was from.

"Marine sir, the Expeditionary Force is technically part of the Marines except with its own structer, rank and name. And I wouldn't be a Marine without these "He pointed his shoulder were the tab saying _MARINE_ where "Took me Seventeen weeks to get them"

"Good to hear now if you'll excuse us we have a shuttle to be at" Excused Kenobi.

"Understood sir, see you around" Laskey said before returning yo his Squad.

 _2622 March 15th Earth Standard Calendar, Field Marshall Dommel in orbit above Christophsis aboard the UEG Terra_

"Give it to me straight how many men did we lose?"

"We lost a hundred and twelve men, three Titan Tanks and four M4-Trojans, two zeros and thirteen Lightning's"

"That's better than I expected, we shouldn't have left with the Republic to resupply, if we had stayed we could have prevented reinforcements from arriving"

"If we had stayed we would have run out of fuel. We need fuel to power the Hyperdrive as ours isn't a proper one and can't run on Nuclear power unlike our Warp drive that does, and we can't use the Warp Drive until the data necessary is collected in two months' time "pointed out his assistant.

"Very well then. The Chancellor has requested that we assist in the mission to return the baby Hutt to Jabba. Have Luke and his squad go and notify him to take three other squads with him as we'll be guarding the Albion system so our ships can colonize it"

"Right away sir"

"Sir the Separatists on the planet have activated a shield and our forces can't shoot through it"

 _2622 March 15th Earth Standard Calendar, Luke Sparrow Earth FOB next to artillery positions, just arriving after bridge op, 1 hour after the shield went up._

 _"Landing now. It's going to be a hot landing"_

"Hot landing?"

"What does the pilot mean?

"Were about to find out" Luke said. As the side door opened it revealed a scene of chaos. Artillery, clones, marines, ASTs and armored vehicles were all firing at this massive red dome that was slowly approaching protect the droids who were firing out of it.

"What they fuck happened while we were out, I leave for two hours and this happens!" Luke said. Jumping out with the rest of the Marines, he ran to were the marines and clones where fighting before taking cover next to Rex. He could see marines and clones dead leading up in a trail to the current position.

"Rex Status report!" Luke yelled.

"Sepi's put up a shield Generator that we can't scratch. Skywalker and his padwan are trying to take it down and General Kenobi hasn't been seen since we assaulted them inside the shield fifteen minutes ago and has been captured" Rex explained.

"Shit" was all Luke could say as he fired his M416 at the droids. By now the shield had just reached their defensive line. Any droid outside the shield was cut down but for every droid killed they lost at least two of their own.

"There are too many!"

"Fall back!" Clones and marines began to fall back another hundred yards to the next defensive line with pockets of clones and marines along the side of the road covering them.

"Man down!"

"Medic, we need a medic here"

Luke took cover behind a chunk of housing on the road and two clones joined him. This force field was really annoying him. Letting of some burst at the shield in a vain attempt to weaken it. Then mysteriously the shield lifted revealing the droids to the combined small arms fire from the infantry and vehicles. Now the artillery unleashed a massive artillery bombardment down on the helpless droids and the air dominance secured by the Earth aircraft was about to give the droids all-out assault a really bad day.

"Hastings! Hastings!" Luke yelled as a young marine with glasses came running over to him "Broken Arrow" This made Hastings look stunned before he reached for his radio.

"Broken Arrow, I say again Broken Arrow"

"What's Broken Arrow mean?" a clone next to Luke Asked confused.

"Broken Arrow is used when an Earth unit is about to be overrun, it calls in every combat able aircraft within range to assist"

"Force almighty" murmured the clone.

The droids just stood there not doing anything making them sitting ducks for the artillery and incoming aircraft. Luke went to his radio to talk to the circling aircraft.

"Enemies approaching at 1, 5, 0!" A zero swooped overhead unleashing its powerful cannon on the droids and dropped its four JDAMs on the droids.

"Now at 1, 5, 8!" two lightning's flew over unleashing cannon fire.

"Now at Limer Charlie 6!" A warbird hovered momentarily unleashing its rocket pod and nose mounted duel miniguns spewing blue death down on the droids.

While Hastings called in the aircraft, the clones and marines watched for the next two minutes as the combined might of artillery and aircraft wiped the floor with the exposed droids. Many began cheering, pumping their fists in the air.

 _"Commander this is General Whinstone meet me in the command Centre, the Field Marshall has a mission for you"_


	6. Teth

**The First Contact War**

Chapter 6 Teth

 _2622 March 16th Earth Standard Calendar, Luke Sparrow onboard the Resolute en route to rescue Jabba's son, Resolute hanger._

"So you got a job for me but you won't tell us what it is?" asked Nate, still hadn't dropped the flat, stern voice. Luke looked from Nate his weapon and thought for a while then looked back to Nate. Jake, Simon, Amy, Nate and thirteen MARSOC marines along with two pilots for the VTOL were gathered in the section of the _Venerator_ hanger given for them to use.

"Actually now that you mention it, a situation has just come up. Ever heard of the Hutt clans?"

Nate and the men in front of him frowned their eyebrows in confusion and said "Can't say that I have, who are they?"

"This is one of the Hutts," said Shepard as he pushed a button on the hologram transmitter that was on his desk and the greenish-black holographic image of a giant, grotesque slug creature appeared and he said, "Name is Jabba the Hutt"

Upon seeing the image of Jabba, Nate's eyebrows shot up as he looked at it in shock and said "Damn, that thing looks like an irradiated mutant giant slug with yellow Googly eyes glued on it" The others had a similar reaction.

"That was what I thought when I first laid eyes on this giant slug," said Luke grimacing and then he said "This Hutt is apparently a part of a group of other Hutts who each lead a organized crime groups and a few including Jabba here are part of a council that governs a large part of the eastern half of the galaxy known as Hutt space. Jabba is now the most dangerous and most powerful Hutt in terms of money and control over his own crime empire"

"So he is the prize? We'll be sent to take him down or what?" asked Nate unsure of his job which probably involves this crime lord.

"Jabba is not the prize at the moment. Our ally the Galactic Republic have informed us that now this crime lord has control over a number of major trade routes in the galaxy and we need his consent to use these routes to get supplies and much needed troops and equipment to our major military outposts all over the galaxy" said Luke sternly.

"The Republic wants to work with a criminal? Isn't that risky?" asked Amy, now somewhat shocked, surprised, and confused at the Republic's decision to work with a warlord.

"It is risky, but we do need to get those trade routes before Dooku and the Confederacy do. They have had the same idea as the Republic" said Jake.

"Ah now I get it, one of the many typical wartime scenarios. The enemy wants something so vitally important that we know it could tip the tide of the war in their favour if they get it, so we need to make certain that they don't get it" said Simon now understanding the situation.

"Exactly Simon" said Luke with a small chuckle and a small half smile.

"So how do we get on Jabba's good side and get access to those trade routes before the Confederacy?" asked Nate now curious.

"Three days ago, some Republic agents reported that Jabba's son was traveling outside of Jabba's fortress or palace and then within a few hours ago they reported that Jabba's son was kidnapped and Jabba himself was putting up a big reward for whoever rescues his son. We have received intelligence that someone, most likely Bounty Hunters or Separatists are holding his son on Teth in the outer rim" said Luke as he pushed a button on the transmitter and Jabba's image was replaced by what seems to be a baby version of Jabba appeared.

"I can see the resemblance" asked Nate a little grossed out by the image.

"Yeah, and Nate, I am assigning you to team to find this 'kid' with the Jedi while the rest of us sweep the hideout" said Luke and he pushed the button on the transmitter and the image disappeared.

Nate nodded and said "Should I bring any lettuce with me to lure the kid out?" causing some chuckles to emerge.

"If you want and can find some, then be my guest"

"So how are we getting in?" asked a Marine

"The Republic will be sending in Torrent Company on three gunships and two walkers. We'll be using the Warbird, unlike the Republic we will HALO jump in. The Republic will land a clic south of the Compound"

"So what is Force Recon's assessment" asked Nate confused.

"Recon is currently on Teth put they can't contact us until we get there and they get on board or else risk detection. I want you all to look over the data on this tablet." said Luke as he pulled out a device that looked like a Kindle Fire HD tablet that was in case cover that had the symbol of the UEG Military on the front, A picture of Earth with an eagle with two heads resting on top wings spread to full extension.

"Understood sir"

"Be back here half an hour before we exit Hyperspace. Dismissed" said Luke.

 _2622 March 16th Earth Standard Calendar, Luke Sparrow onboard the Resolute en route to Teth, Mess hall 1 hour before departure from Hyperspace._

Luke was currently eating what was he assumed the republics version of MREs and had to admit it tasted better than the stuff they got. There were a few clones in the mess with him but they were sticking to their tables meaning that Luke sat alone. Just then a Tortugra entered the mess. She appeared to be young, early to mid-teens probably, since her white and blue striped lekku and montrals were still short. The outfit she was wearing was of togruta-theme design with maroon tube top and mini skirt with white tights and brownish-red boots, gauntlets, and gloves. She also had a red sash hanging from the center of her belt that was next to a white metal lightsaber. Also on her head was some strange pale white pieces strung up and were put on her forehead. She picked up atray and grabbed some food. Luke went back to eating.

"Is it okay if I sit here" a feminin voice asked. Luke looked up a saw the Tortugra girl.

"Not at all" he replied as she took a seat.

"I'm Ashoka Tano padwan to master Skywalker, and you are?"

"Commander Luke Sparrow it's a pleasure to meet you" Luke said extending his hand, Ashoka shook it.

"So what's life like in the Orion arm"

"It's quite peaceful as we are the only species living there but that means we fight each other, but since the discovery of the Republic racism has been at an all-time low, instead now its xenophobia"

"Why are the people xenophobic?"

"They're scared, there scared because the galaxy just got a whole lot bigger. We are a small fish in a monstrous ocean, one we don't yet fully understand or are used to"

"Oh"

"But we are what you call a welfare state, so we try to help the worst off and our economy is focused more on tertiary products and military production due to so few species. Most of planetary colonies populations live in massive cities."

"You have colonies?"

"Yeah each colony has a governor elected every few years and each colony is colonized by a certain country or OAG colonist, therefor it's a OAG colony"

"So they're not independent planets?"

"Well... sort of, they're sort of like a federation as they look after their own internal matters but follow the overarching rules laid down by the central government and they all have a seat in our senate."

"I see..."

"So why is someone so young doing out on the front lines?"

"Not you too, I'm only seventeen" she wined.

"Wait, you're basically a child soldier then!"

"Hey I've been fighting in this conflict for over a year and a half. I think I've done more than enough to earn that rank Commander; the same way you not doubt got yours" She countered back getting feisty over the remark.

"Perhaps but that doesn't excuse your government to use child soldiers. Where I'm from that's considered a war crime and besides should the Jedi really bring a child into a warzone?" The astounded marine told the snippy teenager. He was about to ask how she knew his own rank but the fiery teen scoffed at his comment.

"A war crime? That would be true if the Republic and the Jedi Order did so, but I'm a Padawan learner so I'm not exactly what you may call a normal kid. So what do you make of the Temple so far?" She asked finishing off her first bite of a tube shaped foodstuff.

"Pretty impressive. It puts to shame a lot of the old ones back on Earth" Luke replied swallowing a mouthful of a porridge like substance.

"It's what most people first think of when they see it, other than the Archives of course. Judging by your reaction to the skyscrapers from what I heard from Skyguy and the Temple I take your world doesn't have giant buildings? also why did you change your governments name to OAG from UEG?"

"No, we have what we consider large, we just don't have ones that literally go through the clouds as much as yours. Even the Bourne Tower looks puny compared to some of the towers and complexes out there" He told her and tried thinking of the closest thing the food he was currently chewing tasted of. Tangy porridge was the best he could come up with.

"Speaking of your people, how many are there of you where you're from?" The young Commander shifted the conversation in a different direction.

"At least 1,465 trillion from the Inner colonies, 368 billion from the outer and 825 billion from the intermediate colonies"

"That's Huge, and that from only a hundred and fifty-two worlds!" Ahsoka interrupted.

"As for the name change... We felt that Orion Arm represent us than Earth government as it refers to where we originated from in the galaxy rather than our home world" Luke could see she was visibly surprised at his response to the population but it didn't bother him the slightest.

"Commander Tano, The General would like to inform you that he wishes to see you before the ship exits hyperspace concerning your role in our assault"

"Thanks Hardcase"

"You're that OAG Commander aren't you"

"Yes...?"

"Names Hardcase, I saw your marksmen ship on Christophsis, if you want to put it to the test, you can find me down at the armoury"

"I think I'll take you up on that next time I'm on board"

"Good, I'll see you there then" Hardcase said before walking off.

"Nice guy, so how long have you been a Jedi?"

"Since I was three. Master Plo found me and brought me here after a mission on my home world, Shili" Ahsoka told him.

"Oh, don't you have any family back on Shili, is it?"

"Yeah, my parents agreed for me to be taken to the Temple to be trained as a Jedi"

"Do you see them often?"

"No, when a person joins the Jedi Order they are forbidden to make contact with any family outside the Order. It's breaks up any form of attachment which is against our Code" Luke put his fork back on the tray, completely stunned to hear of such a thing but was more amazed by lack of disheartenment by the teen.

"Hang on hang on, so you're not allowed to see or speak with any of your family? That's not right" He frowned not liking what he was hearing

"It is a part of the Jedi Code, one of many rules we must follow. Some of Jedi tend to bend, or in my Master's case break, it occasionally depending on the circumstance" The young Jedi simply smirked at the last part of her sentence.

"Still, to be separated from your family and told you are not to see them again is wrong. Is this how the Jedi recruit?"

"You make it sound like we are a bunch of heartless beings who steal children without any consent. When a child is born he or she has their blood tested and midichlorians counted. Afterwards if the count is high the Jedi would approach the family of that child and offer them the chance for their youngling to become a Jedi" She simply explained her people's way of recruiting their next generation.

"And if they refuse?" He asked, paying more attention to her now than the rest of his breakfast.

"I don't think we've had many cases in people refusing. The Jedi are a respected organisation and seen as a force of good, so many people don't refuse. We don't just offer it to families, we offer it to any being with a high presence in the force" Ahsoka told him defensively.

"Perhaps it's a good thing me and my people don't have these midichlorian things. We don't have a high opinion on those who take children and keep them away from loved ones, dictating their free will" The conversation was starting to quickly turn into a heated argument but the marine was surprised with her next question instead of a rebuke.

"So what are your beliefs?"

"In what exactly?" He replied not clear on her meaning.

"I don't know, politics, how your army is run or what your religious beliefs are"

"I'm not a part of the Army so my opinion on them is irrelevant really and I follow a religion called Christianity in particular protestant, its really all about love, forgiveness and helping others. As for politics, I have my views as any person does it's just I don't care too much for politics as long as they aren't cruel towards areas of society. Politicians are all the same regardless of what party they belong to with some exceptions" It was sweet and simple answer and one that the young Commander seemed to agree with him on.

"We're in complete agreement there. Although there are some politicians who are alright." She started digging into the last piece of her breakfast "What was th-"she was interrupted by a beeping noise coming from Luke's wrist alerting him that he had half an hour before they arrived.

"Sorry but I'm going to have to cut this conversation short. That was just letting me know I need to be in the hanger preparing for our assault on Teth, later" He said

"Later" Commander Tano said as he deposited his tray and walked out the mess hall.

 _2622 March 16th Earth Standard Calendar, Luke Sparrow onboard the Resolute about to rescue Jabba's son, Resolute's hanger._

Luke followed Anakin as the Republic shuttle landed in front of them. As the door opened he saw two ARF troopers with a Flectarn green and white pattern on their amour.

"Lieutenant did the kidnappers see you?" Asked Anakin with R2 alongside him.

"No sir, were the best scouts in the regiment"

"What about the bounty hunters, are they still down there?" Asked Luke.

"I don't know sir; we haven't seen them in a while"

"Well what are we up against?"

The clone reached behind him and grabbed a holo-projecter, pressing a button it displayed a monastery. "Looks about at least two droid battalions protecting the monastery. Its heavily fortified you won't be able to land there"

"Good work get some rest" Anakin said before turning away and Luke and R2 following.

"You think your boys can handle this?" Asked Anakin.

"Is that a rhetorical question because I can answer that"

"So then how do you intend to get there? Your grappling cables don't have the reach"

"Jumping"

"That... doesn't answer my question"

"Yes it does" Luke said approaching a LAAT gunship were Ahsoka was talking to some troops. Luke and Anakin joined them.

"That sounds like a lot, even for a Jedi"

"I heard you were surrounded by droids. How did you ever get the shield down?"

"Okay so there is a wall behind him with a hole in the middle. So I pull the wall down destroying the droids and saving the General" Ahsoka explained raising chuckles from the clones and Luke.

"Is that true sir?" asked Rex.

"Well... most of it. We still have a job to do"

"Yes Sir, you heard the General move it" and Luke and the crowd dispersed.

 _2622 March 16th Earth Standard Calendar, Luke Sparrow On board the Warbird in the air._

"Skywalker were breaking off to engage our landing, have fun down there"

 _"Understood, but I still don't see how you are getting up there?"_

"You will, trust me"

Luke looked over the assembled sixteen marines assembled in the warbird each rechecking their parachutes over.

"Remember your boosters on your exos will only save your life not protect you from major injury and aim for the roof if you overshoot its a long walk back up"

"Understood sir!"

 _"Luke come in this is master Obi Wan"_

"I read you Master Kenobi"

 _"Jabba has given us one rotation to get his son back, once I am finished here I will join you"_

"Hurry back, don't want you to miss all the action"

 _"I look forward to it"_ and with that the communication was cut

 _"This is your pilot speaking were are four clics out, our clone friends are drawing enemy fire but I'm going to activate the cloaking system to be safe, dropping in three"_

Everyone stood up in twos ready to jump out weapons attached to their sides. A red light came on.

"Everyone check your buddy" Luke ordered as everyone checked the parachute in front of them. The door opened as the air started to whistle past. A green light came on, replacing the red.

"Go, Go, Go!" Yelled Luke as he ran forward and jumped out of the rear ramp. A weightless sensation overtook him as he plummeted faster and faster towards the rapidly encroaching monastery. By now his limbs were spread to increase drag, glancing at the altitude meter it read 6,000 feet only 1,000 more to go, 5.5 seconds. he could hear the wind rushing past him and could see the droids firing at the clones who were scaling the wall and saw one fall off. He pulled his cord and the parachute opened a few seconds later followed by everyone else. They slowly glided down on top of the roof about one hundred metros above the courtyard and could audibly hear the droids blasting away and the sound of an explosion from down the cliff. Finally wrangling in the parachute and ensuring it wouldn't blow off he spoke.

"Set up firing positions on the roof and take out those droids"

Immediately the marines and him went prone on the roof and opened fire. The effects were instant, the droids were confused when some were hit from behind and toppled over the cliff while most the of the survivors turned round to see the marines on the roof and opened fire. But it was clear that the Earth weapons had a better rate of fire and accuracy than their droid counterparts and quickly tore through them, all in time to see Anakin pop up in a force jump, land a kill the rest. Three rolly droid things then appeared and some shield popped up that negated the plasma fire. Luke then saw Ahsoka on the AT-TE walkers cannon fire and blow up the three droids. Luke fired his grapple onto the roof before assailing down and waiting at the bottom of the massive metal door for the Jedi to arrive. Seeing the clones and Jedi approach he called out.

"What took you so long?"

"Oh you know, climbing a cliff with droids shooting at us, you?"

"Jumped out a Warbird and parachuted onto the roof before taking out said droids"

"So that's what you meant by 'Jumping'"

"Yep, ready to go find our slug, Nate your up, we'll help set up a perimeter and sweep the grounds"

 _40 minutes later_

Luke and the Jedi stood around the Jedi Starfighter contacting Obi Wan.

 _"Anakin did you locate Jabba's son?"_

"We have him, but it looks like the separatist are behind his abduction. This smells like count Dooku to me"

"I think its little stinky you smell" Pipped in Ahsoka.

 _"I bet Dooku is using us to get Jabba to join the separatists"_

"Master that's not the only problem, this little huttlet is very sick"

"not sure we can get him back to Tatooine alive master this whole rescue may backfire on us, I still don't think working with the Hutts is a good idea"

 _"Anakin you know they control shipping routes in the outer rim. Jabbas cooperation is crucial to the war effort, if you let anything happen to his son, our chances are chances of a treaty with him will disappear"_ As Obi Wan was saying this Luke heard a strange noise and looked into the distance. His helmet zoomed in on some black dots and two weird ships with four wings. Wait those _are those Droids_ He thought.

"Droids incoming, get to cover!" he said picking up his M416 and then realizing there was nowhere to go that wasn't open except for the building's entrance.

"Master we've got trouble"

"Defensive positions" Ordered Rex.

 _"Anakin?"_

"We're under attack here master we could use some help" Anakin said while the clones were running towards the entrance yelling to each other.

"those are bombers! Marines, inside the building, now! we'll lay down covering fire from there" Luke yelled as he started to make a break towards the monastery's entrance followed by the other marines.

 _"I'll get there as soon as I can, protect the Hutt Anakin"_ Obi Wan said before the connection went offline. The droid fighters opened fire causing Anakin to deflect them. The clones started firing at the Droids in the air and now on the outside balcony as the AT-TE walker started to engage the droids as well. R2 jumped out of the Starfighter just before it blew up from attacking fighters. One of the droid's massive transport ships was unloading onto the balcony.

"Suppressing fire!" Luke ordered as he opened fire with his M416 spitting blue plasma at the incoming droids from inside the building followed by the rest of the marines following suit.

"Get inside" Anakin ordered Ahsoka as she and R2 ran for where the marines were while the clones pushed forward firing all the while. A few lucky shots from two Spider Droids put an end to the AT-TE walker losing the clones and marines their heavy support.

"Fall back" Anakin ordered knowing they would now stand little chance of survival without the walker. The clones immediately took off to were the marines were covering them still firing at the droids. Luke hit to button that closed the door as the clones started to enter.

"Fall back, fall back" Rex was calling. The door was almost closed now as Anakin rolled through underneath Indiana Jones style.

"Captain, Commander we'll stay here until General Kenobi arrives with reinforcements" Ahsoka was giving Anakin a strange look.

"What?"

"Master do you honestly think we can hold them off, we need to find another way out of here"

"Our mandate is to protect this Hutt and that is what we're going to do Ahsoka"

"Our mandate master skywalker is to get the Hutt back to Tatooine. In time. Alive. Which we won't be able to do before Kenobi arrives "Luke said voicing his opinion.

"I suppose either of you have a plan then? "Before R2 gave some beeps.

"Well yes...or I think so...R2 willing"

"All right snips I'll trust you on this one. Captain hold them here as long as you can" Anakin said before walking away with Ahsoka and R2 in tow.

"Commander you coming or what? "Ahsoka said turning.

"Someone has to stay here and make sure Torrent here doesn't get all the credit and besides someone has to keep them alive" Luke replied jokingly, causing the clones to roll their eyes.

"I'll hold you to that "he heard Anakin call back.

"Are you sure it isn't cause you'll miss us and that you like us?" asked Rex.

"I don't know what you're talking about, someone has to hold your hand, might as well be the most badass fighting force this galaxy has ever seen "Luke replied grinning.

"Who us?" Joked a clone.

"No, the Marines"

"Alright you heard the general, get ready to turn those clankers into scrap metal" Rex said as they all went to cover.

And so the marines and clones waited on edge for the inevitable droid attack. Minuets passed. They had all taken up positions behind pillars on the side of the entrance corridor. Luke had ordered that should the droids be about to overrun them that the marines were to activate their cloaks and fall back and rescue any prisoners, if any or assist Kenobi when he arrived. With a stffff the door opened.

"They cut the lock" causing everyone to point the weapons at the now ascending door.

"Now!" yelled Luke as the C17 on the bottom of the door blew up destroying any droid close to the door.

"Here they come!" As the droids started opening fire walking through the ruined door with the marines and clones responding in kind.

"Hold the line "By now all the B1s had been destroyed and a wave of super battle droids and spider droids was entering. The LMG-5's were really helping stem the tide of droids but they were beginning to overheat. About four clones and a marine were dead.

"watch your left" The spider droids were becoming a real problem.

"Sir what should we d-"BOOM. the marine and the two next to him were blown apart.

"Activate the next C17"Luke yelled.

BOOM. and the second wave was dealt with. By this point most the clones were down including the captain.

"Fall back! Everyone activate your cloaks and get out of here no-"Luke stated before a blast launched him against the wall knocking him unconscious.

"Luke!" Simon yelled.

"Simon we have to go now or we won't be able to save him!" yelled Nate.

"Fuck, fall back!" called out Jake as he activated his cloak and disappeared from droid sight followed by the surviving eleven marines.

"We'll be back sir" Amy said under her breath. and the marines fled deeper into the building and heading towards the roof.

 _5 minutes later_

"Uhhhh" Luke groaned as he regained consciousness "what happened?"

"Mistress, another survivor" robotic voice called out.

"Put him with the rest "a feminine voice said this time.

"Roger roger. Get up earthling"

"Its marine asshole"

"Get moving, and hands on your head" Luke stood shakily and looked ahead of him, he saw the clones huddled against the destroyed AT-TE walker with their hands behind their heads with the droids surrounding them. Unfortunately for the droids they hadn't stripped him of his exosuit meaning he could fight back if he chose to. With a shove he was pushed next to captain Rex and several other clones.

"Nice of you to join us" quipped the captain.

"It looked like you were having fun"

"Stop talking" ordered a droid, but that didn't stop Luke from noticing all the fighters from launching.

"Psss Rex Psss" Luked whispered.

"What? "whispered the clone.

"The sepi's launched their fighters. I think Kenobi is here"

Rex nodded.

 _"Come in Rex do you copy. Come in Rex"_

"Did you here that?"

"It came from the prisoners"

"Let me show you how it works clanker" Rex said as the droid leaned in and he punched it causing the clones and Luke to do the same to the droids nearest to them, grabbing their weapons and opening fire on the nearest droids. Then grappling cables from the roof hit the walkers as marine's zip lined down them landing at the base of the walker. The marines then preceded to place portable cover around the legs to protect them and their clone allies. It was chest high made from a kevlar-Titanium-A mixture, Nano-weaved together making it very strong.

"I read you general were pinned down in the courtyard" Rex said moving his shoulder to doge incoming blaster fire.

 _"Do you need help"_ Anakin asked as Rex fired some shots at the droids _"I'll take that as a yes captain standby were on our way"_

Luke let off some fire at the droids felling two before ducking down into cover. It was twelve marines and several clone's vs a battalion of droids. It did not look promising. The AT-TE provided excellent cover and with the portable cover the marines provided it was a fort. Rex hoped over the top of the walker to speak to another clone, Luke was more concerned about the Droid fighter still in the courtyard but with no rocket to take it out it was going to be a problem.

"Good to see your all right mate "Called Nate over the sound of the battle.

"Don't look so bad yourself" Luke said popping of some shots from the droid blaster. "Where is the sight on this thing for Pete's sake! "Luke said annoyed.

"Your complaining that your gun doesn't have a sight at a time like this when were surrounded! "Yelled a nearby clone.

"Chin up mate that's a good thing "Luke replied

"How is that a good thing!"

"Now we can point our gun in any direction and hit the bastards" Luke said smiling. Luke let of more blaster fire before his weapon cut out and died. Like second nature he reached for his M1911 pistol which also hadn't been confiscated and let of some semi-auto bursts at the droids. At the same time a droid fighter on the other side fell and crushed a super battle droid.

"This is it scrap'em!"Rex yelled as he and another clone jumped and took cover behind the dead fighter. Firing a few shots Simon yelled "Covering fire as his LMG-5 swiveled and opened fire on the droids approaching Rex and the other clone. The other clone's blaster ran out forcing the clone to take cover before running at a super knocking its arm away and attempted to punch it. The super merely grabbed one arm, hoisted the clone up and shot him through the chest before discarding the corpse to the ground. It was at this point the remaining clones and marines found themselves pushed back to the fallen droid fighter. There was a quick lull in the fighting.

"Surrender Republic dogs"

"We've got you outnumbered!" Rex countered.

"Outnumbered! Wait, one, two, three-" Before green laser took out the droids and Kenobi landed in front of them lightsaber drawn striking down droids. Next three LAAT gunships took out the Droid landing craft on the balcony before the clone cargo jumped out and started blasting droids.

"Come on men!" Luke yelled running to where the 212th where landing. Two gunships then destroyed the remaining fighter the droids next to it. Luke and Rex took up position next to the fallen walker again.

"Where's Skywalker?" asked Kenobi.

"Don't know sir, best guess he still in the castle" Rex said blasting a droid while Kenobi deflect some bolts.

"Keep the droids occupied I'll go find him" Obi Wan said before running into the monastery. By now most the droids were scrap and only a few stragglers remained. Luke fired a shot killing one of the last droids.

"Cover me!" called Rex as he ran and rolled under a spider droid with a grenade in hand. Sticking the grenade to the Spider droid Rex rolled away again with the droid exploding with its head landing with a thud behind the captain. As the clones killed off the last droids Luke turned to Rex and Cody.

"Well that was fun "Luke said "Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to get my gun back" as he strolled into the entrance corridor to where he was knocked out looking for his custom M416.

"Your commander is odd" said Cody.

"We know, that's what makes the job interesting" said Nate. Only four clones and the captain remained of Torrent company and nine marines including Luke.


	7. The Listening Station

**The First Contact War**

Chapter 7 The Listening Station

 _2622 March 4th Earth Standard Calendar, Luke Sparrow onboard the Resolute in the hanger with Delta force._

Luke and the rest of Delta stepped off the YT-1300 light freighter nicknamed the _Specter_ due to its ability to cloak. It had cost Luke 20,000 credits and a further 30,000 credits for all the upgrades to it and repairs but it promised to be effective for the role it was going to have to play. It was about 35 meters long with modified girodyne sublight engines capable of 1,200 km/h with an amplified quandex power core with a isu-sim SSP05 hyperdrive. It was Armed with a blastech Ax-108 blaster cannon and missile tubes with a twin plasma minigun turret on top and bottom of the ship. It had been modified to be able to carry twenty people and four crew. Delta Force or Delta had been formed of elite troops from the Marine Corps trained in all aspects of war to carry out any mission.

"I leave you alone for four months and you come back reassigned and with this rust bucket" Luke heard from a young Jedi.

"It can still outrun that piece of trash you call a ship" Luke fired back.

"you probably right" Ahsoka said.

"So you get involved in any exiting exploits while I was away?" asked Luke.

"Let's see... Stopped a Separatist super weapon the Malevolence, you?"

"Fought on a swamp planet called Minmban, my armor smelled for days of that cursed swamp, the conflict there is almost over, left it in the hands of the army. Seems like you got the fun mission between the two of us"

"You didn't have to put up with Skyguy's flying" Ahsoka said remembering the horror of being his gunner.

"So how much did it cost you or did you steal it?"

"It cost about 50,000 credits in total"

"How do you have that much money?"

"That's not important"

"How did you get the money?"

"Firstly I was minding my own business" Luke justified.

"I not sure whether to believe that"

"I was" Luke whined "Then these smucks kick down a door and attack us, and I followed them back to their hideout stole their money and killed all but one of them"

"What happened to the last one?"

"Killed himself" Ahsoka looked quite horrified at Luke's story.

"Anyway... I was told to report to general Skywalker, do you know where he is?"

"Yes, he is currently in the Main hanger preping the _Twilight_ "

"Lead on"

 _Time skip_

Luke walked through the main hanger and was impressed by its size, it took up most the central part of the ship. He saw a gold and black droid roll up the ramp into the ship while some clones with jetpacks were checking their DC-15s blasters.

"Hey Rex, is general Skywalker inside?"

"Yep, he is expecting you" Luke nodded and walked up the ramp. He noticed it was roomier as Skywalker had put his fighter inside. As Luke entered the cockpit he could see Skywalker doing pre-flight checks.

"I was told to report to you"

"Yes, you're going to help me find a Separatist listening post and possibly R2"

"Wait. You lost R2?"

"Yes, while chasing Grievous, a stray shot hit my ship, when I woke up I was told R2 was missing. Now I'm stuck with Goldie"

"Do you want backup, I brought Delta with me"

"No I think we have it covered"

"Sure, but it doesn't hurt to have a QRF"

"QRF?"

"QRF, Quick Reaction Force in case we need support"

"Sounds like a good idea"

"So when are we head 'in out?"

"In about five minutes"

"In that case, Simon delta has another mission, be ready to leave in the _Specter_ in five minutes, I'll be going with the Jedi. I'll send you the details shortly"

" _Copy sir"_

"What makes you think you're coming with me?"

"You honestly think I'm going to sit on the side lines, fuck that"

 _Time skip, Twilight coming out of hyperspace_

Anakin stood over Rex talking to him with Luke and Ahsoka with goldie beside them. "So what happened to R2, Skywalker only said he was missing"

"Anakin's ship got hit and we only found him, and there is a problem. R2 never had his memory wiped"

"So that means all of the Republics tactics and specs are on that droid, and it could be in separatist hands!"

"I know but we're working on locating him. Hang on a sec" Ahsoka said reaching for her earpiece.

"Master, I'm receiving a strange transmission, I can't seem to make it out though" She said pressing a button to put it on speaker. A series of bleeps could be heard sounding like an astromech droid.

"Boost the volume goldie" The droid bleeped in response and attempted to boost the sound. But the noise began to vanish.

"No, you're losing it" Anakin said as he hit another button making the signal clear. _Odd, the droid should have been able to do that without Skywalker to intervene._ Now R2 could be heard over the speakers clearly.

"That's R2" said Anakin.

"Err… that doesn't sound like R2" Ahsoka said.

"It's him, I could never forget that voice. Trace it Rex"

"Sir"

"Master our orders are to find the separatist listening post"

"Perhaps R2 is at the listening post, did you consider that"

"He's right, if R2 never had his memory wiped, then he would a valuable asset to the separatists"

"Sir we got a lock on the droid's location sir" Rex called over.

"Prepare to jump to those coordinates"

"Yes sir" A clone said as he started to impute the coordinates into the Hyperdrive. Ahsoka merely put her hands on her hips.

"Hold on R2 old buddy, we're coming"

"If you need me I'll be preparing, Trooper send those coordinates to the _Specter_ "

"Will do sir" Luke headed to the rear compartment where he saw a group of four clones weapon checking.

"Officer on deck" called out one of the clones with a blue stipe across his helmet.

"As you were" Luke responded as he walked to wards LT Denal.

"Sir" Denal said saluting.

"There won't be any need for that while I'm around without a superior officer nearby"

"What can I do for you?"

"That droid, in the cockpit it couldn't boost the signal, have there been any other… incidents…. Like this before?"

"Actually no, but the droid seems a bit suspicious, even the General doesn't trust the thing, calls it 'stubby'"

"Thanks, this has been enlightening"

 _Time skip_

"Sir the last transmission came from that moon's upper atmosphere, directly ahead"

"That's a separatist battlesphere"

"I'm picking up a lot of encrypted chatter"

"Contact Obi wan, Stubby scramble emergency frequency code set 1477, I don't want that station to pick this up" Luke walked in and saw Anakin talking to Obi wan.

"Master, I believe we've found your separatist listening post"

" _Excellent work, back off and wait, I'll send two main line cruisers to help you destroy it"_

"But R2"

"We believe my droid R2 is on board, he's the one that lead us here"

" _hmm… this complicates things. You must sneak aboard and destroy it before the separatist crack R2's memory banks. I know your found of that droid but he's fallen into enemy hands"_

"I could rescue R2"

" _no this is not a rescue mission"_ With that Kenobi logged off.

"keep jamming their scanners, if they spot us we're dead"

" _this is the specter we're cloaking now and will hold five minutes away from the battlesphere"_

"Copy specter, we'll call if your needed"

"Trooper you stay here and pilot the ship, everyone else with me" Skywalker said. They all moved to the hanger and began to prepare. Luke strapped on his Exosuit and ran its system diagnostics. He also picked up a jet pack.

"Hey Rex, do you have a spare DC-15s I could use, it would be better suited to this mission"

"yeah here you go, it can fire 100 shots a cartridge and contains both stun settings and a grappling cable. It's the standard issue blaster of all troops in the Grand Army of the Republic and most favoured. Here are some spare cartridges" Rex handed Luke ten cartridges.

"Sounds good" Rex walked over with Luke to where Ahsoka was… prepping Goldie.

"You can't seriously be taking that with us"

"We need Goldie to open security doors and access the ships computer. Oh and Rex you get to carry him"

"Huh that's just great" Luke put a hand on Rex's shoulder.

"Unlucky mate, I'd do it myself but you've got this covered" Causing Rex to glare at him. They walked towards the door after Luke helped Rex strap Goldie to him. The door opened to reveal an orangey-brown sky and the winds caused the ship to shake.

"Follow me boys" Ahsoka called as she ran and jumped off. Luke and the other six quickly followed. Luke throwing in a flip for good measure. Luke moved his limbs into a spread eagle fashion, and could see the round shape of the Battleshpere with its satellite dishes. They raced past the upper floors and Luke could now see the area they were going to land in. The two Jedi used the force to slowly descend and come to a stop while the others fired their jetpacks allowing them to land safely on the surface of the ship.

"Next time your lugging this astromech around" rex said pointing at the others causing the others to laugh. "And was that flip really necessary?"

"One hundred percent" Skywalker activated his lightsabre and cut a hole into the ship and they all filled through. They entered a large corridor and could hear droids at the other end. Skywalker motioned for them to follow as they crept towards the droids. One of the clones snuck up behind and broke the B1's neck and the other was shot by Rex. They hurried quickly down the corridor.

"Alright stubby get to work" The astromech plugged in and projected a map of the station.

"We are here; the reactors are thirty levels below us there" Rex said motioning to the map.

"Ahsoka you take the squad and blow up the reactors, I'll do the rest. Meet in the landing bay"

"Where are you going"

"I'm just going for a little look around"

"I hope you find R2 in one piece"

"get going snips"

"looks like it's up to us to complete the mission. As usual" Ahsoka said as they walked off in different directions.

"So this is how most missions go?"

"Yep, you get oust to it"

"There should be an elevator that can get us to the reactors up ahead" Rex said. As they approached the junction, two droids stood guard at the elevators. Luke signalled for the others to stay put pulling out his kukri Knife and activated is electricity field. He snuck up until he was right behind them before plunging the blade through the first one's chest and then pulling the blade out and stabbing the other droid in the head before it could call for help or shoot.

"Impressive"

"Eh, I try"

They piled into the elevator and pressed the button for the thirtieth floor below them. The journey to the reactors deck was quick. The door opened and two more droids appeared and quickly were shot.

"Come on this way" Ahsoka called as they started to run down the corridor. After five minutes running Luke noticed the astromech wasn't with them.

"Ahsoka, I'm going to go get Goldie" He said before turning back in the other direction.

"What, but Goldie is just here… Oh" Luke continued on until he heard what sounded like voices. Pressing himself against the wall he heard Goldie communicating with someone.

" _The Jedi are here! Delay them until I arrive"_ Luke called out to end the call.

"Goldie where are you" he then waited two seconds before rounding the corner.

"There you are, come on let's go" he said pretending he hadn't heard anything. _The damn droids a spy, I can't say anything now without the droid being alerted. I'll have to wait to tell the others when that droid isn't present._ Luke and Goldie caught up with the others outside the reactors blast shield door. It was ray shielded.

"There you are, come on Goldie open this door. Make me proud" Goldie went up to the control panel and began to override the security system. The sound of approaching droids could be heard.

"Oh this will be good" said Rex.

"Those droids are getting closer"

"Do you think R3 will have that door open anytime soon"

"He's working on it patience captain"

"get into defensive positions" Luke ordered taking cover behind a doorway.

"I can always hotwire it sir" Lt Denal offered.

"Hurry up Goldie"

"I think we run out of time"

"Goldie, if you do not open that door soon, I will shoot you and let Denal hotwire the door!" Luke said opening fire on the droids killing the lead one. The clones and droids quickly opened fire themselves with Ahsoka standing in front deflecting shots with her lightsaber. Luke noted how the DC-15s had little recoil and was quite accurate. The clones cut down more droids but Goldie activated another blast door in front of the ray shield.

"For fucks sake Goldie!" Yelled Luke. Now supper battle droids came from the other direction and opened fire. Luke swiveled round and unloaded seven shots into one, felling it.

"Rex droid poppers now" Ahsoka called as the clones threw their droid poppers at the enemy knocking them out.

"Thank god that's over"

"They sent a child to defeat me and destroy my station, the Republic must be running out of Jedi" said a man…thing… with a raspy voice, who Luke assumed to be General Grievous. Ahsoka activated her lightsaber as the others aimed their blasters at the General who had activated his lightsaber.

"You must be General Grievous" The General started to laugh but ended up coughing.

"He's just another tinny boys, lets scrap him like the rest" Ahsoka said before she ran forward and swung at Grievous but he blocked and attacked her forcing her to parry both strikes. Grievous then hit her and she flew into the wall and didn't get back up. Luke and the clones opened fire but Grievous deflected a shot into a clone and leaped towards them. He swung his lightsaber and killed two clones to Luke's left and threw Denal against the wall. He swiped at Luke and cut his exoskeletons left arm enhancer off and kicked him against the blast door of the reactor room. As he begun to fall unconscious from the impact he saw Rex get thrown to the floor and about to be impaled by a lightsaber but saw Ahsoka get up in his peripheral vision as he blacked out again.

 _Time skip_

"Uhhhhh, I need to stop being knocked out" Luke said as regained consciousness. He looked around and saw Rex and Denal were moving as well.

"Rex, Denal, you still with me?"

"Yep"

"Yes"

"Good, Ahsoka isn't here so we can assume she has engaged Grievous"

"I'll contact Ahsoka" said Rex, "Ahsoka it's me Rex, there's only three of us left, should we abort the mission?"

" _No complete the mission, set the charges and rendezvous at the landing bay"_

"But sir" Rex started.

" _That's an order Rex, I'll keep the General busy. Ahsoka out"_

"She's distracting Grievous. Come on, we still have a job to do" Rex said as they got up and grabbed the explosives and Denal began to hotwire the door.

"Guys, remember when I went back to fetch Goldie when he lagged behind" Luke decided to tell them no Goldie wasn't around.

"Yeah, what about it?"

"I overheard Goldie talking to Grievous, I think R3 is a spy"

"What, why didn't you tell us earlier!" demanded Rex.

"Would Ahsoka have believed me earlier if I had"

"No, but you should have said something"

"If I did, Ahsoka wouldn't have believed me a Goldie would know that I know he was a spy and would have had to get away from us and we wouldn't be able to bypass most of the stations security systems. No offense Denal"

"None taken and that does it" Announced Denal as the door opened revealing the reactors.

Luke turned to the two clones and said "If it looks shiny and expensive then stick a charge on it and keep the charge out of sight" The two clones nodded and they walked into the reactor room. Luke's HUD pinpointed the best possibly spots to place the charges. After a couple of minutes, the charges had been placed.

" _Specter_ we are going to need you in the south hanger" Luke called over the comm.

" _Copy that, see you in five"_

"Rex, Denal, you done yet?"

"Yeah, just finished"

"Good let's move"

 _Time skip_

Luke, Rex and Denal ran towards the hanger entrance. The door opened revealing Anakin, another clone and…R3.

"Stop that droid" Luke said as R3 closed the hanger doors. Luke pulled out one of his smart grenade and set it to homing. He threw the grenade into the air and it propelled itself towards R3 and detonated leaving only scrap.

"What is going on, why did you do that"

"R3 was a spy, he was sen-"

However, R3 had also been able to activate some of the Droid fighters before he was blown up and now two had just landed on the hanger floor.

"Get to cover! R2 get the hanger door open" Skywalker ordered as Luke and the clones ran for cover behind some steel crates shooting at some droid infantry. Luke skidded behind a crate turned and fired his DC-15s at the droids hitting a B1 in the head and another in the chest. R2 headed off in the direction of a control port outside the hanger. Luke and the clones focused on gunning down the droid's infantry instead of the vulture droids due to the fact their weaponry would not have much effect and would take too long to take a single vulture down. A shot from a super battle droid glanced Luke's shoulder-pad causing him to shoot it three times in the head.

"Rex, detonate the charges!" Skywalker ordered.

"But sir, we're still on board!"

"Just do it Rex, you let me worry about the details" Skywalker yelled deflecting some shots as Rex and Luke pressed the detonators, destroying the ships reactors and the separatist ship began to plummet towards the moon's surface slowly as its stabilizers fought with minimal power to keep the station up in the air.

" _Sir we're outside the hanger but the blast doors appear to be closed, we could try blasting them open"_

Luke took cover behind the crate he was behind and stopped shooting. "Negative, just be ready for when that door opens to use the two plasma miniguns to cover us as we board the twilight"

" _Copy sir"_ Luke heard from the specter before he resumed with the firefight. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ahsoka exit an air duct and leap onto a vulture droid. She sliced its head before jumping down to where the others were.

"Did Grievous tell you our 'stubby' friend works for him"

"He might have mentioned it" Just then the hanger doors opened and the _specter_ began its attack spewing blue death upon the helpless droids."

"Get to the twilight now!" ordered Skywalker as they began a fighting retreat towards the _Twilight._ Luke was the first one on board and began to cover the others as they one by one retreated on board the freighter.

"Wait where's R2?" Skywalker said before R2 could be seen making his way as quickly as possible to the ship. Once they were all on board, Rex hit the button and landing ramp shut. Anakin and a clone took the ship away from the station. The _Specter_ following suit. Luke breathed a sigh of relief, but he quickly tensed with Ahsoka's question.

"Master what does 'fuck' mean?"

"Where did you hear that?"

"I heard Luke say it" As Luke took a sudden interest at what Rex was doing.

"Did he now, maybe he would care to explain it"

"Well as much as I would love to… there's this thing called absolutely anything else, so I'm going to go check up on Rex and Denal. Plus, this is good for Master-Padwan relations and bonding so… Bye!" Luke said dashing out the room with a very annoyed Anakin staring at where the Marine had just been.


	8. Keepers of Peace

**The First Contact War**

Chapter 8 Keepers of Peace

2622 _March 1st Earth Standard Calendar, Captain Matt Sim, Kamino clone training facility_

Captain Matt Sim watched the five clone cadets make their way up the course. He watched as they worked together to take out the b1 training droids at assault the enemy fortification. Two of them covered the other three who took out the droids on the battlements and clambered up to the top of the structure and pull the flag out of its holder, ending the simulation. He smiled with pride at his latest squads success. After a month of the clones and OAG forces mingling, it occurred to the higher ups just how poorly treated the clones were by the general public and their Kaminosian creators. President Richards has called up the chancellor about these concerns and offered the support of the army to help train the clones in a less discriminatory environment. The Chancellor was surprised but none the less agreed and a week later he and the other hundred trainers arrived. The ended up working with the Mandalorian trainers who met them with differing opinions as the clones did. They had slowly built up a level of respect but progress was progress.

"Your trainees seem to be doing well" A familiar Mandalorian voice from behind him rang. The Mandalorian in question, Mando Te Mav but in English was translated to Mandalor The Freedom.

"Well I try"

"Yes but the would still be no match for the Death Watch"

"The Death Watch?"

"You wouldn't have heard of them but they are a group of Mandalorian terrorists who wish for us to go back to our old ways and bring back the days of the great Mandalorian Empire"

"Interesting, tell me more about this 'Death Watch'"

 _2622 March 7_ _th_ _Earth Standard Calendar, President Keith Richards,_ _on board the Earth Senate Station orbiting Earth_ _._

"Enter"

"Mr. President" A man in a black suit said "Agent Grant of Office of Naval Intelligence, I have found something that might interest you" He said whilst shaking the Presidents hand. Agent Grant placed a dossier on the desk. Picking up the dossier, Keith saw it was on a type of metal he had never seen before.

"It was brought to our attention by one of our Army trainers on Kamino who works with a Mandalorian by the name of, Mando Te Mav, in our language. Beskar Iron Ore, a uniquely resistant iron that develops a wide range of properties and colours, in the hands of skilled metalsmiths. Depending on the alloy, it can take any form from plate, laminate, and wire to foam, mesh, micronized particles, and even a transparent film. But the Mandalorians heavily guard their Beskar-working skills and refuse to sell the formula for any price; attempts to duplicate the armour by others has been a complete failure. This ore is only found on Mandalor and its moon and only the Mandalorians know how to use it. Despite its toughness it is incredibly light compared to other metals"

"Why are you telling me this?"

"We believe it could be mass produced using our metal synthesizers to artificially make it and using the knowledge of the mandalorians we could equip it to ships, armour and anything that needs metal. We would have a nearly indestructible everything. Not even lightsabers can cut it"

"And how would you propose we get this knowledge, the mando's guard this information as you said?"

"If you look down at the bottom, you'll see"

"The 'Death Watch'?"

"A terrorist organization trying to overthrow the current peaceful government run by Duchess Satine. If we could convince her to let us deal with them on Mandalor's moon Concordia for the knowledge of how to use Beskar iron and trade for it with no other expense, then we could use it. But it would take a terrorist attack on the level of something like the 9/11 attacks to do so"

"And what's the likely hood of something like that?"

"At the moment, there has been an increase in attacks but not soon at the current rate"

"Then we'll have to wait and see then"

 _22BBY Mandalor_

 _Wow, The Government Parliament so big!_ Meredith thought. She looked up at the tall glass covered building.

"Ok everybody let's get in our assigned groups and head to the Parliament" Professor Andrews then preceded to call the list out. "As I call your name I'll tell you who you are with. Group one. Meredith, Brooke, Jake, Logan, Josh, Luca, and Danielle. Ya'll are with me!"

 _Damn why do I have to be in a group with Danielle!_ Meredith sulked to the State Building. As the group approached the building, Meredith cheered up a little bit. _I'm actually looking forward to this_ , she thought. When they walked in, Meredith looked around in awe. _This is amazing_. All of a sudden a crunching sound was heard. The group looked at each other. Coach Andrews said, "Come on, let's get in the elevator"

As they got into the elevator they saw the other groups taking the stairs. She noticed a rather large freighter heading towards the Parliament. She thought it would turn away but she noticed that it was getting closer and accelerating in speed.

"Professor, that ship looks like it's going to hit the building"

"Don't be silly Meredith, the Death Watch would never do something like that" By now the ship was only a couple hundred meters away and everyone in the elevator began to become very worried.

"Brace yourselves!" yelled the Professor as the ship ploughed into the building only just above the elevator killing everyone in its way. It also cut the gravity lift, that controlled the elevator. With the gravity lift gone the elevator began to hurl towards the ground faster and faster. All Meredith could do was scream like the others before they impacted the ground.

 _6 hours later at Duchess Satine's residence_

" **Breaking news, a massive large scale attack-"**

" **On Mandalor's most important sites, buildings and facilities-"**

" **No one has claimed reponsability-"**

" **But Death watch is suspected to be involved-"**

" **Over twelve thousand dead-"**

" **A million injured-"**

" **Bad implications for an economy on a knifes edge-"**

" **Citizens calling for immediate action"**

Satine surrounded by her closest advisors, was flicking through all the different news channels all covered with the same story. It was one of the worst terrorist attacks in history and her people demanded revenge. Something her police force couldn't do as Mandalor no longer had an army. She let out a heavy sigh, how could she deal with Death Watch while remaining neutral in the Galactic Civil War. A beeping noise from her desk's holo-projecter snapped her from her train of thought. Pressing a button, the Earth Senator Ryuko Mori appeared.

"Greeting Duchess Satine"

"Greetings miss Mori, may I ask why you are calling me?"

"As you might have heard from our little introductory speech when we first entered the senate, you know we have a history with terrorist groups ourselves. I have been asked by the Orion Arm Government to offer you Aid in terms of money and resources to help you rebuild as well as rescue teams and construction workers to help."

"That is most appreciated and I accept"

"Also the Orion Arm Government would like to offer military support to end the Death Watch"

"I cannot except as Mandalor is a neutral party in the Galactic civil war and you are not. Also I expect that you want something in return for your assistance"

"You are not wrong, we would ask for fair trade agreements as well as access to your Beskar Iron Ore, the last one being kept secret of course"

"I cannot allow you to have access to the Beskar iron or allow a military presence on this planet"

"If I may disagree. You have lost thousands to the Death Watch while the rest call out for justice that you are unable to do as you lack a professional military force. Even you acknowledge that the Separatists are the bad guys so to speak and Beskar armour would help our troops end this Galactic War quicker and the trade would help your economy"

"I will have to discuss this with my advisers who will probably approve everything bar the Beskar armour, I'll call you back when we are done"

"Of course, remember, the quicker you act the more lives will be saved" Ryuko said before disappearing. Satine turned to her advisers.

"So any thoughts"

The Prime Minister spoke first, "Despite what our stance is we have no choice by to accept their military assistance. The Death Watch needs to be stopped. The Aid goes without question. But what they ask in terms of access to our Beskar Armour is out of the question, it cannot go to foreigners" This received many nods from the other Ministers.

"If I may interject" Her minister of finance said "Our economy is in shambles due to the war and terrorist attacks, we could charge a high price for the Beskar iron and how to use it. Also we need to stop isolating ourselves from the rest of the galaxy in the way we have. We refer to anyone from outside our space as a foreigner with negative conations which encourages people to see ourselves above outsiders. Beside, police intelligence suggest that the Death Watch has a backing from count Dooku to overthrow us and to have Mandalor join the Separatist cause, in effect this is a proxy war" Satine reflected on her Minister's words.

"I need to address the people on our response"

 _Ten minutes later, Government announcement studio_

"People of Mandalor. Today we have witnessed the worst terrorist attack in our history at the hands of the Death Watch. Thousands are dead and many more injured. Friends, Family and loved ones from children to elderly have been taken from us before it was their time and we mourn their parting. The Orion Arm Government has offered to send billions in Aid, money and resources and men and women to help us rebuild. They have also offered military assistance to fight the Death Watch as we have no standing army. I your Duchess and as a fellow Mandalorian solemnly Vow with the assistance of the OAG to eradicate the Death Watch once and for all"

 _2622 March 12th Earth Standard Calendar, John Sage onboard the frigate Ultramarine en route to Mandalor._

John flexed his new robotic left arm. His old one had been blown off by a rocket while he was on sniper support in the Battle of Christophsis. The _Ultramarine_ was one of the old and remarkably reliable old United Nations Space Command frigate. The class had survived over four centuries due to how cheap and effective they were. They were equipped with plasma cannons and point defense lasers and missile pods, they also had the single Mass Accelerator Cannon that bypassed ships shielding due to them being designed to stop energized shots not giant metal slugs. The military had stopped using them but Private Military Corporations still used them, but due to the scale of the Galactic Civil war they had been brought back into service to increase the size of the navy and free up Star Destroyers.

" _attention all crew, dropping out of hyperspace in two minutes, marines please suit up and head to the hanger bay"_

John, all-ready in his exoskeleton headed to the hanger where he spotted his squad prepping next to a Warbird.

"All right Marines, front and center!" yelled the lieutenant jumping up onto some crates, so to stand above the others. John and the other marines scrambling into formation.

"We are here to help the people here, not to kill them! Our job is to work with local forces in identifying and taking out death watch forces on Mandalor and its moon Concordia. Our job is to protect the reconstruction project and to help patrol the streets. Remember when these people wake up they do not expect to be killed. Our first job is to secure an area for our transport ships to land so they can off load their cargo. Let's move out marines!" John and the other marines quickly entered the Warbird VTOLs as the _Ultramarine_ exited hyperspace. The VTOLs quickly took off and headed for Mandalor. John could see the numerous escort frigates on the outside protecting the supply ships carrying the Aid to the people of Mandalor. The surface of Mandalor which they were landing on was flat and baron, white desert sand meaning they could easily land their ships there but they would be open to attack so they would fortify an area and turn it into an FOB where they could operate planeside on to police and distribute the Aid. As they approached the area where the FOB was to be, John could see the cube like structure that was Mandalors capital city.

" _Touching down in sixty"_ John pulled the bolt back on his AC160 rifle that activated the plasma pack that powered the shots and switched the safety off as did the other marines around him. With a thud the dropship hit the ground.

" _GO! GO! GO!"_ Yelled the pilot as the rear and side doors opened as the marines rushed out to secure a perimeter. John ran about fifteen meters away from the Warbird before going prone and aiming his rifle, looking for potential threats.

"Sir no hostiles spotted!

"Good call command and tell them to begin the landings. Dig in marines!"

 _March 13_ _th_ _Earth Standard Calendar, General Michael Craig, Mandalor, Keldabe, speaking to Duchess Satine_

"Duchess, thank you for agreeing to meeting me on such short notice"

"Your welcome. Now how goes your construction project?"

"The FOB will be completed in a week and will be able to protect the supply ships that are already unloading as we speak, the first wave of aid should be out by this afternoon. Senator Ryuko is currently working on a trade agreement that is mutually beneficial. We have teams all-ready clearing rubble and administering medicine to those that need it. We have a number of field hospitals set up around the planet to help ease the burden on undamaged hospitals"

"Thank you, this means a lot"

"Just doing my job. Now then, have you located any Death Watch cells on mandalor in your cities as we've scanned the planet's surface and there is no sign of them. On Concordia, it's a different matter. We have located at least three major bases of operation and multiple supply depo's. It won't be easy deposing of them as they are well defended and have separatist tanks and anti-air guns at their main bases"

"It's just as we feared. The death Watch is in league with the Separatists"

"I'm afraid I need to ask about the Beskar Iron Ore. What was your decision on that?"

"We simply cannot deny you but we will charge a reasonably high price for it and the knowledge of how to use it. We will also limit how much you get and will strictly monitor it to ensure it is not taken advantage of. We have never let non-Mandalorians have access to this knowledge before, do not misuse this opportunity"

"Do not worry, we won't, the President said he would give his word if you accepted"

 _March 15_ _th_ _Earth Standard Calendar, John Sage, Mandalor, patrolling downtown Keldabe._

John walked down the street along with four other marines from his squad, the OAG forces had only been there for two days, but signs were showing they were winning the battle for hearts and minds. The new trade agreement between the OAG and Mandalor would bring about new economic opportunities for the people of Mandalor and the reconstruction projects of hospitals, housing and schools was widely praised. There was some skepticism over the military presence but many were content with the fact that the OAG was combating Death Watch. As John and his patrol rounded a corner, they failed to see a Beskar armoured death Watch member raise his two blaster pistols. The first instant when they knew they were under attack was when the lead marine by the name of Hendricks was shot in the neck, killing the man instantly.

"Shit! Ambush!" John yelled going to cover as two other marines pulled Hendricks body out of the street. John and another marine open fire where an armoured man was standing. The blue plasma only slightly damaging the armour. By now the civilians were running away screaming while one of the marines called for QRF. The terrorist then used his jet pack to land next to the marine to Johns left before unleashing his wrist mounted flame thrower upon the doomed marine. The marine's agenizing screams of pain from being burnt alive echoed throughout the street. The marine fell over onto the floor in pain, rolling around. John unable to see a marine suffer in such a way aimed at his comrade. Closed his eyes. And fired. The marine's screams stopped as the plasma stuck him in the chest, melting through to the heart killing him instantly. While that happened the mando had thrown a thermal detonator at the two other marines which had killed one and injured the other. John realizing their weapons wouldn't damage the mando's armour threw his weapon to the side and in a rage charged the Death Watch member. Pulling the standard issue combat knife from its sheath on his shoulder with his right hand, swung at the neck of the mando. The mando blocked before trying to punch John in the face. John mindful of the wrist mounted flame thrower dogged and stabbed the device, neutralizing it. The mando kicked him in the gut, knocking the wind out of him. He gasped trying to inhale air. The mando went to pick up his blaster, but John got back up and tackled the mando to the ground. Rolling on top. John repeatedly stabbed the mando over and over and over in the neck. Blood sprayed everywhere each time the knife came out of the jugular. But John just kept going.

"John!" a voice called. He continued.

"John!" The voice called again.

"JOHN!" the voice said, this time putting a hand on his shoulder. John stopped. Looked down and saw what he had done. He stood up in a dazed state and backed up against the wall before sliding down till he was siting and staring emptily at his blood soaked hands, trembling.

"John, it'll be okay. It's over now" The only other remaining marine said.

 _30 minutes later at debriefing with General Craig_

"So what happened?" asked the General.

"We were on patrol in downtown when we were ambushed by a Death Watch member. He killed Hendricks with a shot to the head. He set Parker on fire and Sage shot Parker to ease his passing. I and Mathews had a grenade thrown at us, Mathews didn't make it. Sage killed the Mando with multiple stab wounds to the neck"

"Thank you, both of you. The death of your squad is unfortunate and Sage, you did the right thing with Parker. I want you to go to the medical wing and have yourself checked for any PTSD, you went through a lot, that no one should go through. Dismissed"

"Yes Sir!" they both yelled leaving. Craig sighed, walking over to his intelligence officer.

"Do we know where they are operating from, they have to have a safe house here somewhere?"

"We've pinpointed the location to somewhere in the capital, but were not sure quite where though. I believe we are close though, ONI prides itself with having the best information network"

 _22BBY Mandalor, Keldabe industrial district, Death Watch safe house/ operations command, Damien Vizls_ _a of clan Vizlsa._

 _Damn these OAG guys, making life difficult_ Damien thought as he walked down the corridor to the command hub of the building where operations were panned. The OAG had arrived and messed up their plane to take over, they had it all planned out down to the last detail. They even had the support of the Separatists, but these… meddlers had changed all that.

"Vizlsa" the senior Death Watch member said as he entered. He simply bowed his head in return.

"Now we are all here, we need to discuss how we are going to deal with the OAG. It is clear that we cannot beat them in a straight up fight and do not have the numbers to survive a guerilla war, so we need solutions"

"We need to find a way to turn public opinion against them. A source has told me that there is a secret deal of some kind, don't have many details but it must be something important. If we find out what it is we can use it against them"

"I agre-" **BOOM!** The whole building shook and sounds of gunfire could be heard.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!"

"I DON'T KNOW"

"GUARDS! WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON OUT THERE! REPORT!"

" _It's the OAG sir they're AGHHH"_

"We need to go now! Delete all data we have we're leaving!" The Mando's would have done this if it weren't for the fact that at that moment, flashbangs had decided to go off in the room, stunning most of the mando's including Vizlsa as they weren't wearing their helmets. OAG marines and Mandalorian police stormed into the room and quickly subdued those who weren't stunned and arrested those who were.

 _Now, Corporal Fin Hughes_

Looking around the room seeing the dead or captured Death Watch he lowered his AC160.

"Corporal your up, crack this data net" Ordered his CO. Walking up to the console he plugged his data pad in and began hacking into the computer. After a couple of minutes, he cracked the code and then realized what he had found.

"Sargent, you might want to see this"

"What is Corporal?" his Sargent asked looking at the data pad.

"A list of people and locations part of Death Watch on Mandalor, looks like we found the main compound"

"Good work, send this back to command, looks like it's going to be a busy day"

"Sir we have something really good, and its not information" Called a marine.

"Oh, and what's that?"

"How about the head of Death Watch, Pre Vizlsa's nephew" The marine said pointing to one of the captured terrorists.

"You OAG scum, we will defeat you and burn your worlds, kill your citizens and erase you from history!" He said while spitting on the ground.

"Don't worry, we've got a nice cosy cell with your name on it just waiting for you. And your going to tell us everything we want to know, and if you do, you'll only have a fifty year sentence. All right boys bag anything and everything that can be used for intelligence, Maps, locations, weapons, the works!"

 **Thanks to Mandalor the Freedom for coming up with this idea, it was great to explore and to write. Check out his stories, they're really good to read.**


	9. War on Terror

**The First Contact War**

Chapter 9 War on Terror

 _22BBY Concordia, Pre Vizsla of clan Vizsla, one week after Mandalor Death Watch HQ_.

"You mean to tell that the OAG has wiped out our forces on Mandalor, not only that, but gained public support and captured my nephew! Am I surrounded by incompetence! I thought you were proud Mandalorian warriors! But here we are losing to a bunch of inferior outsiders!" Vizla said in an increasing angry tone.

"We're trying t-" Started an officer.

"well clearly not hard enough! Now they are on our doorstep planning to attack us with the intent of destroying us and the true way of Mandalorian life! This will not stand! We will drive them from Mandalor or I will personally kill you all before they do!"

 _March 29_ _th_ _Earth Standard Calendar, General Craig on board the Righteous Fury above Concordia_

"Marines will deploy via drop pod into the enemy bases. This will follow a half an hour orbital bombardment and aerial bombing. Marines will land in and around enemy positions in order to encircle and destroy Death Watch. We want none to escape. You have half an hour until drop, dismissed" Craig said the Cos over the comm. Walking back onto the bridge of the ship. Gazing out over Mandalors moon, he watched the Frigates maneuver into positions to hit the areas that they were given.

"All ships and wings, this is General Craig. Commence Operation Iron Dragon" With that order, Frigates and Star Destroyers commenced massive orbital bombardments. Blue plasma rained towards the targets on the surface while slugs from the MAC cannons speed towards the underground facilities. Squadrons of aircraft could be seen launching from the hangers.

 _2622 Earth Standard Calendar,_ _OAG Dauntless James Elric_

"Lift-off"

The Lightning flew off the carrier, quickly accelerating to 500 mph.

"Successful launch, I repeat, successful launch!" the pilot, Captain James Elric, called out through the radio. "Saber Five, what's your status, over?"

"Saber Three, we're launching in one mike, over"

"Copy Saber Five, I'll orbit until you're airborne"

Eric eased on the stick, rolling his aircraft to the left slightly before pulling to the left completely, turning around and making his first pass over the carrier. Looking out the left window of his aircraft, he could see his wingman making final flight checks before taking off.

"This is Saber Five; all systems are go. Ready for launch" Seconds later, Saber Five's Lightning soared off of the carrier. "This is Saber Five, we are airborne, over!"

"Copy that. Saber Three and Saber Five, proceed northwest to sector 3 and link up with Dark Star Foxtrot, they're being engaged by multiple bandits. Coordinates follow, break" The tower said, before reading out the coordinates and grid number.

"Understood. Saber Five out"

Eric pushed the stick back, and his fighter soared towards the clear blue sky of Concordia.

"Saber Three, leveling off at Angels Five, proceeding to heading 0-2-3, over"

 _Above Sector 3, Concordia_

"Saber Three, this is Saber Five, I have radar contacts, twenty-two miles out, closing quickly, over"

"Saber Five, copy that, I see 'em. Sending IFF tone" Elric hit a few buttons and began to transmit an IFF tone to the unidentified planes. He then waited for a response. None.

"No IFF response, over"

"Damn. Prepare for combat!"

"All weapons ready!"

"Contacts confirmed. Two Vulture droids, 11 o'clock, nineteen miles out. These guys are Separatist; this shouldn't be too hard."

"Roger that. Locking on."

Elric selected the AIM-410 AMRAAM Active Radar-guided missile, perfect for longer-range engagements.

"Lock!" Elric shouted. He pushed the button on his joystick, releasing the AMRAAM. "Fox Three!"

He watched as the missile streaked into the distance.

"Bandits closing, sixteen miles!"

Elric continued to wait for the missile to hit the target. He figured that the missile would hit any second.

The two fighters continued to stay on radar.

"Damn! He must've popped chaff or something!"

"Send another one!"

Elric began to lock on to the enemy fighter again. "Lock!" Elric called. He pressed the button again, calling out "Fox Three!" as the missile sped towards the target. By now, he could barely make out two dark dots in the distance, the enemy fighters.

Soon enough, a bright orange light flashed as the missile hit the lead fighter, tearing the wing off and sending the rest of the now-flaming Vulture spiralling out of control as it plummeted to the ground. After a few seconds, a bright, brilliant explosion engulfed the fighter and blowing the fighter to pieces.

"Splash one bandit!" Elric called out.

"Bandit closing, five miles!" Saber Five shouted frantically. "Lock! Fox Two!" he shouted. Eric looked left and watched as Sabre Five's Sidewinder streaked towards the target. The Vulture quickly dropped multiple EMPs, confusing and distracting the Sidewinder, causing it to miss.

"Damn! Get ready to break!" Elric called out as he switched to the gun. He eased the Lightning towards the Vulture, spinning up the 20mm Vulcan cannon in the process. "Guns!" he called out, as he fired the 20mm cannon at the Vulture, clipping the wing and damaging the Vulture enough for it to start smoking. "Oh shit!" Elric shouted as the Vulture returned fire, before rolling to the left ninety degrees and soaring right between Elric and Saber Five.

"Breaking left!" Saber Five shouted, as Elric banked to the right. "Stay on him, stay on him!" Sabre Five yelled.

The Vulture began to drop more EMPs "Bandit is dumping flares, we'll get our window soon!" Elric said, as he armed another Sidewinder. The Vulture stopped dropping countermeasures. Once Elric's Lightning was clear of the EMP field, he fired off the Sidewinder. The missile sped towards the Vulture, striking it in the underbelly. The explosion completely destroyed the Vulture, pieces of the wings and fuselage falling out of the sky.

"Damn it, Saber Three! When can I get one?"

"Saber Five, I've got two Sidewinders left, about 450 rounds left on my gun. I think you'll get your chance soon enough"

"Roger that"

"Saber Five, resume heading 0-2-3"

"Affirmative. Resume heading 0-2-3"

Elric turned his plane around until he was back on course, Saber Five right behind him.

They flew interrupted for half an hour.

"Shit!" Saber Five said.

"What is it?" Elric asked.

"I got a radar lock! Dropping Chaff!" Saber replied as he dispensed a thick cloud of chaff.

Eric quickly checked his radar. There it was- four blips in the bottom-right corner of the radar screen.

"Confirmed! Four Vulture fighters, five o'clock, seventeen miles out and closing!"

"Quickly, swing around and face them!"

Elric quickly swung his Lightning to face the incoming enemy fighters. Suddenly, the Lock Warning began beeping. "Damn it, they've locked on to me!" The missile siren sounded, indicating that a missile had locked on to him and had been fired. "Dumping flares!" Elric called out, as he activated the first set of flares.

Eric returned fire with his own Sidewinder. "Lock!" he shouted. He fired the missile, calling out "Fox Two!" as he did so. He watched as the missile streaked towards the leftmost MiG. _Come on, come on,_ Elric thought as he waited for the missile to impact. The missile suddenly diverted to the left. "Damn! He popped flares!" Elric spun up his 20mm and began to take potshots at the oncoming Vulture.

"Bandits are five miles out and closing! Get ready to break!" Saber Five called out.

Elric now lined up his jet with the lead Vulture, and prepared to take aim. He spun up the 20mm cannon, before yelling "Guns!" and firing at the Vulture. The cannon rounds tore the right wing off, sending the droid out of control. "Break now!" Elric shouted, before breaking hard to the right. Saber Five broke left.

Now on the Vulture's tails, Saber Five called out through the radio, "Lock! Fox Two!" as he fired a missile. Elric watched as the missile soared towards the right Vulture, only to be distracted by EMPs that the centre droid dumped. "Damn! Going to go for another missile lock" Elric waited for another second. "Lock! Fox Two!" he heard again. Another missile fell froom under the wings of Saber Five's jet before soaring forward into the engine of the Droid, blowing it to smithereens. "Splash one bandit!"

Eric then lined himself up with the rear droid, before firing a burst of cannon fire into the engines and setting them ablaze. The Vulture struggled to maintain stable flight, before the engine finally exploded, sending the wingtips and nose falling to the earth. "Splash another bandit!" Elric watched as Saber Three began to line himself up with the last droid, locked and fired, a missile soared above him and destroyed the Vulture. "Splash another bandit, Saber Three heading now 0,3,3"

"Heading 0,3,3"

 _2622 Earth Standard Calendar, Lieutenant Chisomo Adele, Concordia_

In mere moments, operation Iron Dragon would commence, hundreds of lives would be lost on both sides, and God willing, the Marines would have a secure foothold in the forest moon. The 31st MEU of the 5th Marines, under the command of the General Smith, had deployed several hundred Ground Combat Element Marines, along with multiple Warbirds and Zero's for support, the OAGA provided some T-600 Titan Tanks, a Paladin Gunship and they had the frigate _Grafton_ on standby. The mission of the aerial vehicles was to provide transportation, Close Air Support, and reconnaissance. The Ground Combat Element was not without toys of their own, mechanized with multiple MRAPs, T-600 Titan tanks, and several M4-Trojan Infantry Fighting Vehicles. Surprisingly enough, the Reconnaissance Assault Platoon had deployed several Designated Marksmen and Scout Snipers to provide long-range fire support, target identification, and security for high-priority units, i.e. squad leaders and Marines designated as High-Value Targets by the Death Watch. Additionally, the Navy had deployed a newly acquired ATCS, or All Terrain Command Speeder, nicknamed the, "Death Speeder," by the Marines as it was equipped with a TOW missile, 25mm auto-cannon, two side-mounted M134 Miniguns, and an Active Protection Module, designed to emit a high-intensity radio signal at the last minute to confuse incoming missiles and detonate them. However, rumours were that the Death Watch were deploying tanks. But for the time being, the Marines were more concerned about getting control of the main control tower and the airfield inside an old mine. It was used as a star port and had a metro system and a mall, and the job of capturing it was left to Fire Team Bravo. They were comprised of a Combat Engineer, a Marine armed with an LMG, a man from the Reconnaissance Assault Platoon, a Corpsman, and a Grenadier, each of them veterans. They were the best shot of taking the Death Watch controlled control tower, and if they failed, the Naval Commander warned, drastic action would have to be taken to take control of the centre of the Battlefield, involving much collateral damage. Failure was not an option.

The squad leader, also member of Fire Team Bravo and team Grenadier by the name of Adele, heard the whining sound of the MK7 Drop Pod powering up. The Drop Pod's boosters begin to hum and soon they were off, the roaring sound of the reentry through the Atmosphere, the man from Recon, Kovatch, had his eyes closed, his hands loosely but securely holding his sniper rifle. The man was awfully quiet, often only speaking when it was absolutely necessary, and was absolutely lethal in CQB, as evident by the small bloodstains on his trench knife that he'd been unable to fully clean off. He then looked to LMG Marine, Pac. The trigger-heavy younger man had acute ADHD, twiddling his thumbs, rapidly tapping his foot for no real reason other than his mental disposition. He was slightly more muscular than the others, mostly due to humping his LMG around all day, the heavy weapon inevitably bulking him up. He then looked to the Corpsman, Milton. Like the rest of the Marines, he was outfitted with woodland MARPAT and had nearly identical gear to Adele, but where Adele had 40mm shells and frag pouches, he had IFAKs and medical bags, fabric scissors replacing Adele's Bowie knife, and an AC-30 carbine replacing Adele's full-length AC-160 assault rifle. He then glanced to the final member, the Combat Engineer, Ackerman. He was of a medium build with pale skin, wielding a UMP-117, a blowtorch on his belt with M7 Slam mines on his pack. He didn't talk a whole lot, but wasn't antisocial like Kovatch.

 _"Thirty seconds out, Marines, landing over the Metro, red light, standby"_ The automated voice said over the intercom. Adele lifted his hinged balaclava over his face, concealing every inch of his skin, ready to hit the ground running. He glanced down at the screen showing the area below them, to see two Titan tanks with a squad of 12 Marines following, an MRAP unloading its troops near the entrance to the metro only to be met with a hail of gunfire, halting their entry as a wounded man was dragged back from the entryway.

 _"Hot landing, hitting the dirt in 10, standby"_ The Marines landed, the door opened and their boots hitting the ground just as the Commander came online to direct the battle. They descended the now quiet stairs into the metro as a Warbird rained fiery death from above on what looked like a mall in the distance. Bravo quickly descended a flight of stairs entering the metro.

"Contact!" Pac shouted as he scrambled to a nearby pillar just in time to avoid a burst from the other side of the metro. All Marines immediately began returning fire, the modern art mosaic piece in the centre of the metro crumbling under the hail of lead, a Death Watch grenade exploding near a pillar, the shrapnel slicing open Rodgers's shoulder. Adele emptied his magazine, several of the rounds injuring a Death Watch soldier, causing him to stumble before being finished off with a double-tap to the head from Adele's custom M90, the mounted ghost ring allowing him easy sight alignment with the soldier's head. Seeing no more immediate threats, his heart still pounding from the intense but brief gunfight, he checked on his team. Pac gunned down a Mando with rapid bursts from his LMG while Milton and Kovatch Killed a third.

"Give me a sitrep," he demanded over the comms.

"I'm good boss," Pac stated, his hands shaking from adrenaline.

"I'm up," Kovatch growled throatily.

"I'm up too," Milton replied in between gasps for air, a bolt having hit his vest, knocking the wind out of him.

"I'm fucked up, but I'm up," Rodgers said, binding a mild shrapnel laceration on his left arm with gauze from an IFAK Milton had tossed him.

"Alright, everyone's up, let's move up, metro's secure"  
The Marines and Corpsman reloaded as necessary and moved up the stairs to exit the metro, a strange rumbling sound could be heard, putting Pearson ill at ease.

"TANK!" Kovatch shouted as he sprinted back, tripping down the stairs. Adele wasn't as lucky, the shockwave from the AAT MBT's main cannon threw him down the stairs, breaking a few ribs on impact.

"Where the hell'd that Titan go?" Adele coughed as he got up, limping away from the staircase.

"It got mobility killed," Rodgers said, "AAT's going to finish it off if we don't do something"

"Yeah, unless it finishes us off first!" Pac panicked.

"Shut up, both of you," Kovatch growled, "I've got an idea. It's about to pass over that pillar, problem is it's being repaired, hence the fencing around it. Lieutenant Adele, you'll launch a 40mm HE round at the pillar on my go, I'll plant a charge on the tank and blow it, everyone else get to cover unless you want to get turned into mulch, now" Adele nodded and loaded a round into his under barrel M320 grenade launcher, crouching behind a stack of wooden pallets as Kovatch crouched in a ready-to-sprint position, C17 charge already in hand, the other Marines were prone in a gift shop, using the overturned racks of products for cover.

"Now, Lieutenant!" Adele didn't hesitate to pull the trigger, launching the explosive into the pillar, blowing it up and causing the road above to cave in and sink, bringing the trapped tank to their level, the barrel stuck in the concrete wreckage. Kovatch took off like a shot, slamming a charge down on the front of the tank above the driver's position and another one on the back above the engine. Adele didn't hesitate to run as fast as he could away from the tank, trying to keep up with the lightning fast Kovatch, the resulting explosion as he clacked the detonator sending shrapnel and flames in all directions, miraculously leaving Adele and the Marines unharmed.

"Okay," Adele said, checking his magazine out of habit, "Now we'll go up top" The Marines filed out of the metro, weapons ready. Rodgers glanced over at the damaged Abrams tank, readying his blowtorch.  
"Looks like a simple fix, shouldn't take me more than a couple minutes. I'll need to fix the track though " Adele waved him off, eager to have local armoured support.  
Rodgers began welding closed a hole caused by a cannon shot, the impact having knocked out the driver. The crewmen of the tank helped him out, rolling him on his back on the street, checking for any additional injuries other than the obvious head wound. He waved them off, shakily getting on his feet and climbing back into the now repaired tank.

"Stop that motherfucker!" A bloody Marine pointed at a Death Watch soldier who having run out of ammo, was fly towards them with a satchel of thermal detonators. The marines opened fire on the approaching threat but the Mando weaved out of the way of the shots. A Marine got a lucky shot on the jetpack, sending the Mando out of control in a spin into a wall, exploding. The Marines continued on, but stopped and looked at the make shift airfield, the Death Speeder sitting derelict, its crew having been shot by a Death Watch emplacement on the other side of the mine.

"Anybody here know how to drive a speeder?" Pac asked, scanning the rooftops for enemy marksmen.

"I do," Milton said, hopping onto the deck of the boat, pulling the deceased driver out of the seat and sitting him up against the bulkhead, closing his eyes.

"All aboard, let's go. Pac and me will get on the Miniguns, Kovatch, stay on the shore, take out any high priority threats."  
The Marines nodded and jumped aboard, Kovatch sprinting across the bridge and up the stairs of a hastily constructed wooden guard tower, throwing the body of its Death Watch occupant over the side, took a knee and set his rifle over the railing, steadying his breathing into a familiar pattern and began scanning for threats. His eyes narrowed, a low growl escaping his throat. Several Marines were pinned down behind a burning Trojan, one man performing CPR on one of the drivers while the others either returned fire or ducked behind the wreckage, praying they wouldn't be shot.

"Not today," he muttered in his gravelly voice, disengaging the safety and sighting in on the head of a Death Watch machine gunner.

"Nothing personal," he said as he squeezed the trigger, the bullet sailing through the air and splattering the man's brains on the concrete barrier behind him. "It's just business."

Thanks to Kovatch, the Marines on the ground had managed to take the ground floor of the control tower, posting sentries by the control tower's entrance as Fireteam Bravo wreaked havoc in the ATCS, launching rockets at armour, pelting soft targets with the Miniguns, and destroying cover with the 25mm auto-cannon.  
"I'm in love with this thing!" Pac shouted, letting lose a barrage with his Minigun. "I'm on a boat!" Another barrage was let lose, the weapon firing so fast individual shots were impossible to distinguish, sawing a man on the shore completely in half. "Take a good hard look at the fuckin' Death Boat!"

"Head in the game, Pac!" Milton shouted over the gunfire. The speeder shuddered aa series of small holes opened up by a machein gun emplacement emplacement that was now a burning pile of scrap metal thanks to a well-placed TOW missile launched remotely by Milton. Suddenly, the boat took a massive hit, nearly overturning it, an alarm blaring as a red _"Warning, engine fire"_ icon came up on the display, causing Milton to jump out of the driving seat just in time to see a Droid Gunship fly overhead, smoke trailing from the rocket tubes. He frantically looked around for an anti-air rocket, but to no avail.

"Everyone Bail!" The three Marines jumped off the burning speeder and immediately took off for the entrance of the control tower. One of the four sentries was already dead at the entrance, the gunships' duel-barrelled cannon having blown stone fragments off of the Mandalorian statues sending the stone shrapnel into the back of the sentry's head, the blunt-force trauma strong enough to kill him instantly. The three marines legged it up the polished marble like stairs, the Marines charging into the control tower for the elevators after the sentries. Unfortunately for one of the sentries, the Gunship hovered at the entrance, firing its auto-cannon directly into the back of one of the three surviving sentries, the large explosive shot punching a massive hole in his back, turning his vital organs into mush. Another sentry jammed his thumb into the call button, but died just before the elevator doors opened due to a missile from a Death Watch soldier exploding about a meter away from him and traumatically amputating his right leg, the concussion throwing him into a pillar, breaking his neck. The surviving sentry and Fireteam Bravo threw themselves into the open elevator, the door closing behind them as the Gunship reloaded its cannon, the Marines breathing a collective sigh of relief as they began their ascent to the top of the skyscraper. Kovatch scowled at the sight of the Gunship beginning to fly around the skyscraper, scanning each floor for the Marines. Unfortunately, he had no way of taking it down. He was accurate, but not THAT accurate. He swung his rifle to the right as Death Watch soldiers began storming the now desolate bottom floor of the skyscraper.

"Sergeant," he harshly whispered on his comms. "Multiple tangoes storming the ground floor, break, about nine of them inside with another dozen moving towards the metro, break, how copy?"  
Static.

"Sergeant Adele, this is Kovatch, how copy?"  
Again, static.

"Shit," he throatily growled. He slung his rifle over his back and jumped out of the guard tower, rolling to disperse the impact. He raised his shemagh over his mouth and lowered his boonie hat over his brow, the shadow concealing his eyes. He unholstered his suppressed M90, slowly advancing towards the entrance. He crouched behind the reception desk, planting a T-UGS motion-detecting device behind it, noting that five of the enemies had already taken an elevator up while the other four had stayed behind, patrolling the ground floor.

"Four on one," he muttered. "Bad odds," he grinned predatorily to himself, "For them" He scurried behind the desk and turned on the ground-floor televisions to a Mandalorian music station to better conceal any sound his pistol produced. The motion detector went off again as they all jumped and began searching, thoroughly startled. One of them happened to walk past the reception desk, the last mistake he would ever make. Kovatch reached over the desk, one hand over the man's mouth under his helmet and the other on the pull tab of the man's vest, yanking him behind the desk and firing twice into the man's neck at point-blank range. One down, three to go. He removed the man's now ventilated helmet and tossed it into the open, startling the other two soldiers nearby.  
"Damn, two of them." He slowly approached, pistol at the ready, but the first soldier turned just in time to see Kovatch crouch-walking towards him. He shouted, but his weapon was kicked out of his hands. Kovatch pistol-whipped his un-helmeted head and spun around him, putting him into a hostage chokehold, the man's neck in the crook of his elbow and his pistol pressed against his temple. The second soldier slowly backed away, his face concealed by a gas mask, but if Kovatch had to guess, he was scared.

"Enough of this," Kovatch snarled, firing four times into the opposing man's torso, then firing once into the hostage's brainstem.

"Three rounds left." He reached for a new magazine on his vest, but the final man rounded the corner at the worst possible moment, weapon already raised in Kovatch's direction. He sprinted to a nearby couch for cover, sliding on his knees at the last second as rounds zipped over his unprotected head. Kovatch leaned up and fired his last three rounds in the soldier's direction, one of the bullets striking his weapon, knocking it out of his hands. The man slowly backed up drawing a combat knife as Kovatch vaulted over the couch, discarding his pistol. The man nd charged Kovatch, attempting an overhead stab, but Kovatch grabbed the man's wrists with one hand and the pommel of the knife with the other and forced the man's knife into his own gut. He staggered backwards to the marble like stairs leading into the plaza, his knife embedded in his own stomach. All traces of humanity gone, Kovatch grabbed the pin of the man's exposed grenade on his vest and Sparta-kicked him onto the ground, landing with a thud next to the grenade the following explosion killing him.  
"Four down."

Adele was in the fight of his life. Just a minute ago, things had been fine, the tower had been taken and as far as they knew the fight was progressing well on the ground. However just a moment ago the hovering Warbird took a hit from an anti-air missile, bringing it to the skyscraper's flat top floor as Death Watch soldiers flooded the roof.

"Milton, go!" The Corpsman was off like a bolt of lightning, yanking the pilot out of his seat as the two soldiers decked out in OCP riding on the sides of the helicopter jumped off and rescued the co-pilot. He yanked the pilot's helmet off and checked for a pulse. Finding one, he then checked for breathing. Shallow, but there, he'd have to act fast. Milton yanked the fabric scissors off of his assault pack and immediately cut away the man's green flight-suit around his leg, shrapnel having entered the femoral artery. Milton unlimbered his Combat Application Tourniquet and immediately applied it above the wound. He'd lose the leg for sure, but if the tourniquet wasn't applied, he'd die in a matter of minutes from blood loss. This is where the Corpsman thrived. At home, he was geeky, awkward, and tended to like to be alone, however under stress with a clear goal, he was the best at his job, no contest, and Pearson knew and respected him for it. One of the soldiers covering Milton took a bullet in the neck, straight through the trachea and into the spine. He was dead, Milton knew it, and forced himself to ignore the gruesome sight. The second soldier, barely 19, a Specialist, shouted in rage and fired his Ac-160 on fully automatic, expending ammo he just didn't have. As soon as he ran out and went for a fresh magazine, a Death Watch marksman leaned up over the bar and triple tapped him in the chest, the blaster bolt rounds piercing his body armor and stopping his heart. Somehow, Milton ignored this as well and ignored the rounds snapping around him as he worked to save the Co-Pilot, the Pilot stabilized. The last surviving sentry from the bottom floor attempted to sprint across the open to Milton's location only to be shot in the knee by the Death Watch marksman, but his momentum was enough that he slid behind a couch, screaming in agony. Milton ignored this as well. Yes, he'd be crippled for life, but he wouldn't die, not like the Co-Pilot he now focused on. This one was in cardiopulmonary arrest, he had only minutes to act. Milton took out his defibrillator, rubbed the paddles together, applied them to his side and chest, and yelled, "CLEAR!" Before delivering the shock. The soldier's body violently jumped and he woke up coughing violently as Milton pulled him into the recovery position and checked the man's vitals. Stable, both soldiers would live. His work done, the slim man unslung his AC-30 and began returning fire to the Death Watch marksman, keeping his head down. Only one way to solve this. He searched the dead kid's IOTV vest and pulled out what would be his saving grace, an M70 Grenade.

"Sorry kid," he said, and he truly meant it. He'd seen the worst of the war. Not the killings, but the crippling and the people the dead left behind, it pained him to see death, but it was his job. He pulled the pin on the grenade, counted to two, yelled, "Frag out!" and threw the grenade at the bar. The man shouted and attempted to run from the explosive, but the cooked grenade went off perfectly for Milton, sending the Death Watch soldier cartwheeling off the side of the skyscraper. Adele was confident they were going to win, there should only be one or two guys left, the first having been gunned down by Pac, the second was sent flying off the side of the skyscraper by Milton's grenade, and the third had been killed by the sentry's looted RPG.

"One left, move up!" The Marines and Sailor cautiously approached, weapons raised. To Adele's surprise, the masked soldier walked out from cover, hands raised. The marines all immediately began shouting and screaming orders at once to confuse and startle him.

"On your fucking knees! NOW!" The man complied. Adele approached, zip cuffs in hand, and rounded the corner of the elevator block to be met by the barrel of a shotgun.

"You die, scum!" The heavily accented soldier yelled, and pulled the trigger, only to be met by a click, but before he could turn off the safety the elevator dinged open, and a familiar set of brass knuckles attached to a bloodstained knife lurched out of the elevator, punching the man in the face. As the soldier staggered backwards, blood gushing from his very broken nose, Kovatch aggressively advanced and stabbed him twice in the throat, ripping the knife out sideways on the second stab as he spun in a bloody pirouette to the ground. Kovatch nodded to his brothers. He approached and shook the Recon Marine's hand, a slight smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

"Glad you could join us Corporal, damn good timing"  
The man nodded silently, sheathing his knife and drawing his pistol, loading a fresh magazine into the strangely empty weapon.

"Bottom floor's clear for now, they're advancing on the Metro, we've got snipers pinning them down from the roofs and the storefronts, but it won't last forever. We need to-" But he was cut off by the tower violently shaking.

"What the hell was that?!" Welsh shouted in panic.  
"Sergeant, you're going to want to see this!" Pac waved them over to the side of the roof. Upon joining them, Adele saw three AAT tanks firing on the base of the building, intending to bring it down.

"This tower isn't going to last for long," Pac analysed. "I'll call for medevac for the pilots Milton saved and the sentry, any ideas how to take care of those tanks, Lieutenant?"

"Yeah, I've got one. Everyone has their parachutes and boosters, right?" The Marines nodded warily as Adele contacted the Commander back on the ship.

"Sir, this is lieutenant Adele, Fireteam Bravo, 2nd squad, Alpha Platoon, Ground Combat Element. We're on the control tower, but we've got three enemy tanks firing on the supports, we believe they're trying to take it down. Requesting fire support, how copy, over?"

"Good copy, Sergeant, laze your target and we'll send an orbital strike your way, out"

"Kovatch, do you have your PLD?"

The quiet man nodded and pulled out his Personal Laser Designator and fired the infrared beam at the centre tank, holding the lock. In the distance, a bright flash could be seen orbit leading out into the atmosphere, a metal slug at high speeds.

"MAC round away, ETA, fifteen seconds."

"Boss!" Pac shouted. "Medevac's here, we're loading the casualties, we need to get out of here!"

Before he could respond, Kovatch replied hoarsely, "Negative, the lock needs to be maintained, the Lieutenant and I will figure it out, you and the others get out, now." Surprised at the man's rare speech, Pac and the others complied, getting onto the Warbird transport just before it took off. adele watched with anticipation as the MAC round reached its apex directly over the target, then went sonic and barreled downwards at a 90-degree angle to the enemy tanks, the resulting fireball disintegrating the infantry and wrecking the tanks, but the damage was done, and the tower wouldn't last.

"Parachutes ready, Kovatch, we're getting out of here." Kovatch grunted in reply and secured the PLD to his pack.  
"Hey!" An accented voice yelled behind them, "What about me?!"

In a display of what some might call cruelty, Kovatch and Adele viewed it as an act of mercy, firing a plasma round from his sniper rifle into his head. While Kovatch couldn't see the man's head behind his helmet, he was positive it wasn't pretty. Slinging the rifle on his back, Kovatch sprinted after Adele to the edge of the tower, jumping off just as it began to crumble. Adele held up three fingers, counting down, and upon hitting zero the Marines pulled the tabs on their parachutes, safely deploying them. Problem was they were heading to the mall, enemy territory.

"Kovatch," Pearson said over his headset, "I'm heading for the mall, you get to the store on the left and set up a hide, watch my ass, how copy?"

"You got it," he throatily growled. Adele glanced town at the fallen tower, and where once stood a monument to the greatness of human engineering now was just a pile of rubble, rebar, concrete, and steel extending about 120 meters into the airstripe

.  
 _"Boss,"_ Rodgers called in over the comms, _"We're back in the metro, but we're getting overrun, I'm not sure we can hold out man!"_ A second voice was heard among the sounds of gunfire and bullets snapping too close for comfort, shouting, _"Head in the game, We-argh!" "Oh shit! Pac just got hit!"  
_

"Rodgers I need you to listen to me," Adele forcefully stated. "Close your eyes, inhale, and count to four. Exhale, count to four, open your eyes." Waiting for the sounds of his shaky breathing, he continued.

"Now get a Corpsman for Pac"

 _"Sure thing, Boss,"_ he shakily replied _. "Yo! Milton! Get your ass over here, Pac's hit!" "Can't move Rodgers, I'm pinned!"  
_

"Okay, Jason listen to me," he said calmly, using Rodgers first name.

"Milton's pinned, do you know from where?"

 _"Uh… oh shit,"_ he faintly breathed, _"I think it's from behind that jeep, or whatever the hell it is."  
_

"Good, do you have any smoke grenades, and how's your ammo count?"

 _"Uh, yeah, two smokes, and I've got about 100 rounds left in the box"_ He was regaining control.

"Good, throw the smokes between you and Milton, wait for the cloud to build up, then suppress that jeep, got it? Tell Milton to run on your mark, and as soon as he runs, engage, got it?"

 _"Yes Sergeant, I got it. Yo, Milton, get your ass over here as soon as I say run!"_ There was a dull metallic popping sound as the two smoke grenades went off, and a hissing following as the smoke was emitted.

"Run man, run!" Immediately after that, the sound of his AC-160 deafened Adele slightly, forcing him to lower the volume on his headset, wincing.

 _"Milton here, I made it, Pac got hit in the ribs, just barely missed his right lung, he needs medevac."  
_

"Copy that Milton, what happened to that Warbird?"

 _"Pilot took a hit, he's stable but unconscious, and nobody else knows how to fly a VTOL. Can you get the Commander involved, maybe direct some support our way to ease up the pressure?"_  
Adele looked up to the sky, an idea forming as he touched down on the roof of the mall.

"I think I've got an idea, standby." He switched channels to the Commander.

"Sir, this is Bravo Lead, my men are pinned down at the metro and are in serious need of assistance, can you redirect that Paladin to their location, over?"

 _"Copy that Squad Lead, Paladin dispatched, will be within firing distance in 20 seconds, out"_ Adele glanced over where Kovatch landed in the shadows, creeping into the designated building, setting up his hide.

 _"Squad Lead, this is Actual, the gunners on the gunship request your men mark their position with IR flares, how copy?"_

"Good copy Actual, standby." He switched channels again, the roar of Welsh's machine gun still ongoing. "Milton, I need you to mark your position with flares for the Paladin, how copy?" _"Solid copy!"_ He paused as the roof elevator dinged open below him, as he had landed on a level slightly above the elevator where the AC units were. Two Death Watch soldiers exited, both armed with blasters. He paused for a second, thinking his plans out, drawing his Bowie knife in preparation.

 _"Hey boss! Great timing on that gunship, blew those fuckers sky high!"_ The two soldiers started at this and whirled in his direction giving him no choice but to jump down and stab the first soldier in the heart between the durasteel plates, the other one fired a burst, the bolts deflecting off of his armour, but the impact bruised a few ribs and winded him, causing him to fall backwards. The soldier approached and raised his weapon in preparation to fire, but didn't get the chance as his head exploded like a watermelon.

 _"That's twice now, sir"_

"Yeah," he said shakily picking himself up, "How many beers does that equate to?"

 _"More than you can afford,"_ Kovatch replied in his dry sense of humor.

Adele swiftly climbed down the service ladder on the side of the mall, not liking being this exposed and in the case of being spotted, he had no way to return fire, he'd have to hope Kovatch could dispatch any threats he came across. Thankfully, no such threats arose as he reached ground level. He looked for a quiet way in, finding one in a window that had been shattered by the earlier Warbird's gun run.

"Kovatch, I'm heading in now, there's something on the bridge between wings, I'm going to check it out" Ascending a stopped escalator on the right wing of the mall to the second floor, he checked around the mall for anything of use or of note. Bloodstains, dead civilians and Death Watch, briefcases with the contents strewn about, scorch and blast marks, craters and scorch marks. Overall, it was a warzone.

 _"See anything?"_ Kovatch whispered.

"I haven't checked the bridge or the left wing, standby" Adele walked to the bridge, weapon up. It shouldn't have been this deserted, it was enemy territory not ten minutes ago. Then, he found something on the bridge, something definitely of note.

"Kovatch, I've got a weapon here, automatic shotgun. Appears to be loaded with…" he ejected the ten round magazine and checked. Green shells? "Kovatch, any idea what green shells are in a combat load?"

 _"Frags, Sergeant you just stumbled upon an automatic shotgun with explosive shells. You might want to hang onto that"_ Adele nervously reinserted the magazine, wary of setting off the explosive 12 gauge shells.  
 _"Sir be advised you've got a contingent of Death Watch heading your way from the Tower, they're in a armoured trucks. I'll see what I can do about the IFV, but I've only got one charge left, not enough to do more than disable it"_ Pearson scrambled to a wall, using it for cover. Adele tensed at the thought of surviving a major assault. This was not going to be easy, and most likely he'd be dead in a minute. He glanced around the corner and spotted Kovatch throwing his last C4 charge into the middle of the street. He trusted Milton enough to know when to detonate it as he activated the green laser sight on his weapon and steadied his breathing.  
KABOOM.  
The charge detonated right under the IFV, sending it spinning onto its side, the gun trucks pulling over in a circle around it. The infantry dismounted and a squad leader bravely jumped onto the IFV and pulled out its occupants. Kovatch hid in the shadows behind the checkout desk in the liquor store, racking the slide on his pistol in preparation for what he knew would be his last fight. Before he could engage, he heard a rapid series of explosions as Adele fired his automatic explosive shotgun, sending body parts flying and survivors scrambling for cover. Adele dropped the magazine and slung the weapon over his shoulder, picking up a thermal detonator off of a dead soldier and throwing it. The grenade exploded on impact, giving the two soldiers it killed no time to react before they were torn limb from limb. The three machine guns on the gun trucks opened up, suppressing the hell out of Adele. He shakily shoved the remaining magazine in the shotgun and racked the bolt, his vision blurring from the incoming ammunition. He slumped against the wall and slid down to a sitting position, breathing erratically.

"Kovatch, I think it ends here"

"It's been an honor, Sergeant," the quiet sniper replied. The two Marines sprinted out from cover, weapons raised, determined to go out fighting. Suddenly the attack forces were torn apart by laser fire from positions above them. Mandalorians with varying armour clolors began to descend upon the Death Watch. In a matter of moments, the Death Watch was completely slaughtered. The one who appeared to be in command in grey and red trimmed armour walked up to them.

"I am Mando Tar Mav, leader of the Mandalor Militia"

"Lieutenant Adele OAG Marines, I didn't know Mandalor had a Militia?"

"It doesn't but Pre Vizlsa is an idiot who will end up destroying Mandalorians if he becomes Mand'alor. We will not let this happen"

"You have my thanks; I'll notify command so you don't get hit by our forces"

"Thank you, come brothers, we have yet to finish the Death Watch"

"Command," he said wearily over the radio. "This is Adele, the mall is secure, also be advised that there are a group of Mandalorians going round who aren't Death Watch, they are wearing non blue-grey armour. Awaiting orders, over."

 _"Good copy, Sergeant, proceed to the following coordinates on your map, over"_ A set of coordinates pointed Pearson and his team to the rubble island that was once the tower in the middle of the mine.

 _"Sergeant, be advised, a hostile AAT has been spotted in the bay circling the rubble, over"_ Adele approached the supply crate, ignoring the blood that splattered upwards on the sides from the crushed soldier below. Inside, he found just what he needed. A Longbow Rocket Launcher.

"Solid copy, command. We're equipped to engage, out." He turned to his men, hefting the large rocket.

"Okay, we're going to that rubble island and we're securing it. There's an enemy tank in the plaza, we're taking it out. Resupply and grab whatever explosives you need. Milton and Rodgers, you're on point. Kovatch, you're on rear security. If you see that boat, lase it so I can engage without line of sight. Everyone good?" The men nodded as one and moved to the supply crate, grabbing fresh magazines and grenades. Milton grabbed a standalone M320 grenade launcher, loading it with an HE shell. Welsh tossed his C4 detonator over his shoulder and pulled out an XM-32 Airburst, useful for taking out entrenched enemies behind cover. Kovatch stuck to his C4 and PLD, but due to the tightness of the rubble, he switched to a semi-automatic Designated Marksman Rifle, Due to the substantial weight of the launcher,

"Okay, let's move"After a good bit of jogging, the Marines arrived at the base of the rubble island, giant shattered walls of concrete obscured line of sight, steel stuck out at random intervals, rebar was scattered here and there.

"Kovatch, fall back, keep an eye out for that boat, I don't want any surprises"

"Aye Sergeant" Kovatch jogged back to the start of the bridge, dropping down and crouching in the shadows.

"Milton, Rodgers, move up, heads on a swivel. I'm on your six"  
The Marines silently complied, weapons raised.

 _"Sir, be advised, I've got eyes on the boat, lasing it now"  
_ Adele held up a fist, "Halt!" The Marines stopped and knelt while Adele armed his Longbow and set it to top attack.  
"He's popping EMP, wait one."  
"Contact!" Milton stood and fired his AC-30, the burst ripping into one soldier. Rodgers sheer volume of fire tore the other soldier's legs to ribbons before he was finished with a burst from Milton.

 _"Sir, EMP's dissipated, I'm reacquiring the lock, standb."_ Three Death Watch advanced aggressively, armed with blaster rifles. Low rate of fire, but extremely accurate. Adele fired a suppressing burst from his AC-30, forcing them to duck behind a wall of rubble. A grenade was impossible as there was a low roof of concrete over them. Fortunately for Rodgers, his XM-32 was built exactly for this situation. He aimed it at the wall the hostile men hid behind, locked it, and fired his weapon. The projectiles sailed over the cover, but then exploded once they had passed it, staining the grey concrete roof bright red.

"Moving up!" Milton called after performing a tactical reload.

"Covering!" Rodgers replied, setting up his bipod.

"Kovatch," Pearson activated his comms, "What's the ETA on that target designation?"

 _"Almost…got it, target lased, fire at will"_ Adele raised the launcher to his shoulder and aimed down the optic, locking onto the laser designation. "Clear backblast!" He shouted, wary of the lethal concussion that would emit upon firing.  
"Backblast clear, boss!" Rodgers shouted in response.  
"Rocket, rocket, rocket!" With that, he launched the Javelin. It went about three meters before arcing upwards, launching a bit forward, then hurtling down to its target.  
BOOM.  
A massive explosion could be heard, smoke from the blast billowed into Pearson's line of sight.  
"Kovatch, requesting BDA."  
 _"Target destroyed, no survivors. Moving to provide long-range cover, how copy?"_  
"Solid copy, Kovatch. Proceed when ready, out"

Kovatch ran further into enemy territory, back through the mall and to a tower to the left of the rubble island on the other side of the plaza, a small lake had formed near the base of the structer. He switched to his pistol and used the brass knuckles on his knife to punch through the glass of a storefront leading to an elevator. He checked his back one last time before entering the elevator and ascending.  
 _This vantage point,_ he mused, _should give me plenty of elevation to cover the team._  
A though crossed his mind. What if someone was waiting at the top?  
 _Better give myself the best chance possible._ He knelt at the side of the elevator to reduce his profile. Only a few more floors to go. He exhaled and closed his eyes.  
Ding!  
He snapped open his eyes just to see a man charge him with a knife. Kovatch grabbed his wrist, but the Mando soldier kept forcing the blade closer and closer to Kovatch's neck. Unfortunately for the Mando warrior, Kovatch didn't play nice. He raised his pistol in his left hand and fired into the attacker's forearm, splintering the bone. The man screamed in pain and dropped the knife. Kovatch snatched it out of the air, stood and flipped it with his fingers on the tip, reared back and threw it through the viser of the soldier, snapping his head back and killing him instantly. Kovatch holstered his pistol and walked up to the fallen man, yanking the deeply embedded knife out of his eye socket and snatching his dog tags. He checked around the roof to make sure he was safe, and upon confirming that he was the only one on the roof, he went prone and set up his bipod, zeroing his optic in to the correct distance. So far he could see that Pearson and his men appeared to be alone, but that was bound to change. Surely enough, a soldier arose from his cover and began engaging with his stolen M240B, the machine gun pinning Adele's team.

 _"Kovatch,"_ he heard the distorted voice begin over the radio, _"We're pinned, need assistance!"_ "On it," he stated, prizing his brevity as always. He inhaled, waited for his heart to slow down, and as soon as he felt it slow to about 60 beats per minute, he fired in between beats, exhaling. The shot flew true, but hit the soldier in his defensive body armour, knocking him down but not killing him. Fortunately for Kovatch, his weapon was semi-automatic. A quick adjustment of his scope to compensate for the distance and he fired another shot right into the side of the shooter's head.

"Shooter down, you're clear to move up"

 _"Copy that, we're moving"_ Seeing nobody else as they reached the end of the rubble island, he stood and folded his bipod, slinging his weapon across his back. Strangely enough, he heard an unnatural buzzing that grew louder and louder, building to a whirring noise.  
"Son of a bitch." The gunship rose to the top of the building, missiles armed. He drew and fired his sidearm as fast as he could, sprinting for the elevator. However, he just wasn't fast enough. _Woosh_. A missile flew past him, the shockwave sending him flying to the edge of the tower. Just as he fell over the edge, he jammed his knife into the side of the building, dangling and holding on for dear life. The gunship flew over and hovered in front of him. Kovatch stared into his own doom, knuckles white, awaiting the rotating cannon to fire. Then, and idea struck him. It was suicide, insanity, but then again, sitting here waiting to die wasn't so much better. His life flashed before his eyes as he launched himself from the building and onto the helicopter. The wind gusted strongly in his face, knocking his boonie hat off of his brown haired head. An expression of steely determination overcame his face as he gave his battle cry, stabbing his blade into the hull of the droid, glaring the pilot in the eye.

"Do pobachenya, kurva" With that, Kovatch slapped a satchel of C4 onto the hull and jumped, aiming for the water of the lake. Right before he impacted, he hit the detonator, and the gunship, once master of the sky, erupted into a flaming explosion. The impact broke his legs and drove the breath from his lungs. His consciousness was fading. As he sank into the water, an otherworldly sense of calm flooded his mind. He had served his nation well; he had made a difference. His vision was darkening, and everything became dull except for the gleaming metal of his blade, still firmly clutched in his hand. _Burial at sea…_ he pondered sleepily. And his world became black.

"Kovatch!"  
Adele tore his helmet off and pulled the release tab on his vest, shedding all weight before diving into the bay. It was so dark, clouded with blood and rubble. Wait, there! A shining metal blade in a dark form's grasp was floating downwards.  
 _Not today you sonuvabitch._  
He dove and swam as fast as he could, grabbing the pull tab on the back of his vest and swimming madly to the surface. As soon as he broke the surface Milton was on top of him, dragging Kovatch to the shore and opening his vest.  
"I need space, stand the hell back!"  
Rodgers and a drenched Adele obliged, exchanging worried glances. Milton placed his hands on his chest and pumped at a quick pace, whispering his count. Water popped from Kovatch's sickly pale mouth like a waterspout, but he was still unresponsive.  
"Come on Kovatch," the ordinarily passive Milton growled as he resumed pumping.  
More water spurted forth from his mouth, and this time he violently coughed. Milton hastily pulled him into the recovery position as Kovatch's bloodshot eyes snapped open, soaked hair plastered to his forehead.  
"Easy Kovatch, easy!" Adele and Rodgers wasted no time rushing to his side.  
"Hey brother," Adele knelt, "We did it."  
As if the commander heard him, confirmation rang over the radio.  
"All units, this is the commander. Death Watch forces in the area have been defeated, we have taken sector 12, remaining forces have fallen back to the forest, Alpha company is to peruse. well done gentlemen. Commander Cole out"

 _2622 Earth Standard Calendar, crew of the T-600 Titan Crab Tank Fury, Concordia._

"Alright, let's get the boys off" Wardaddy spoke. He turned to Sergeant Miles sitting at the back of the tank. "Get them off, give me the last man." Miles nodded and started yelling for the privates to get to the ground.

"Button up." Don told the Fury-crew as they switched places with Grady as Gordo and Norman closed their hatch. Bible and Grady went in as well.

" _All right, all tanks move out, hard right. Hard right"_ Wardaddy spoke over the intercom, as they turned right through the hedgerows and Miles ordered his men to form in on the tracks Fury had left behind.

" _Alright, catch up with the Fury.' 'On my line guys, on my line.' 'We're already drifting"_

"Angel, you keep an eyeball on that high ground. Right" Ryan said. " _Watch that treeline right there, darling."_ Binkowski said over the intercom. 'She copies.' he replied, as Agnes did not carry an intercom herself. They reached the second hedgerow, after that they would be in full sight of the Death Watch. That was where the troops were on the ground.

" _All right, left stick, left stick what the fuck"_ They were through.

" _Eyes on the ground, eyes on the ground. Keep an eye out"_ Wardaddy warned.

"Over here!" One of the privates on the ground yelled and Agnes gestured for him to collide with the troops behind the Fury. The man was shocked to see a woman, but was quickly forced to look at the private running towards him, retrieving him from the field.

" _Gordo, slow, slow, slow.'_ ' _We got bodies.'_ _'Eyes on the ground, guys"_

"Fall in, fall in!" Peterson yelled at the troops on the ground. Most of the troops were now relatively safe behind the tanks.

" _Speed up just a little bit"_ As Agnes looked around at the field to see if every troop was safe now, she noticed another unit, being approached by a tank. She leaned forward and snatched the intercom out of Ryan's hands.

"Love one three, right stick! You got troops on the ground!' _'Fuck! Right stick, god damn it"_ She gave the intercom back to Ryan. "Get your head out of your ass!" Wardaddy yelled at them. "They weren't fucking paying attention…" Agnes muttered as she got back into her place. All of the troops had fallen in with Alpha Company behind the tanks.

"Agnes, you got any vision on the anti-tank yet?" Ryan asked after which Agnes narrowed her eyes and stared into the distance. "Agnes?!" Wardaddy felt that they were about to get fired at.

"Machine-gun, twelve o'clock! On the ground!" There was no need for Ryan to repeat it through the intercom. Everyone had heard. And at that exact moment, the Death Watch started firing.

" _Bible, hit that machine gun. Traverse left, 800"_

"Grady?!" "Clear!" "Fire!" "On the way!" A loud blast from the canon and the ground near the machinegun exploded. Dead bodies were flying through the air.

" _Okay, cease fire. Target destroyed"_ Ryan said as Bible laughed because of his success. But then, another loud bang and a red cannon bolt passed the tanks.

" _Fuck! Anti-tank! Bible traverse left! Traverse left!"_ But while Bible turned the smoothbore gun left, another anti-tank-shot was fired.

' _Just a ricochet. We're okay.'_ Peterson said after everyone heard the loud bang the shot had caused by only scraping over Murder Inc's shield.

" _Bullshit. That's a high-velocity gun. I can hear it whistling"_ _"_ _Anti-tank. Left front!" "Got it!"_ Ryan yelled. "Bible, down fifteen!" "Clear!" Grady shouted. "Fire!" "On the way!" After Bible had fired the shot, Agnes started squirting the tree line with the machine-gun, just like the others.

"Clear!" Grady shouted again. "On the way!" A massive explosion among the trees.

" _Okay, cease fire. Target destroyed"_ But that didn't seem true once again. Another anti-tank shot only nearly missed Fury.

" _There's another gun! Who's got eyes on it?!"_ Wardaddy spoke. "Angel?!" She stopped shooting the treeline and narrowed her eyes again.

 _'What?'_ She seemed confused. As if her eyes failed her, because she didn't find it at first. But then another anti-tank shot was released and she immediately pointed out directions. "Antitank, H.E.! Traverse right!" "Got it!" Wardaddy shouted after which he started repeating Agnes' words over the intercom.

"On! Fire!" "On the way!" Both Fury and Old Phyllis fired shots. It took them a few rounds to take them out though.

" _All tanks, start squirting that treeline, let's go; light them up"_ Wardaddy commanded and a chaos of tank-fire started shooting the Death Watch that were still left at that treeline, and in the trenches in front of it. Norman did nothing.

"Hey! Start shooting!" Gordo told him. "But what do I shoot at?" Norman asked in panic.

"The Death Watch dumb fuck!" He looked through his periscope again and started firing random rounds, until he went out of bullets. Only through his periscope, he noticed how one mandalorian inside a trench got out a goddamn luancher.

"Rocket!" He heard Agnes yelling, but he was too busy taking out a new magazine.

"Hey! Get him!" Gordo shouted. "I'm loading the gun." "Hit him!"

"Got him" Bible's voice was calm as fuck, and Norman did not comprehend why, but luckily, Boyd took the Mando out within seconds.

"Do your job! Do what you're here for!" Gordo said. "I was loading the gun!"

" _Machine gun, twelve o'clock. Gordo, run those bastards over"_ Gordo did not have the time say something back to Norman, but pressed the gas-pedal some more, which caused some Mandos to be run over.

" _All tanks, hold here!"_ Wardaddy put down the intercom now and starting firing the 50 as well. This was the final push. Agnes turned back to Sergeant Miles.

"Get your boys in the fight!" "Fall out! Marching fire!" The marine ground-soldiers immediately shot down the retreating Mando's. Some of them fought back and shot some Alphs Company-people down, but it was very clear to see that the Mandos had already lost the fight.

"Hey, squirt those Mandos on the left" Gordo suddenly told Norman. He looked left.

"All I see are dead bodies" "How do you know they're dead? Are you a doctor? Hit them!"

"But they're dead. Why would I shoot them if they're already dead?"

"So they don't stand up and shoot us in the ass!" At this point, Gordo started to shake him up a bit.

"Damn it! Fuck!" He did not fucking sign up for this. "Get them!" "Fuck! I can't fucking be here any-fucking-more!" He started thrusting his fist against the tank-wall.

"Turn your goddamn intercom off if you're gonna bawl like that!" Williams said as he peeked inside for a short moment. "I got it, Top!" It was Agnes' voice, and Norman heard her crawling through the tank behind him as he almost started crying. He couldn't fucking be here. He wasn't supposed to fucking be here. He suddenly felt her hands on his shoulders.

"I fucking give up. I can't be here anymore"

"Ssh, you're okay. Relax" Her voice was actually very relaxing, but he did notice how she had to do her utmost best to achieve that effect, because adrenaline was rushing through her body like crazy.

"This ain't pretty, you know. This is what we do" Gordo said. After Norman calmed down a bit more, Agnes gave him a pat on the shoulders and went up again without saying a word.

 _March 29_ _th_ _Earth Standard Calendar, General Craig on board the Righteous Fury above Concordia_

"Sir Duchess Kryze is calling you"

"I'll take it in the briefing room" Craig said as he walked through a side door into a small room with a Holo-projecter. Pressing a button, the Duchess appeared.

"Duchess I am pleased to report that phase one of operation Iron Dragon is a success and almost complete"

" _That is good to hear. You said phase one. Are there more?"_

"Yes, phase two is the policing of Concordia and training a militia to deal with the Death Watch. Phase three is us pulling out and the militia taking over"

" _I did not agree to having a militia"_

"Duchess your ambition to be pacifist is noble and perfectly fine, however, you cannot leave yourself unprotected. Also by having a militia the Death Watch won't be able to portray us as foreign occupiers"

" _And where would we find the volunteers?"_

"During the battle a Marine unit ran into a group of militia called the Mandalor Militia led by Tar Mav with many members from Clan Bralor and Clan Shysa. I spoke with Tar Mar and he agreed to make the Militia official as we would train them to fight as a group rather than individuals. The jungles of Mandalore, very close to the Werda Kurs(Dark Forest) would make an ideal ocation for a training facility" Craig said keeping the man's title of Mando to himself, the Duchess probably wouldn't take kindly to a Mando or leader as it meant in English.

" _And who is this Tar Mav?"_

"We don't know much about him, only that he follows the actual MAndalorian way and dislikes Pre Vizsla a lot, even said 'Pre Vizlsa is an idiot who'd end up destroying Mandalorians if he becomes Mand'alor'"

" _I may not like it, nor agree with it. But you have a point, I will make arrangements"_

"Thank you Duchess, General Craig out"

 _Codex Update_

 _Mando tar Mav bio_

 _"For longest I live, I will not rest until the Mandalorians are strong again! No longer shall we blow to another nation! No longer shall we be used as pawns by the Sith! Jedi! Or anyone!" Mand'alor the Freedom giving a speech to Mandalorian people after his status as Mandalore was made public._

There was hardly anything known about Mandalore the Freedom, he was one of the Cuy'val Dar trainers asked by Jango Fett to help train the Clone army. However, at some point at time, there were rumors began spread that the Mandalorian had challenged Jango Fett to a duel for title of Mand'alor and Jango accepted. It was unknown who won but many believe to be true as Clone troopers and Cuy'val Dar trainers saw both Mandalorians appeared to be injured from a serious fight.

After OAG made its appearance in galaxy, Mand'alor the Freedom made his title known to the galaxy as he began helping OAG soldiers in training and took part in fighting the Death Watch during Clone Wars. When asked why he chose title 'Freedom', he said it was that he wanted Clones and other slaves to have freedom, to live as free as wind. This suggested Mand'alor the Freedom may had been a slave at some point of his life.

Personality and Traits  
Mandalore the Freedom stands at 6.7-foot-tall, he was lean but very build body structure. His hardly ever seen out of his armor, always seen in his grey and red trim Mandalorian armor made from beskar iron and duraplast covering under beskar plates, making it lighter than other suits of Mandalorian armor. Mandalore is quiet person, doesn't always talk but when he does, it's usually something important. His been shown a hatred towards Slavers and the Death Watch, both he considers trash, once even calling Pre Vizlsa "an idiot who end up destroying Mandalorians if he becomes Mand'alor.". He was honorable and always kept his word, he treated Clone Troopers like his sons, believing they deserve freedom just like any other being, passing on Mandalorian traditions to them, giving them a sense of purpose. A firm believer of Supercommando Codex, he'll kick anyone's ass if someone would to insult it and Jaster Mereel. Mandalore admired Mandalores of past such as Jango Fett, Mandalore the Uniter, Mandalore the Destroyer, Jaster Mereel, Mandalore the Preserver, and Mandalore the Dominant.


	10. The Mandalorian Militiamen part 1

**The First Contact War**

Chapter 10 The Mandalorian Militiamen Part 1

 _22BBY, Ijaat Ordo, Mandalor, Werda Kurs(Dark Forest) Mandalorian Militia Base._

Ijaat Ordo climbed off the small transport with a grateful sigh. The Flight from the capital hadn't been long, but it had been cramped. He walked down the terminal with his ditty bag casually slung over his shoulder. He turned and saw a holo-projection of the newly appointed Col. Tar Mav "Each of you came here to help protect our home from those who would dare challenge the Mandalorians! Today, we will fight with the OAG to stop the Death Watch! for too long they have caused a great disgrace for all Mandalorians! They dare call themselves Mando'ad! They dare say they want help the Mandalorians! It's all a lie. While they may be some who are Mandalorians, those like Pre Vizsla are just idiots who can't understand how much has changed." He noticed the first sign directing him to the Mandalor Militiamen Receiving Station at the end of the terminal and grinned.

Jon took note of the bored OAG Ranger behind the desk. She was watching him as he approached and was trying to mentally will him away. He almost laughed when he saw her mental 'damn'. Frowning at his grin, she snapped, "Last Name?"

"Ordo"

"Orders," she stated as she held out her hand. He deftly placed his copy in her hand and waited for her to read. She typed away at the computer terminal and with a resigned sigh, began her well-rehearsed speech. "As of now you are under the control of the 5th Training Group at Werda Kurs Mandalorian Militia Base. You are not to go anywhere without the express permission from one of the Training Instructors. This reception area is your last chance to get rid of any contraband. Tobacco products, alcohol, and any drugs without a prescription are strictly prohibited, including over the counter drugs, like Nyquil. The pay phones at the back are your last chance to contact home before Sunday. Any questions?"

"No, ma'am," came Ijaat smart reply.

He continued to grin at her as she frowned, "Take a seat. Your name will be called when the bus arrives"

"Excellent, thanks" Ijaat moved into the reception area just as another group approached her desk.

Scanning the benches in front of him he decided to try the quiet corner away from the TV. Apparently, Galactic News and Orion Broadcasting Galactic (OBCG) were the only authorized channels, because one guy was busy switching between the two and failing to discover a third option. Jon settled down to read and to tune out the general air of nervous tension coming off of the other recruits. He looked out the window at the jungle, it's lush vegetation hiding all the dangers that lerked in it, from Reaper Raiders to Blackstalkers, Jai'galaare or Shriek-Hawks, Mover Roots, Cackle Birds, Kalo Wolves Razorback Sharks, Echo Snakes.

An hour and one Air & Space Magazine later, Ijaat heard his name called. He left his magazine on the table, grabbed his bag and lined up where directed. The Training Instructor, or TI, was busy assessing the recruits with a practiced eye.

Using sheer force of personality, the TI herded the new recruits to the awaiting bus. Some of the recruits began to relax, thinking that the BMT horror stories were just stories. This TI was nice and asked them to do everything nicely. Reprimands were few and softly given. Ijaat just smirked and waited for the TI to move the bus out of sight from the 'poor civilians.'

A short time later the bus pulled to a stop outside one of the training dormitories. A new TI climbed on board and called a few names out. Those recruits left and the bus moved to the next set of dormitories. This time Ijaat's name was called. He lined up exactly where directed in line with the other recruits. The bus pulled away.

This TI was short and stocky. The kind of man that screamed boxer. He eyed the recruits several times before finally coming to the front and center. "Welcome to the 5th Training Squadron. I am your primary Training Instructor, Technical Sergeant Vega of clan Shysas. Over there is my Assistant Training Instructor O'Neill, He's from 775th Rangers. This squadron holds one of the highest standards for training in the 5th Training Group. Our motto is 'Second to None.' I will accept nothing less than perfection from you. From here on out you will not speak unless spoken to. Understood?"

A pathetic chorus of 'Yes' and 'Yes, Sir' echoed from the group. Jon winced inside as the TI reacted to the sad display by shouting, "WHAT WAS THAT? You will respond with your answer, followed by 'Sir' or 'Ma'am.' You will address everyone who is not a trainee this way. Now, is that understood?"

"Yes, Sir," the trainees began in unison.

"WHAT?" TSgt Vega asked again.

"YES, SIR," the trainees shouted louder.

"WHAT?"

"YES, SIR," the trainees shouted even louder.

"Better. I can't believe that this is the quality of recruits coming into my Air Force today." TSgt Vega backed up a few paces. "Now, on my command, you will form 2 lines in front of me. Luggage to your left side. Ready! FALL IN!"

The recruits grabbed their gear and shuffled forward to create the two lines. Ijaat made sure he was in the left line and once in place dropped his gear on the left side. The recruit to his right snapped into place quickly, but dropped his gear on his right.

"Good grief? Are you recruits deaf? You, you, you, and you. Out of formation and drop! I want 15 push-ups now! Come on! I didn't say you could get up!" he yelled at the one recruit who had cranked out 15 push-ups and had started to stand up. "15 more now! The rest of you, back in formation! Hurry up, recruit! The rest of the class is waiting for you! Now, back in place. Didn't your mama teach you to listen. Now, I don't like to repeat myself. It makes my normally bubbly personality fade away. I get a bit testy. SO DO NOT MAKE ME REPEAT MYSELF AGAIN! BAGS ON YOUR LEFT!" The four recruits quickly shifted their bags to their left side.

TSgt Vega stalked around the group inspecting their work. "Pathetic! I know that MY Militia requires a high school education. What I don't know is how your pathetic excuses for trainees can think that THIS is a LINE. THIS is not straight. THIS is bowed and curved in all the wrong places. STRAIGHTEN IT OUT NOW!" The trainees jumped to straighten out the line.

"Better. But far from perfect. Now, I am a simple man who likes everything in order. Order is good. Chaos is bad. On my mark, I want everyone to pick up their bags and turn to their right. NOT YET! You will determine if you are taller than the recruit in front of you. Understood?"

"YES, SIR."

"Ready. Pick 'em up!" the recruits grabbed their bags and stood. "That was too slow. Put 'em down! Pick 'em up! All together now, put 'em down! Pick 'em up! This is just sad! I can't believe that I am wasting my time on you! RIGHT – HACE!" Half a dozen of the recruits were caught by surprise and failed to turn with the group.

"WHAT? ARE YOU NANCY'S PAYING ATTENTION? OR ARE WE MOVING TOO FAST FOR YOU? LEFT-HACE! RIGHT-HACE! LEFT-HACE! RIGHT-HACE! YOU ARE MAKING ME REPEAT MYSELF! COVER!" Recruits shuffled the tallest to the front. Jon was glad that he matched the other trainee in height. He would at least stay in the second row.

"LEFT-HACE! COVER! Tallest to the front!" Ijaat shuffled forward. Unfortunately, he was now taller than everyone else in his row. When the last of the recruits had shuffled back into line, TSgt Vega began to address them again as he continued to circle the group like a shark with the scent of blood. "Now that we have a bit of order, I will instruct you on reporting. When addressed individually by any Training Instructor, you will give a reporting statement. The reporting statement is as follows, 'Sir, Trainee – state your name – reports as ordered.'" TSgt Vega came to a stop in front of Jon. "Trainee, REPORT!"

"SIR, TRAINEE ORDO REPORTS AS ORDERED!" Jon shouted and waited for criticism. He braced himself for the shout and was surprised when nothing came forth.

Nodding, TSgt Vega continued around the Flight. "Trainee, REPORT!"

"SIR, TRAINEE CADERA REPORTING AS ORDERED!" came a confident reply.

"And just what are you reporting, Trainee cadera?"

"Uh, Sir?" came the confused response.

"Trainee Cadera, are you too stupid to follow the simplest directions. I asked you for a simple reporting statement. I don't want the weather and traffic of whatever podunk town you come from. I could care less about the prices of oil in the Middle East, except that it takes more of my money to fill my tank. I have no idea why you would want to be reporting any of this to me. I don't care. Your fellow trainees don't care. The word that is so casually eluding your thick monkey-like skull is 'reports.' A trainee 'reports' as ordered. They are not reporting anything. Do I make myself clear?"

"YES, SIR."

"Trainee, REPORT!"

"SIR, TRAINEE CADERA REPORTS AS ORDERED!"

"Trainee, REPORT!"

"SIR, TRAINEE CADERA REPORTS AS ORDERED!"

"Trainee, REPORT!"

"SIR, TRAINEE CADERA REPORTS AS ORDERED!"

Circling back around to the front, "Trainees, REPORT!"

"SIR, TRAINEE A'DEN REPORTS AS ORDERED!" the group chorused.

"Trainees, REPORT!"

"SIR, TRAINEE AWUAD REPORTS AS ORDERED!" the group chorused.

"It'll do for now. SrA O'Neill, if you will be so kind as to escort these unworthy souls to their new home," TSgt Vega address the other TI, for the first time, in a normal tone of voice.

"Yes, Sir" The young man approached the front of the group. "You will enter all facilities by column formation. YOU," he pointed at the first column on the right, "are Element One. YOU are Element Two. And so forth. When given the command to enter a facility by columns, on the 'harch' command, Element One will begin to enter the facility. After the last person in Element One passes, the Element Two Leader will lead Element Two to follow Element One. Understood?"

"YES, SIR"

"Good! BY COLUMNS, FOLLOW ME, HARCH," and the SrA sprinted off towards the door.

Confused the first trainee in Element One started running after him, followed by the rest of his column. As the last one passed him, Ijaat started after them at a quick walk. He entered the door and started up the stairs easily catching up to the tail of the first element. As he reached the first landing, the hapless leader of Element One was standing there and briefing all the trainees. "Walk. Do not run. Use the Hand Rails. Walk. Do not run. Use the Hand Rails. Walk. Do not run. Use the Hand Rails" Ijaat barely suppressed a smirk as he passed the trainee and continued up the last Flight of stairs.

Upon entering the dormitory, he was directed to deposit his bag on a bunk and proceed to the day room. He dropped his gear on the nearest empty bunk and quickly found a spot to sit in the day room on the floor staying carefully away from the tempting walls. No sooner was everyone in the day room than they were directed back to their bunks to collect the black pouches sitting on the chairs by the bunks. This activity, of course, was done too slowly, so they practiced a few times to increase speed.

Apparently satisfied with their progress, the TI's told them to open the pouch. "Inside you will find your Militiamen's Training Order. Memorize it. It has all the information you need inside it. You will be required to pass two written tests based on the information in this ATO. It is your new best friend. DO NOT LOSE IT! In the clear view pouch on the front of your ATO, you will write the first letter of your last name and the last four of your social security number. This is your laundry mark. This is the only way you will be able to distinguish your ATO from your fellow trainee's ATO. Is that understood?"

"YES, SIR."

"Good, start studying," TSgt Vega stated. He turned and whispered something to SrA O'Neill and then left the dorm, nodding to the guard at the dorm door.

Jon began to scan the ATO, but was disappointed that there was nothing new in it. It was a basic primer on the Mandalorian Militia (MM). Rank structure, history, policies, Supercommando doctrine. Things that Ijaat had memorized so many years ago, he had forgotten when, he had always been fascinated with warfare both by Mandalorians in the past and the current ongoing conflict. He tried skimming for any changes to what his memory supplied and found that nothing was different. Well, nothing but the tobacco policy and the lengthy section on nutrition and fitness. He began tapping his foot in frustration.

Ijaat took a deep breath. Settle down, Ijaat. You don't want to call attention to yourself. Breath in, breath out. As he calmed his nervous frustration down, Ijaat began to feel the pull of the others in the room. Curious, he carefully lowered his shields and scanned the room. Most of the trainees were anxious and excited about starting training. The yelling had stressed them, but they had expected it. One or two were panicking, but nothing serious. Just the standard, 'what the hell have I gotten myself into' doubts.

Borrrring!

Ijaat was beside himself trying to keep his fidgety hands and feet under control when the dorm door was opened by the guard and a whole bunch of new trainees marched in looking hot and tired. Before long, they were running through the ATO fetch game again. Finally settled back into the day room again, TSgt Vega introduced SrA O'Neill to the new folks. He repeated his speech about the ATO and glanced at his watch. Frowning, "Alright, it's almost time for dinner. Pack up your ATO's. On my command, you will line up at the dorm door and wait for release to chow. You have five minutes to use the latrine and line up with your ATO's. Go!"

In short order they were once again, lined up in formation on the patio deck next to the dorm. Ijaat was once again stuck as an element leader. TSgt Vega marched the group to the dining facility in the dorm building. Because they were the rainbow squad, all the other BMT training squads were given priority. Finally, they entered the facility hungry, hot, and tired. Once there, SrA O'Neill was poised at the start of the chow line. "You will all take 4 glasses of water. You will drink all the water on your tray before being allowed to get any other beverage. Take as much food as you want, but you will eat all the food on your tray. You will not eat again till breakfast," he instructed the new trainees.

Ijaat ate quickly and cleanly. He took plenty of food the first time to ensure he didn't have to go back for seconds. Already, one trainee was being harassed by the TI's taking their leisure in the Snake Pit.

The Snake Pit was the table where the TI's ate. It was positioned in the dining facility in such a way that a trainee had to pass it to sit down, go to the latrine, pick up additional beverages, drop their dirty dishes off, or exit the dining facility. It was always staffed by at least one supervisor TI, or Blue Rope, for the bright blue rope that circled their TI hat. Their sole purpose in life was to find fault with the trainees and thus with the trainee's TI.

Ijaat downed his water and added a few more glasses of milk. He used his bread to clean up the plates and then made his way past the Snake Pit to deposit his dirty dishes in the cleaning hutch. His first pass was clean, no TI called him out. But he didn't make it past the Snake Pit a second time. "Trainee."

Shit! Ijaat whipped around and locked at attention instinctively, "Sir, Trainee Ordo reports as ordered."

"How old are you, Trainee?" one TI asked. Ijaat could tell that they were bored and just wanted to poke fun at the newest trainees. All he had to do was act as scared as the rest. He didn't want to call attention to himself. Yup, just another green trainee. Nothin' to see here.

"Seventeen, Sir," he lied. Yeah, like they would accept two years old of 50 for that matter.

"Well, good golly gum drops, Sergeant, we's robbing the cradle now. Just goes to show you that there is nothing good left in this generation of recruits. We've had to start on the next."

"Where did you learn to stand properly, trainee?" a second TI asked while inspecting his stance. This caused the others to inspect his stance more closely.

Damn it! I got careless. Ijaat had planned on slacking on his knowledge of military formations and drill until they had taught the rest of the squad. "My uncle, Sir. And my mother"

"Was they soldiers trainee?"

"My Uncle was. My mother is an ex bounty hunter, Sir" Uh oh. I don't like where this is leading.

"What branch of service?" the first TI asked.

Double damn! "Corellian Navy, Sir." Don't ask. Don't ask. Please, don't ask.

"What's his name and why didn't you join the Corellian Navy, Trainee?" the second TI asked.

Ok, let's just try to slide it by them. "Han Ordo, Sir. I joined the Mandalorian Militia as my mother is Mandalorian and I consider myself so, Sir"

"TRAINEE, YOU WILL GIVE PROPER RESPECT TO THOSE PEOPLE SERVING IN THE ARMED FORCES. YOU WILL ALWAYS USE THEIR RANK WITH THEIR NAME EVEN IF THEY HAVE RETIRED FROM THE ARMED FORCES EVEN IF THEY ARE IN A FOREIGN ONE. THEY HAVE EARNED THEIR RANK AND DESERVE THE RESPECT THAT COMES WITH IT. NOW, WHAT IS HIS NAME?"

Ok, you asked for it. Using his slightly rusty command voice, Jon responded, "MAJOR GENERAL HAN ORDO, SIR" Ijaat tried not to smirk. But his ability to hide his smirk behind a blank face was easily out done by the skills of these TI's at spotting a suppressed smirk.

All the TI's faces went blank. The whole dining facility went quiet. And into the quiet, one of the TI's replied, "Do you think that makes a difference to me, Trainee Ordo?" It wasn't a shout, yell, or otherwise in any kind of loud voice, and that made it that much worse.

Shit! Shit! Shit! They knew his name now. Ijaat preferred being yelled at as a random, nameless trainee over having the TI, scratch that, TI's plural, knowing his name. I sooo didn't want to stand out in BMT. Oh well, too late now. "No, Sir!"

The TI with a blue rope on his shoulder leaned forward, "Trainee Ordo, does this relation of yours plan on attending your graduation ceremony?" the blue rope asked with a predatory gleam in his eye.

Effing hell! How the heck was he supposed to answer that? If he said yes, then they would badger him about 'assuming' he would graduate. If he said no, they would call him a liar or a quitter, especially when Jack did show up. "Only if I graduate, Sir," Ijaat replied carefully.

Nodding to himself, the blue rope TI turned to the others. They all shook their heads. Apparently, they didn't want to stir this particular pot any more. "Dismissed, Trainee"

"Yes, Sir." Ijaat turned and walked off quickly.

He knew that the TI's were just screening and instilling discipline in the trainees. Their job was to break down the civilian and build a Mandalorian Warrior. That meant erasing all forms of individuality and creating a group that conforms to Militia standards. But now Jon would be singled out. He would be criticized and chastised until he was ready to retaliate. And this special treatment wouldn't be for anything that Ijaat actually had control over. Nope. Not for the lame joke, or insubordinate tone, but for the simple, sad fact that he was related to a General.

Ijaat needed an outlet. A way to get back. To retaliate without his finely honed survival instinct kicking in. Why not give back as good as he got? With a few well-placed practical jokes, Ijaat could test his rusty skills and get back at the TI's without disrupting the BMT system. Good old fashioned sneakiness would work twice as well as any cosmic voodoo. Jon allowed himself one shit eating grin as he passed a blank wall on his way out to the patio. This could be fun.

The next day after a quick breakfast, the trainees were marched to the processing centre. Here they were given the ever popular BMT haircut, issued ID cards, visited military pay, completed security clearance paperwork, given the standard round of shots, examined by medical, and asked for a urine sample. After lunch, they were escorted to a classroom where they were instructed on proper nutrition and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Throughout it all the TI's were yelling, screaming, and shouting.

Nothing the trainees did was correct. They couldn't stand correctly, walk correctly, sit correctly, talk correctly. No one was exempt from their roaring voices. They questioned motivations, parentage, and mental capacity with a flair that was giving Ijaat a new perspective on comprehensive verbal communication. Because in all this yelling, they didn't utter a single profanity. Ijaat was impressed.

However, Ijaat's particular torment was the random questions and demonstration requests the TI's would throw at him. Not just the TI's in his squad, but all the TI's in the squadron. This was his punishment for being related to a general. Anything in the ATO was fair game, from pop quiz questions to formation movements. He was perpetually quizzed on customs and courtesies, rank structure, military history, and the Code of Conduct. Ijaat refused to pretend ignorance and instead successfully answered all their questions, demonstrated every drill movement. But this just seemed to piss them off more.

Currently, the squad was in the quiet class room listening to the local JAG discuss the UCMJ. The quiet times were all the more noticeable for the decided lack of yelling. Classroom instruction was relatively free from the constant verbal abuse, but the slightest bit of inattention would change that in a heartbeat. Halfway through the UCMJ briefing he zoned out and let his mind wonder to what sort of pranks he could pull, he needed to do some recon.

Ijaat's recon of the dorm had given him some vital intel. For example, the fire alarm on the emergency exit could be easily bypassed with a small stick, if it truly worked at all. The roof was never used and had accumulated junk and trash. And there was a Starbuck's coffee and McDonald's within sight of the dorm, a few companies from the OAG. So, Ijaat snuck up to the roof and hid his debit card, a change of clothes, and a few miscellaneous items amid the debris. He just needed a bit more information and the fun would begin in earnest.

The next day, the Squad was marched to the logistics building where they were finally issued their uniforms. PC gear, sneakers, Durasteel armour, flashlights, and the other gear they would use during the next few weeks. They were even issued underwear and socks. They also were fitted for their blues, though they would not be ready for pick up for a few weeks. Finally, in uniform, the TI's locked all their civilian possessions away.

That afternoon was spent learning how to fold clothes, make the bed, clean the locker, bathroom, etc. Ijaat knew that none of this would matter in a few weeks. So after initially perfecting his folded underwear technique, he spent the majority of his time plotting his first few pranks.

That night Ijaat found that the access door to the maintenance room was left unlocked. It gave him free back door access to the whole building. He snuck back to the dormitory past the dorm guard to his bunk. Tomorrow, Operation Payback would begin.

Saturday morning dawned bright and early. TSgt Vega walked to the dorm quietly. Not that it would matter, the newest trainees always slept soundly. They were too stressed and exhausted to do anything else, especially at 0430. He had a few minutes to wake SrA O'Niell and let him get sorted. He walked into the TI dorm office and kicked the bunk. SrA O'Niell opened his eyes and nodded, before grabbing his things to wash up.

TSgt Vega did a quick walk through of the dorm to ensure everyone was in their bunks before he woke them up. The first few weeks of basic were exhausting for both the TI's and the trainees. The TI's were up the before the trainees and went to sleep after, but were not supposed to show the slightest bit of discomfort or exhaustion. Thank God, the trainees were too zoned out by the third day to realize how exhausted the TI's really were.

When he returned to the office, the smell of fresh coffee enticed him back inside. He was about to yell at SrA O'Niell for brewing the coffee, when the Ranger in question thanked him for picking up breakfast. The mystery deepened when TSgt Vega denied bringing it into the office. They both shook off the odd incident when reveille sounded and they had a squad to wake up.

"GET UP! GET UP! GET UP! RISE AND SHINE, CUPCAKES! IT'S ANOTHER DAY IN PARADISE!" TSgt Vega and SrA O'Niell strode through the two dorm bays yanking back covers and banging their sticks on the bed frames. Most of the trainees jumped out of bed to stand next to their lockers. "PC gear and ready to leave in 5 minutes. GO!"

Trainees scurried left and right to empty their bladders, get the correct uniform on, and in line by the door on time. He was surprised to see 4 of the trainees correctly attired and ready to go within 60 seconds. The squad was lined up within the time limit. Not having that excuse, TSgt Vega hollered about the general state of their PC uniform, their unshaven appearance, etc. before leading the whole squad down to the parade deck for physical conditioning. Today, they would be evaluated for general physical fitness.

"ALRIGHT, LADIES! LET'S SEE JUST HOW UNFIT YOU ARE TO BE IN MY MILITIA!"

First, the squad of trainees was timed while running individually on a track. The TI's continued to yell at the trainees to ensure they gave the jog their best effort. Regardless, the trainees couldn't seem to run fast enough to the TI's. But after the last few days, the trainees had learned that they couldn't do anything fast enough for the TI's. So why would running be any different.

After the run, the TI's formed up the trainees to test for strength training. They ran the trainees through a series of exercises, including push-ups, reverse push-ups, sit-ups, leg lifts, flutter kicks, squats, and pull-ups.

They started off with push-ups. The TI called down and then waited in the down position until the TI called up. Anyone who failed to hold position, or worse, let their chest hit the ground, received special attention by the TI's. This also caused the rest of the squad to wait, usually in the down position, until the TI was done yelling at the one individual.

Next, they did reverse push-ups. Imagine doing a push up while belly up. Not as easy as it sounds. After push-ups, they went into sit-ups. One trainee would hold the feet of another trainee as they did full sit-ups, not those sissy crunches.

Next, came the leg lifts. It sounds so simple. Lay flat on the ground, lift your feet a few inches off the ground, and hold. Not so easy when TI's are yelling at you for lifting your feet too high, too low, or not holding them still enough.

Then, as if your abs didn't hurt enough, the TI's called for flutter kicks. Flutter kicks are leg lifts with a scissor kick movement. Rumour has it that some demented Marine Drill Instructor invented this particular form of torture. Trainees are expected to keep this up as long as the TI can yell. Needless to say that the trainee's muscles failed long before the TI's voices.

Squats came next. Standing with hands on hips, feet shoulder width apart, then squat and hold until the TI lets you up. After a few minutes, you forget about your aching abs in favour of your aching thighs.

Finally, the Flight goes through pull-ups. Hands facing out, never in. For this lesson in humility, the TI's yell at the trainees attempting the pull-ups. Five pull-ups are the holy grail in pleasing the TI. Anything less, is 'proving how pathetically weak you really are.'

After PC, the whole Squad of 50 had 10 minutes to shower and change for breakfast.

Almost two hours after reveille, TSgt Vega was hot and tired and ready for breakfast. Not a good combination. He could already tell that at least 3 trainees would have to be washed back just for fitness. Well, he would start pounding on them to get them at least half way there. Then their next TI would be able to get them passed through. As for the rest, almost all of them needed work. The body builders needed to learn how to run, the runners needed to learn how to condition for strength. But overall, they were about average for a new squad. Hopefully, just the 3 would have problems getting into passable condition.

The true enigmas were the 5 trainees that could pass the physical evaluation right now. They had obviously been coached on the exact standards and what they needed to pass. His challenge with them would be in keeping them in condition while the other trainees caught up to them. He already knew that Ordo had been coached extensively, probably by his uncle. The others must have had good recruiters. Well, five is a good number for formation runs. They could set the pace for the less fit members. Hell, why not make them the Flight trainee leadership? It's not like this group had any older trainees. Summers were usually just the high school graduates. So, what the hell.

"Katan, Ruso, Ordo, Skoke, Korkie. FRONT AND CENTER!" TSgt Vega grinned at the trainees as they hustled from the PC formation to the front.

"SIR, TRAINEE KATAN REPORTS AS ORDERED"

"SIR, TRAINEE RUSO REPORTS AS ORDERED"

"SIR, TRAINEE ORDO REPORTS AS ORDERED"

"SIR, TRAINEE SKOKE REPORTS AS ORDERED"

"SIR, TRAINEE KORKIE REPORTS AS ORDERED"

"You five appear to have listened to your recruiters and actually tried to get physically fit. Since I am a firm believer that no good deed should go unpunished, I have selected you five for leadership positions. Which of you has knowledge of basic drill and formations? Take one step forward." He stared directly at Trainee Ordo as he stated his question, knowing that the trainee couldn't deny knowledge after the pounding the TI's had been giving him the last few days.

The Trainee cautiously stepped forward. The others stayed in place. "Good. YOU… are my new Dorm Chief." He pointed to Ordo. "YOU… are the leader of Element One." He pointed to the tallest of the four, Skoke. "YOU… are the leader of Element Two." He pointed to the next tallest, Katan. "YOU… Three." He pointed to Korkie. "And YOU… Four." The last was directed to the shortest of the four, Ruso. "I will brief you on your specific duties and responsibilities later. Now, line 'em up for chow," he ordered.

Usually, when he selected the trainee leadership, they failed spectacularly in getting the rest of the group to follow their commands. At least initially. He grinned at the confused looks the four element leaders gave him. Yep, prime entertainment.

"SQUAD, FALL IN BY FOUR" Trainee Ordo's voice rang out, startling the TI. He usually had to coach the parade voice out of new trainees. Hell, the kid could have been a TI in a former life. TSgt Vega was unsurprised to see the trainees react to 'the voice.' He knew that at this point they would follow anyone with a loud voice, even if dressed in a tutu. "DRESS AND COVER" Ordo ordered before the TI could remind him. The squad shuffled to get into place and square the formation. "SOUND OFF! ONE!"

"TWO!" "THREE!" "FOUR!"… the trainees conducted a quick roll-call. "FIFTY!"

Upon completion of roll-call, Trainee Ordo, executed a perfect about-face and salute, "ALL PRESENT AND ACCOUNTED FOR, SIR!"

TSgt Vega was impressed. Of course, he couldn't show it. "Sloppy, but it'll do for now. Take your place to the right of the last person in Element One," he directed, not sure if he really wanted to know if the trainee knew that as well. Then he marched them to chow.

That whole day TSgt Vega was plagued by weird events. First, he was called away to the CQ for a phone call, but when he arrived, no phone call was waiting or even logged. Next, the mysterious breakfast was followed by a fresh two cups of Starbuck's coffee after lunch. Then, the mysterious handouts on sexual transmitted diseases started showing up all over the building. He left them in the CQ for the other TI's.

On top of the oddities, TSgt Vega didn't feel like he was in top form. He had tried everything in his power to rattle the Ordo kid. Nothing. The kid was immune to yelling and insults. In fact, he damn near laughed at several of his best insults. He almost thought that he had him with the Code of Conduct question the other day. When the kid went pale, he thought that the kid didn't have it all memorized yet. But then the kid had started to recite the Code like a mantra, not missing a single word. And he had a distant look in his eye, like he was reliving a memory. A very bad memory. TSgt Vega found it very odd. In fact, it creeped him out.

He hated to admit that this trainee was any different from the thousands of other recruits that he had molded into Mandalorians. His almost savant-like knowledge of the ATO and his picture perfect drill, led the good sergeant to believe that the kid had already been through military training. But at seventeen, he couldn't have been. Not even JROTC was this thorough.

TSgt Vega was looking forward to a break during the afternoon lectures. He needed to check the roster and schedules for the next few weeks. He walked into the CQ and waved at the Staff Sergeant on duty.

"Hey, Vega. Could you mind the phone for a minute? I need to answer a call of nature."

"Sure, Metcalf."

The SSgt disappeared into the small latrine and TSgt Vega checked the pass-on book. Nothing happening. Good. Nice quiet Saturday with a new baby Flight. Happy Day! He couldn't wait for Week Three when he could have his evenings off again. He was getting too old to stay up these kinds of hours anymore.

He heard a muffled curse from the latrine. SSgt Metcalf came bursting out of the latrine pale and shaking. "Wow! What's wrong?"

"I… uh… I need to go to sick call," came Metcalf's shaky reply.

"Easy, when is your relief?"

The SSgt looked at him with wide eyes. "Lunch, any minute now."

"Okay, easy. Just a few minutes and you can go. Do you need someone to take you?"

"NO!" he shouted quickly. "I mean… no. I'm good… good."

TSgt Vega nodded, yeah right! "I'll be in the office. Let me know if you need anything."

The SSgt picked up the STD pamphlet and started to read, "Sure."

Later that afternoon, he walked back into the CQ. Two of the other TI's were gossiping.

"I'm telling you, if Metcalf finds out who spiked his food with that red dye, there is going to be hell to pay."

"What?" TSgt Vega asked.

One of the grinning TI's started laughing, "Oh, someone played a practical joke on Metcalf. They spiked his coffee with natural red dye then scattered these STD handouts all over the place. When he went to take a piss, it came out red and he thought he'd caught an STD. But the test came back negative and the doctor asked him about eating or drinking anything with red dye in it. Man was he pissed."

"Wow! That's one mean practical joke. I'll have to remember that next time I need a little revenge. So, you get a fax for me?" TSgt Vega asked.

"Right, here," the sergeant on CQ duty replied.

"Thanks."

Off base coffee, weird prank calls, and now a full blown practical joke on the CQ. Looks like one of the other TI's wanted to start a practical joke war. Great! I just keep me out of it. I got enough on my hands with a baby Squad. I don't want to have to look over my shoulder for practical jokers too. With a sigh, he headed back to the dorm.

 _Week One Agenda:_ _Weapons Issue, M-16 Breakdown & Reassembly, First Week Briefing, Records/ID Processing, Medical & Dental Processing, Dress & Appearance I, Rank Recognition_

Ijaat woke to the sound of reveille Sunday morning and the shouting of the two TI's. He hoped they liked his gift this morning. He had left a six pack of No-Doz on the desk after returning from his latest recon and acquisition trip. Since TSgt Vega had appointed Ijaat the Dorm Chief, Ijaat found it easier to slip in and out at night. The Dorm Chief was the bunk right next to the TI's office, which also happened to be well out of site of the Dorm Guard. And since the Dorm Guard was the only one awake all night long, he was easy to bypass.

The TI had made Ijaat and the other Element Leaders switch bunks to 'make them more accessible.' The Element Leaders were in the first bunk in each row in the bays. Bay A housed Elements One and Two. Bay B housed Elements Three and Four.

Since Ijaat and the other element leaders had to switch bunks anyway, Ijaat had made the decision to have everyone bunk in element order. This way the trainees would always be in the correct order. And as TSgt Vega had made perfectly clear on their first day; order is good. Chaos is bad.

"LINE UP FOR PC IN 5," SrA O'Niell barked.

Ijaat dressed and immediately got to work pushing the stragglers towards the front. He was the last to line up after he and his element leaders cleared the bays and the latrine.

Ijaat didn't mind being Dorm Chief. In reality, it involved absolutely no leading. It was just a way for the TI to piece out the responsibility of herding the trainees to their various appointments. Ijaat figured that if he was going to be singled out anyway, why not be Dorm Chief and save one of the other trainees the grief. Besides, as Dorm Chief, he would be more mobile than the other trainees and thus abler to pull off some of his more elaborate pranks.

Speaking of which, it was almost time for his most elaborate prank. On last night's acquisition mission, Ijaat purchased a tablet. It's amazing what you can find in a 24-hour electronic store. It took nearly an hour, but he was able to program the tablet to call the public address (PA) system for the squadron through the internet. His next programming feat was to set it up to dial the system at specific times and play pre-recorded messages. The first of which should play at about 0630 this morning, during breakfast.

Ijaat ate his breakfast quickly and departed for the patio with the rest of his Flight. Just as TSgt Vega exited the building, the PA announcement warning was heard. All around him, trainees snapped to attention.

" _Attention in the squadron. All trainees are to make the following change in their ATO, page 15. Insert the following into the diagram for Chain of Command, above Trainee and below Training Instructor – All Creation, including dirt. Repeat – All Creation, including dirt. Contact CQ for details about this change."_

Ijaat had a clear view of TSgt Vega's face as the message registered. Surprise and shock were clearly visible. Dutifully, trainees around him began to pull out their ATO's to make the change. TSgt Vega stood in shock for a full minute, then immediately and loudly started countermanding the order to change the ATO; dressing down any trainee that didn't immediately put the ATO away.

"ORDO! GET 'EM BACK TO THE DORM NOW!" TSgt Vega hollered and then strode away for the doorway to the CQ, leaving confused trainees in his wake.

Once he was gone, Jon was unable to contain his smile. Grinning he called out, "SQUAD 5, FALL IN!" His Flight quickly formed up and they marched the short distance back to their dorm. Once back in the dorm, he told them to clean their bunk areas and their assigned common areas.

A half hour later, TSgt Vega and SrA O'Niell still hadn't shown up. Ijaat was running out of things to keep them busy. So, with nothing else, he started an impromptu ATO class in the dayroom; starting with rank recognition.

"I'll never get the order for the flag officers right," one trainee announced. "I mean, why is Lieutenant General higher than Major General, when a Major outranks a Lieutenant. And why in the hell are they called flag officers instead of Generals."

Ijaat grinned. They were trying to apply logic to the military. "Because they post a flag outside the building when they are in residence and an Admiral is a flag officer, but not a General. Just memorize it. Don't analyze it."

"Right, just memorize it," came another trainee's dry response.

"Let me make it easy for you. Brigadier General, Major General, Lieutenant General, General. Be My Little General," Ijaat laughed at their reactions to the memory device.

"Cool! Where did you learn that?"

Ijaat shrugged, "My uncle gave me a few pointers. Of course, it helps that I've been around Military bases for most of my life"

"You have another one for the other ranks?" a third trainee asked.

Ijaat thought carefully, "Not as good as that one. Let's see…

"Private Basic – basically knows nothing, so no stripes…

"Private – may know something but isn't sure what, one stripe for still being a baby…

"Private First Class – is absolutely sure that they want a First Class ticket home, two stripes...

"Senior Private – been a Private so long they qualify for social security benefits, three stripes...

"Staff Sergeant – had staff surgically implanted upon promotion, four stripes...

"Technical Sergeant – technically a sergeant, but acts like an officer, five stripes…

"Master Sergeant – slave driver, six stripes, one over the top to protect from all the shit from above…

"Senior Master Sergeant – been a MSgt so long they qualify for social security benefits, seven stripes, two over the top since the shit from above has doubled…

"Chief Master Sergeant – God of all he surveys, eight stripes, three over the top, immune from all the shit from above…

"Command Chief Master Sergeant – Base Commander's pet Chief, eight stripes with a star, often thinks he is equal with a Brigadier General…

"Chief Master Sergeant of the Force –Force Chief of Staff's pet Chief, eight stripes with an eagle and wreath, having learned from being a CCMS, he now thinks he only outranks full bird Colonels…"

Ijaat heard a snort from the hallway and froze. Shit! He whipped around and peeked out the dayroom door to see SrA O'Niell taking deep breaths to try and control his laughter and wiping tears away. Ijaat turned and jerked his thumb at the door and mouthed 'O'Niell' The rest of the Squad quickly became quiet and studied their ATO's closely.

A few minutes later, SrA O'Niell entered the dayroom looking as serious as ever. He chewed Ijaat out for daring to 'sully the honorable ranks' with his trite comments. Then he dispersed the Squad to various cleaning duties and for the various religious services.

That afternoon, the trainees were escorted to the break patio and allowed to call home. However, they were only allowed three minutes to let their loved ones know that they had arrived safely and here was their new mailing address. The quick call both helped and hurt. Ijaat called his mum knowing she wouldn't be home and left a message on her machine.

Later, through the gossip chain, Ijaat heard that someone had placed fake vomit in every water fountain in the building, including each of the guarded dormitories. Trainee speculation was high on which TI had masterminded the prank as they polished their boots on the patio that evening. The trainees turned in to bed exhausted, but ready to face the coming week.

The Squad woke to the sound of Manic Monday by the Bangles instead of the usual reveille, followed by a very pissed off TSgt Vega shouting at the PA speaker. Ijaat was sure that that particular shade of red indicated a dangerously high blood pressure. He would have commented on it, but found that he liked his head firmly attached to his shoulders.

As PC and breakfast seemed to progress without any more practical jokes, TSgt Vega seemed to regain some of his equilibrium. The Squad proceeded to the processing centre and completed their tasks without incident. TSgt Vega and SrA O'Niell were back into top shouting form. Well, they were loud anyway. Lunch was the typical eat on the run and execute escape and evasion (E&E) techniques when near the Snake Pit. However, the TI's in the Snake Pit were impossible to evade. Finally, free from the dining facility, the Squad was just forming up on the covered deck when a blue rope TI stormed out of the CQ doorway.

"YOU," he shouted at TSgt Vega. "HAVE YOUR SQUAD FORM A BUCKET BRIGADE AND FOLLOW ME."

"ELEMENT ONE, RETURN THE DORM AND BRING THE BUCKETS AND MOPS. ELEMENTS TWO THROUGH FOUR, STAND FAST. ORDO ON ME," TSgt Vega ordered and followed the blue rope back into the CQ hallway. Ijaat followed closely. What he saw as he entered the main CQ area was a vast wall of bubbles, floor to ceiling, pouring out of the CQ latrine doorway. The three TI's were valiantly trying to contain the mass from spreading further into the room while the Squadron Commander, Colonel Harding was wading into the latrine trying to find its source.

"TRAINEE, HAVE YOUR SQUAD START TRANSPORTING THIS MESS TO THE PARKING LOT!" the blue rope barked.

"YES, SIR!" Ijaat replied, before running back to the Squad. "SQUAD, FALL OUT AND FOLLOW ME!" The Squad hurried after him into the hallway.

Ijaat directed the element leaders to coordinate the Squad into a bubble transport team. Before too long they had eliminated enough of the bubbles for Colonel Harding to find the cause of the mess.

The practical joker had struck again. Someone had dumped a bottle of dish shop in each of the toilets in the latrine and then added dry ice. The bubbling toilets had quickly filled the small latrine with bubbles. They only stopped when the dry ice was removed. Colonel Harding was pissed. No, pissed didn't quite cover it.

Livid and soaking wet, Col. Tar Mav stood in the latrine doorway angry enough to eat nails. The joker would pay. Article 15, loss of a stripe, no make that all their stripes, correctional custody for at least a month, maybe more. Mumbling about Article 15's and correctional custody, Col. Harding exited the latrine and surveyed the damage.

The latrine was soaked and still had bubbles in every nook and cranny, even the ceiling tiles were wet. However, everything in there was water proof. So, no real damage. The CQ reception area, however, was another matter. The carpet nearest the latrine was soaked. The posters and other notices on the walls surrounding the latrine door were wet and in some cases unreadable. The bubbles hadn't reached the desk or any of the electronic equipment. So, physical damage was limited to some posters and paper. However, the damage to the unit's reputation was more extensive and harder to repair.

"Have this latrine and carpet cleaned and replace that," he pointed to the paperwork on the walls. "And just where in the hell are those damn Captains of mine?"

The TI on CQ duty, looked up, "At lunch, Sir."

"Lunch. Great." Col. Tar Mav continued to scan for physical damage when he noticed the sneakers. What? Then he noticed almost an entire training Squad lining the hallway. A baby Squad. Sneakers meant they were still in their First WOT. Just perfect!

The other practical jokes had been harmless, but more importantly, they had been relatively invisible to the trainees. A few harmless prank calls, a bogus PA announcement, and a sudden rash of red piss didn't harm the morale of the unit. If anything, it helped to relieve some of the strain the instructors were under.

But this prank had gone too far. It was visible to the trainees and undermined the authority of the TI's. And not just any trainees, but a whole baby Squad of trainees.

Mother-effing hell! Someone will pay! He wound up to give good verbal tongue lashing on all the TI's present, when the PA sounded. Surprised, he glared at the TI on CQ duty who was well away from the controls.

" _Attention in the Squadron. All Training Instructors are required to report to the Anger Management Class in Room 104 in lieu of dinner. Repeat, all Training Instructors are required to report to the Anger Management Class in Room 104 in lieu of dinner. Contact Col. Harding for details"_

The colonel's eyes snapped to each of the three TI's present in the CQ office. "What a good idea," the colonel replied in a very low and dangerous voice. "This ends today. I want all instructors in the conference room at 1800. The rest of the squadron is on lock down at that time."

"YES, SIR!" the TI's chorused.

"Dismissed!" Col. Tar Mav spun around and headed to the locker-room to change into a clean uniform.

"SQUAD 5, FORM UP OUTSIDE."

TSgt Vega left the classroom after the commander had dressed down the entire cadre of instructors. He spent extra time dressing down the poor CQ TI in front of the entire cadre. The Colonel then made it perfectly clear that anyone who played a practical joke would be immediately sent to correctional custody, or CC, for an attitude adjustment. He also made it clear that it was everyone's top priority to determine who the prankster was and to report them and any of their pranks immediately.

And as if that wasn't enough, Col. Tar Mav had pulled him aside and asked him if he would need any help controlling the potential damage this incident did to his baby Squad. TSgt Vega was to report on the status of the discipline and morale of his Squad to the commander daily. DAILY! Hell, no, he didn't need any help. He wasn't even sure if any damage was done. He was on his way to CQ now to do a 'listen in' and find out what his Squad had been up to during the lock down.

The CQ intercom could be activated in the dorm without the dorm residents knowing. This allowed the CQ on duty to listen in on any conversations. It was usually used with the older Flights that had earned some TI-free time. If the Flight violated that trust, the TI would know and the Flight would be clueless as to how the TI had found out.

"I want to listen in on 5-A," he told the CQ.

The CQ hit the mute and then the intercom button for 5-A. Muffled voices could be heard, "Pick it up… faster… Ruso, have the Latrine Queen and the rest of the Bowling Team finish up and join the rest of us in the drills… Everyone to their bunks… Ready. Line up… Nope, we need to be faster… Back! Let's try it again. Ready. Line up…"

"Well, I'll be damned!" the CQ muttered.

TSgt Vega grinned, "So much for damage control. They don't seem to be slacking off on the discipline at all. Heck, they've been unsupervised for almost an hour and they are still working."

"…Come on, Ordo. It's not like the TI is here. We should be kicking back…" a voice drifted through the speaker.

"…Look, Tinney, this isn't about the TI. It's about getting our shit together as a Squad. We have this opportunity to practice without the TI's yelling at us. Seize the damn day, already. Now, either line up or get the f—k out of our way. Understand..." TSgt Vega recognized his Dorm Chief's voice.

"…Yeah, fine, whatever…" came the second voice again.

"…Alright, again. Let's make this one our personal best… Ready. Line up!"

TSgt Vega smiled. The kid may not scare easy, but he sure knew how to build teamwork. He would rather have a competent Dorm Chief over an intimidated trainee any day "Shut it off. Thanks for the help," he called as he left to rejoin his Squad.

Tuesday dawned bright and early to the normal sound of reveille. TSgt Vega was in a good mood as a result. Hopefully, Col Harding had scared the prankster into hiding permanently. By breakfast, TSgt Vega was almost whistling. He ordered the Squad into breakfast and headed to the CQ to pick up some requisition forms. He had almost made it to the Snake Pit to sit down for breakfast, when he heard a snap, like a mouse trap. Looking up, he watched in horror as a cloud of blue and silver glitter fell from the ceiling right onto the four TI's in the Snake Pit.

Oh my God!

Taking several steps back to avoid the drifting glitter, TSgt Vega did a quick scan of the room to see that the entire room was watching the TI's in stunned silence, even the trainees on KP. Shit! Shit! Shit!

The blue rope TI in the Snake Pit rose to his feet slowly, sending glitter drifting in every direction. He glanced at the other victims. When one tried to speak, he stopped them with a single finger. Then spoke with deadly calm, "Gentlemen, please go change. TSgt Vega, please coordinate with the KP team to clean this mess up. I'll go inform the Commander."

In silence the glitter-covered TI's exited the dining facility. Once they left, the trainees immediately started shovelling breakfast down as quickly as possible. Apparently, none of them wanted to remain for the commander's arrival. TSgt Vega couldn't blame them. He didn't want to stay either. Sighing, he left to find the contractor in charge of the dining facility.

TSgt Vega began to tense up again as his Squad approached the squadron area. He was dreading the return to the practical joke free-for-all at the squadron. Once he had marched his Squad away, he had been able to relax a bit without worrying about becoming the next victim of a practical joke.

Of course, he had taken most of his frustration out on his trainees, as it should be. Though, he honestly didn't see too many mistakes or errors. They still couldn't drill quite yet, but they had only been at it a week. They still bounced too much, but that would go away with time.

They had worked well this morning at the armoury. Each trainee had been issued their training weapons, and received several hours training on breaking down and reassembling the EE-3. They would practice and clean the weapons tonight and attempt to qualify on the range tomorrow. That left this afternoon for drill practice.

The only unusual incidents outside the practical jokes had involved his Dorm Chief, as usual. When the Combat Arms Technician handed the rifle to Trainee Ordo, the trainee had quickly cleared the weapon without instruction and nodded to the technician before moving on to the next station after only a few minutes.

Later, the trainee had asked him if they were required to sling the weapons over their shoulder or could they cross-hang them, as long as everyone hung them the same way. When asked to demonstrate, he repositioned the rifle so that it hung free on his chest, leaving his hands free. Seeing the advantages to this position, TSgt Vega approved and watched as the trainee instructed the others in how to hang the rifle correctly.

Throughout the morning, TSgt Vega felt vaguely uneasy at the casual way the trainee handled the rifle, like it belonged there. In a way, he guessed that it did. He had caught the trainee casually resting his arms on the weapon. Another time, the trainee had been directing the other trainees with his left hand while his right rested ready on the grip of the rifle, but his finger never strayed to the trigger. He was obviously familiar with the weapon and had handled it loaded many times before. That kind of training always showed true.

The other thing that bothered TSgt Vega was that Ordo almost acted like a different person carrying the EE-3;. He oozed a command presence that no recruit should have, especially in First WOT. TSgt Vega felt that he was catching a glimpse of the man that the kid would eventually grow into. TSgt Vega felt a surge of pride that he would have a hand in shaping that future man, to help him grow to reach his full potential.

Yup, some days being a TI was worth every sleepless night and every bout with laryngitis.

"SQUAD, HALT," he called out, having reached the dorm. "CLEAN UP, RACK THE WEAPONS, AND RETURN HERE FOR DRILL IN 5. FALL OUT."

That evening, just before lights out, the PA activated again. _"Attention in the Squadron. Until further notice, God may not contradict any orders given by the Training Instructors. Repeat, God may not contradict any orders given by the Training Instructors. God must contact the Chaplin's Office directly to request a change of orders. Contact Chaplin's Office for details"_

TSgt Vega sighed and called lights out as his Squad settled in to sleep.

And so the week progressed.

Wednesday morning saw the floors of the dining facility covered in a snap power concoction made from mixing iodine crystals and ammonia and allowed to dry. It would pop and spark with each step. KP detail was ordered to carefully clean it up and to dispose of it in a metal trash can for pick up and disposal. However, SrA O'Niell had heard from another TI that the occasional snap could still be heard throughout lunch.

The Squad spent Wednesday at the firing range, taking MRE's for lunch. Ten trainees initially failed to qualify at all and had to be coached into Category III. Another 12 qualified as Category III, 9 in Category II, and the reminder in Category I. 7 shot expert. And one trainee had a perfect score, a first for TSgt Vega. However, TSgt Vega was unsurprised to find that Ordo was the trainee.

The evening prank announcement came over the PA just after 1900 hours. _"Attention in the Squadron. Until further notice, the proper form of address for the Squadron Commander is Colonel or Sir. Anyone found addressing the commander as 'His Majesty' or 'Dad' will be reported to the First Sergeant"_

It was quickly followed by another not so bogus announcement, _"All Squads send a runner to CQ. Repeat, all Squads send a runner to CQ."_

Thursday was spent in the classroom and on the parade ground drilling. It wasn't until late evening that TSgt Vega learned about the latest prank. The trickster had snuck into the Commander's office and using a single piece of string, connected everything in the office. Once the commander opened the door the whole room was disrupted.

The commander had the phone number to the PA system changed the night before, but the trickster had found the new number and dinner was greeted with: _"Attention in the squadron. Each squad needs to send a runner to CQ to pick up the monthly supply of Squad line. Repeat, each Squad needs to send a runner to CQ to pick up the monthly supply of Squad line"_ The two TI's in the Snake Pit were unable to hide their snorts of laughter from the trainees. The trainees in-turn shrugged confused about the joke.

Friday morning greeted the trainees with the Finally Friday song by Kenny Chesney. TSgt Vega just grinned and pushed his trainees down to PC. At breakfast, they found all the sugar dispensers were superglued to the tables.

TSgt Vega actually sighed in relief. The main prank was over so they could get on with their day. Only the PA announcement was left, and that wouldn't ruin his day. He thought that it should bother him that these pranks were becoming routine. But then made a conscious decision not to care. So with a clear mind, he formed up the trainees and led them off to Wilford Hall Medical Centre for final medical and dental screening.

That evening over dinner he actually cracked a grin at the prank announcement, _"Attention in the Squadron. Any trainee interested in donating funds to the Anti-Mime campaign in Concordia, please contact your TI. Repeat, any trainee interested in donating funds to the Anti-Mime campaign in Concordia, please contact your TI. Please, help stop this silent killer"_

By Saturday, the whole unit had adjusted to the new atmosphere. Everyone was on pins and needles until the prank, and then everyone relaxed and enjoyed the brief respite from the all too serious task of training.

Overall unit morale had improved and for this reason alone, Col. Tar Mav had backed off of his 'zero tolerance' stance. However, he was still ready to jump on any training Squad that failed to demonstrate the proper level of discipline in or out of the squadron area.

Saturday's prank didn't manifest until lunch. This time, the salt shakers were sabotaged using baking soda and lemon juice separated by tissue paper. When the victim tried to get some salt, the tissue dissolved and triggered a chemical reaction that popped the lid off the salt shaker and sprayed foam everywhere. Four of the booby-trapped shakers had gone off before the remaining shakers were carefully removed from the dining facility.

TSgt Vega had just finished turning over the Squad to SrA O'Niell and was just leaving the squadron area for some well-deserved rest at home, when the day's bogus announcement came over the PA.

 _"Attention in the squadron. All trainees are to make the following change in their ATO, page 42. Add the following as an additional detection technique in the ATSO section. Final determination for dissipation of detected chemical agent will now be 'rip the MCU-2 mask off the closest 2Lt.' Repeat, 'rip the MCU-2 mask off the closest 2Lt.' If 2Lt continues to glare steadily at you, the chemical agent has dissipated. All questions should be directed to the Readiness Office"_

Chuckling, he climbed into his car and headed for home.

 **Original text**

Contribute a better translation

 _Second WOT Agenda: Rendering Courtesies, Human Relations, Self Aid and Buddy Care, Law of Armed Conflict, Code of Conduct,_ _Cultural Sensitivity, Weapons Cleaning, Warrior Role, Job Classification Interviews_

Reveille sounded on the second week of training. Ijaat pulled himself out of bed slower than usual. Setting up today's prank had taken longer than he liked and as a consequence, he had only gotten about three hours of sleep.

Good thing it was Sunday. No PC on Sundays. Man, how sad was it that he was so very grateful for the tiniest respite. You're losing your touch, Ordo. This is a cake walk compared to some of the missions you've been on. You've worked harder on less sleep.

Today, only SrA O'Niell was in residence. And while he didn't fail to reinforce the unit's extremely high standard, Sunday's were technically a day of rest. So, after the dorm was cleaned to his exacting standards, for the first time in a week, the TI let the trainees go to the break patio and call home. However, this time the trainees could do more than just quickly recite their new mailing address.

Ijaat had gone out with the others to the patio to enjoy the summer Jungle heat. He sat out of the way and stared through the decorative cinder block wall, not even bothering to get in the line to use the holo-projecter. He wasn't really looking at anything in particular. Just setting his mind free. The whole Squad was under an acute amount of stress, including Ijaat.

But it was Sunday. The rest of the squad, heck the squadron, was starting to relax. However, instead of relaxing himself, Ijaat was tense. He felt closed in. Trapped. He knew, cognitively, that none of the doors were locked and the patio didn't even have a gate. He really could walk away at any time. Heck, he could go to the Chaplin at any time and quit, just like any other trainee. He wasn't really trapped or locked up. But, even though he was here by choice, he felt like he was in prison. He really didn't like feeling captive.

Maybe it was the lack of privacy, or the lack of sleep, or the lack of respect from the TI's. But he could feel their conditioning kicking in and his natural instinct was to fight it. MT and OCS were exactly the same. Take a bunch of individuals and strip them down to emotionally blank slates, then rebuild them the way you want them.

 _"Attention in the squadron. Training Instructors are reminded that they are not authorized to purchase anyone's soul on government time. Repeat, Training Instructors are reminded that they are not authorized to purchase anyone's soul on government time. All soul transactions must be conducted in off-duty hours. Contact the Chaplin's Office for details"_

Itaaj smiled. That was something that mum had never accomplished. She had been able to pull a few pranks in her misguided youth. But nothing as elaborate and lengthy as the pranks that Itaaj was pulling now. He wondered how the TI's handled the rooster in their locker-room. He could just imagine the mess the thing had made. Of course, that damn bird wouldn't shut up. Who knew that chickens liked to cluck in their damn sleep? Jon had almost smothered the stupid thing just to get it past the CQ.

"Ordo, you all right?" Itaaj looked up to see one of his element leaders, Skoke, looking at him with concern.

"I'm fine," Itaaj was quick with a practiced reply.

"Then what's with the face?" Skoke sat next to Itaaj and started to watch the outside world with him.

"Face?"

"Yeah, like someone just killed your cat. You get bad news from home?"

"Nah, I didn't make a call. Just pondering life, the universe, and everything," Itaaj quipped.

"Pretty hefty stuff for a Sunday afternoon."

Itaaj snorted, "Yeah, but I got nothing better to do than solve the riddles of the universe. What about you? Sick of the ATO already?"

Skoke shrugged, "Yeah, but what else is there to read?"

"Too true."

Skoke turned to Itaaj and asked quietly, "Is it really like this? The Militis I mean? I don't think I can hack this for four years, if this is all there is to it."

Jon gave him a small frown, "Why are you asking me?"

"Because you know things. You don't ever read the ATO, but seem to be able to answer all the questions the TI's have thrown at you. You have an uncle in already. I was hoping that maybe, you know, he told you what it was really like. We all know that the recruiters feed us a line of bullshit to get us in. But… I mean, I think I can make it for a few weeks, but four years of this would drive me nuts."

"Ah… well, the best answer is yes and no. Yes, it is at times exactly like this… sometimes worse… But also no, most of the time it's not. It's something completely different than civilian life. Just not like this either. I remember…." Itaaj said "My uncle would talk about deployments where the stress… operational stress… was as bad as BMT. That's why BMT is so tough. It's teaching you about this kind of stress and how to deal with it. Push past it and still do the job, regardless, the mission comes first. But, here instead of an enemy shelling the dorm area, we have TI's yelling at us constantly... Oddly enough, the effect is the same… Anyway, the TI's also use BMT as a way to screen out those people who just aren't cut out for this type of life." Itaaj considered BMT, its stresses, and his uncle's memories. "It shows you up front how bad it can get. So you can decide if it is worth it. Better to have a trainee quit in BMT rather than later, after they have been trained. Or worse, to have them crack under the strain when on a mission..."

"I've never thought of it that way before. I guess, when put that way… well, I do think it's worth it," Skoke's quiet statement brought Itaaj out of his depressing thoughts. "I mean; I'll be protecting my little sister's freedom. I know, its cliché, but in my heart I know it's true. And ensuring that she continues to play, oblivious to the threats to her freedom, well, THAT makes it worth it. For me, anyway."

"Yes, it does," Itaaj replied before lapsing into a comfortable silence.

"Monday, Monday… so good to me… Monday mornin', it was all I hoped it would be…" The sound of The Mamas and the Papas rolled through the dorm waking the Squad. Followed quickly by the TI's.

"COME ON LADIES. THIS SHOULD BE OLD HAT BY NOW. MOVE IT. TIME FOR PC."

Itaaj jogged through the bays one last time and lined up. Today was strength training. They would skip the running today in favour of the ever popular push-ups and sit-ups. The Squad marched to the parade ground and paired off.

After PC, the Squad changed and formed up for breakfast. This was the first week they were allowed to wear boots. Jon was glad to get that small bit of comfort back. The sneakers never did feel right when in uniform.

As he approached the serving line, the trainee in front of him pointed to the first empty tray on the serving line, grinning, "Skip that one, it's glued down"

Itaaj grinned back, "Thanks" He passed the information on to the next trainee. It was the little things that made him happy. Boots on his feet and a prank gone well. Eating quickly, Itaaj was in a relatively good mood when the TI marched them out for drill practice.

This week had the Squad drilling every morning with classes in the afternoon. Itaaj assumed that was because the jungle weather was rapidly heating up past red flag and into black flag conditions. This basically meant that all their outdoor activities were curtailed in the heat of the day to prevent heat stress injuries.

Also looking at the schedule, Itaaj noticed that this week was going to be extra boring for him. All the classes were right out of the ATO. Customs and Courtesies, Dress and Appearance, Human Relations, and Law of Armed Conflict were all old friends to him. Weapons cleaning, come on, really, he could clean the EE-5 in his sleep, in the dark. Hell, he could remember doing just that from when his mum let him clean her weapons.

Self-Aid and Buddy Care would be a good refresher, but he doubted that the class would go beyond basic first aid in the field. It was the last few classes that had Jon worried. The Code of Conduct and Cultural Sensitivity were back to back with the LOAC briefing. With the present political situation in the galaxy, the only culture that would be covered in any detail would be the Mandaloians living on Concordia, maybe the OAG, but most likely, just the Concordians.

That evening after dinner, TSgt Vega pulled Jon aside, "Dorm Chief."

"Sir, Trainee Ordo reports as ordered."

"Do you think the Squad is ready for an inspection?"

Now, why in the hell would he ask me? He is the one to thrash the lockers on almost a daily basis. Crap! This is another damn test. Another game of double jeopardy. I'm getting so sick of these games.

"No, Sir. I don't think that the Squad would pass inspection at this time, Sir. However, I do think that an inspection would assist them in learning exactly where their deficiencies are, Sir. It would also allow the Squad to see exactly how an inspection is performed, Sir. So, I believe that the Squad would gain some positive benefit from an inspection at this time, Sir."

"Very well, Dorm Chief. Have the Squad ready for inspection in one hour. Dismissed," TSgt Vega remarked, before turning to leave the dorm with SrA O'Niell.

Great! Itaaj let out an audible sigh. "SQUAD, REPORT TO THE DAYROOM, STAT." The trainees left off their assigned tasks to hurry to the dayroom. "We have exactly one hour to make this dorm inspection ready. Finish your assigned cleaning task then report to your element leader or myself for additional assignment. Latrine Queen, leave the first stall for last. Anyone needing to use the latrine, go now. In ten minutes, the latrine will be off limits until the inspection is over. Double check everything. Dust every surface. Set your lockers in order after you complete the common areas. Buddy checks on your bunk-mate. Questions?" He paused, waiting for a question. "Alright, let's go!"

An hour later, Itaaj had the trainees stand by their lockers in preparation of the inspection. The Flight was called to attention as the TI's arrived.

"Dorm Chief."

Jon walked up to the blue rope TI heading the inspection team, one of the few female TI's in the unit, MSgt Crawshay. "Ma'am, Trainee Ordo reports as ordered."

"Is your Squad ready for inspection, Dorm Chief?"

Not by a long shot. "Yes, Ma'am."

"Good. Report back to your position."

"Yes, Ma'am," Itaaj executed an about-face and walked back to his bunk.

For whatever reason, the TI's had left Itaaj for last. They had worked their way around both bays and the common area. They were inspecting his bunk mate, Trainee Skoke, when the PA activated, _"Attention in the squadron. Until further notice, sock puppets are not authorized to take control of any Entry Control point. Repeat, sock puppets are not authorized to take control of any Entry Control point. Sock puppets must first complete the required Entry Controller training. Contact CQ for details"_

Itaaj had managed to stifle his smile and maintain his position at attention. He heard the blue rope sigh. "When are they going to catch that guy?... Shirt unbuttoned. It's getting a bit ridiculous… Socks folded backwards. The commander has changed the PA phone number three times so far… Hangers not evenly spaced"

"That's all, Trainee." TSgt Vega told Jon's bunk mate. "I don't know. I was steamed at first… Trainee, open your locker and step back… But now… It's not hurting anyone."

"Yet," the blue rope replied. "T-shirts not flush… I'm just surprised that no one has any idea who it is… Everyone in the unit has been accounted for during at least one prank. You don't think that one of the other units is behind it, do you?"

TSgt Vega, chuckled, "Not likely… ATO not square and flush… I would think that someone would notice a stranger in the squadron. Remember quite a few pranks were pulled during daylight hours… That's all, Trainee." TSgt Vega and the blue rope walked away to inspect the common areas.

Itaaj smirked, they didn't even suspect a trainee. Sweet! He heard the dorm door open and close. "SQUAD, REPORT TO THE DAYROOM."

Tuesday was essentially a repeat of Monday with only minor differences. PC was cardiovascular training, i.e. running, rather than strength training. And the afternoon classes were on Human Relations and the proper way to render Military Courtesies.

By mid-morning half the Squad was peeing blue or green. The trainees dutifully reported the prank. Apparently, the morning coffee at the Dining Hall had been spiked this time. The ones peeing green were chastised for not drinking enough water.

That evening the TI allowed those trainees who had received less than five marks on their inspection to go back out to the break patio as a reward. And Itaaj was, once again, staring out across the parade ground through the decorative brick, trying to find his centre. He was a bit melancholy when he heard the PA announcement.

 _"Attention in the squadron. Trainees entering Warrior Week may not line their helmets with tin foil. Repeat, trainees entering Warrior Week may not line their helmets with tin foil. The tin foil interferes with the mind control lasers used by the Training Instructors. Trainees caught with tin foil will be recycled to First WOT for re-education"_ Around him, Jon could hear the other trainees snicker.

"I knew it. Mind control lasers," one laughed out loud.

"Oh, come on, it's not so bad," another trainee remarked. They were from one of the older Squads. "What week are you?"

"Second," replied someone from Itaaj's Flight.

"And you're on patio break already? Damn. Your TI is soft," a different trainee sneered.

Itaaj laughed out loud at the trainee, startling the group.

"What the hell are you laughing at?"

Itaaj stood up to face the trainee. They were about equal height. The other guy outweighed him by a few pounds and was trying to loom over him. That made him smile. He was a bully. And I love bully-baiting. Granted this guy was no System Lord. But, hey, you take what you can get.

Itaaj gave him a maniacal grin, "Someone too stupid to know the difference between lax training and superior leadership." Itaaj felt his Squad-mates close ranks behind him as he baited the bully. "Between brute force…" Itaaj pointed to the bully, "… and superior quality…" Itaaj motioned to the rest of his Squad-mates. "Obviously, your TI has had to work twice as hard to beat the rules into your thick skull… Of course, that would take longer than simply instructing a quality trainee." Itaaj gave him a raised eyebrow for good measure.

The bully turned a deep red. Itaaj stood ready and loose, waiting. When the bully finally lost control and took a swing, Itaaj simply stepped aside. The bully stumbled nearly falling. "Careful, wouldn't want you to fall down and get hurt," he called after the bully, taunting him more.

The bully recovered and turned to try and swing again. Itaaj saw a flash of blue in the corner of his eye just as the bully swung again. This time as he side-stepped, he grabbed the bully's fist. With a quick twist and turn, he had the bully on his knees an arm locked straight out behind him. "I said, be careful, you could hurt someone falling down like that. Now, are you done? Got your balance back?"

The bully's only response was a whimper and a nod. He had obviously given up the fight.

"Good." He released the other trainee and stepped back. Once the bully seemed to catch his breath, he reached out a hand, ready for trouble, just in case. "Here, let me give you a hand up." Itaaj helped the bully up and stared directly into his eyes. "Drop it. Leave the young trainess alone and go back to your dorm"

The bully seemed to nod in agreement. "Thanks. I'll… I'll be heading back to my dorm now," then he abruptly turned and left pushing past a Blue Rope TI.

"WHAT'S GOING ON OUT HERE?"

Itaaj glanced around at the terrified faces of the other trainees. Okay, this is getting out of control. That's what you get for having a little fun, Ordo. Did you forget? You're not allowed to have fun in BMT. It's against the cosmic order or some such. Itaaj walked up to the blue rope, "Sir, Trainee Ordo reports as ordered. The trainee fell down and needed a hand up, Sir. He returned to his dorm to hydrate, Sir." The other trainees immediately seized the explanation like a life preserver and started nodding in agreement.

The Blue Rope's eyes narrowed suspiciously, "Really." He considered the trainees one at a time, but couldn't detect a break in ranks. "Very well. Return to your dorms. We wouldn't want anyone to get dehydrated now, would we?"

"NO, SIR!" the group chorused. The group filed past the Blue Rope quickly, trying to make their escape.

"Ordo, one minute please," the Blue Rope called just before Itaaj could take more than a single step.

"Yes, Sir."

The Blue Rope waited until the last of the trainees had disappeared into the building before speaking, "Trainee, off the record, I can tell a fight when I see one. Even if it was decidedly one way." The Blue Rope TI paused, as if considering his next statement. "Ordo, why are you here?"

Itaaj was immediately confused. Cautiously, he replied, "I was granted a patio break by TSgt Vega for receiving less than five marks on my inspection last night, Sir."

"Not, here on the patio. Here in Basic," the Blue Rope clarified.

"I'm not sure I understand, Sir."

The TI looked him over carefully, "I've been watching you and you don't fit. Your ASVAB scores are too high for a high school student. Your SAT scores would guarantee a college scholarship just about anywhere. Your connections could get you into the ROTC program of your choice. Hell, they could easily get you into the Academy. Yet… here you are, just another trainee at BMT. You. Do. Not. Fit... So, I ask again, off-the-record, why are you here?"

Jon was surprised that the TI had done that much research on him. What little was available. He didn't think that he had been that transparent. He closed his eyes to hide the range of emotions that swam past. He couldn't think of a single answer that would be accepted. He couldn't even think of an effective lie. And the truth sounded false.

Finally, he opened his eyes and let the knowledge seep into them. "Because, I want to be here, Sir."

"Really? I've been watching you since your first day. You are bored out of your mind. You don't need this training. With your contacts, you could probably waiver it. So, why do you want to be here? Make me understand."

Itaaj abruptly, turned away from the TI. "I don't know if I understand myself, Sir," he said. "I just need to do this… Sir."

"Does this have something to do with your uncle and your father?"

Jon visibly flinched. Yes, it had everything to do with his uncle and father… and absolutely nothing to do with him.

The TI continued, "Yeah, I guess that IS the most obvious answer. He's a highly decorated Major General on the fast track, special advisor to the Governors of Corellia, with an obviously sanitized biography. He must be a hard act to follow. Especially, since you were named after him. Not to mention your father was killed in a Death Watch attack" the TI continued to prod.

Itaaj gave a short laugh and turned back to the Blue Rope. And you don't know the half of it. "You could say that, Sir."

"Well, I'm going to give you some advice, take it or leave it. You can't change who you are and you can only hide from who you are for so long. Don't make your choices to spite your uncle. Make them for yourself. You have a natural talent for leadership. You belong where that talent can be developed. The Militia has plenty of warriors. But we are short on good leaders. If that takes you on the same path as your uncle, then so be it. But don't avoid that path to prove something that has never been in doubt." The Blue Rope held Itaaj's eyes for a few more moments, before nodding. "There, I've said my piece, take it or leave it. Now, get out of here before your TI comes looking."

"Yes, Sir," Itaaj gave him a final considering nod before returning to his dorm.

Wednesday copied Tuesday. Itaaj felt the days starting to run together. His nightly forays were even beginning to blend together. Last night, he had setup another glitter trap, this time it was an obvious trip wire established in CQ. But the trap was activated when the wire was cut, not pulled. He wasn't sure if the trap had been tripped or deactivated, since squadron gossip hadn't illuminated today's prank.

The Squad spent the morning in drill practice and the afternoon in Self Aid and Buddy Care class. The Self Aid and Buddy Care class was as basic as a first aid class could get. Itaaj was disappointed that the class couldn't distract him from his conversation with the Blue Rope TI last night.

That conversation had been preying on his mind all night and wanted revenge for his father and to surpass his uncle, to be better than him. He just hoped that the TI's didn't notice his distraction. He didn't feel up to addressing their particular need to give him the 'special treatment' today. Maybe later, when he could put a bit more effort into his answers.

That evening he sought solitude in the dayroom. His Squad-mates could tell that something was bothering him. He was usually all over the place, sharing a smile of encouragement and helping in the various tasks. Today, he had been quiet and still. They didn't quite know what to make of it. They all thought that he had been chewed out for the fight last night and that was causing his mood. Eventually, they selected his bunk-mate, Skoke, to find out what was going on.

Trainee Skoke was considering how best to approach his bunk-mate when the PA announced, " _Attention in the squadron. Until further notice, no military equipment may be traded for 'magic beans.' Repeat, no military equipment may be traded for 'magic beans.' Equipment is the sole property of the MM and any magic beans will be purchased exclusively through logistics. Contact the Contracting Office for details"_ He smiled, moved over to Itaaj, and sat down next to him.

He gave Itaaj a quiet smile, "Magic beans, huh?"

Itaaj turned away from the window and acknowledged his bunk-mate with a curt nod, not completely pulling away from his thoughts.

"Okay, I get it. You don't want company. But, did you know that your kind of freaking out Thomas?"

Jon turned back to Skoke, "Ruso?"

"Ruso, you know, short guy in charge of element three? Yeah, well, this new silent treatment is kind of freaking him out. All of us, to tell the truth. So, I got tapped to see if you could use some help working it all out."

Itaaj's eyes wandered back to the window, "You drew the short straw, huh?" his voice full of bitterness at the memory that phrase evoked.

Skoke looked at him critically. Itaaj still seemed lost in his thoughts. "No, actually. I volunteered… What is up with you? What the hell did that TI threaten you with?"

"Threaten? What?" Itaaj asked confused, finally pulling himself fully back from his dark thoughts and old memories. "No one threatened me. What are you talking about?"

"The Blue Rope. He didn't threaten you with recycling or getting kicked out for fighting?"

"Hell, no."

"Then why are you walking around in a dark haze?"

"I…" Itaaj stopped. "We talked about… stuff. It's just made me think, that's all."

"Well, stop it." Then he grinned at Itaaj, "You got enough crap on your plate for now. Save the thinking for Tech School, deal?"

"Deal," Itaaj replied, visibly pulling himself out of his funk. "So, what's the gossip?" he asked trying to make an active effort to leave his self-doubt alone for now.

"Well, you know Tinney, right? See, he heard from a trainee in Fourth WOT about…"

Thursday started out just like Wednesday. The days are definitely starting to run together. Last night, he had decided to go easy on the pranks and instead just setup the computer to call in about twenty times during the day playing "Danny Boy" on a five-minute loop, starting after breakfast, he found the OAG had a wide range of music to choose from. He could hear the old tune playing while his Squad was drilling on the parade grounds. The sad notes drifting on the breeze were oddly comforting.

Lunch was a more leisurely affair than usual. The afternoon promised to be another round of classes. Itaaj didn't even pay attention to which ones would be taught this afternoon. He was still trying to pull himself out of his funk. His bunk-mate had been right. Now wasn't the time for thinking. It was the time for doing.

Itaaj was busy cleaning the catsup off his plate with his fries when the PA made his next prank announcement, _"Attention in the squadron. Trainees may no longer keep rats as pets in the dormitories. Repeat, Trainees may no longer keep rats as pets in the dormitories. Rats my carry plague. Exceptions may be made for talking rats with ninja training. Contact the Public Health Office for details"_

Itaaj was close enough to the Snake Pit to overhear, "At least it's not that damn song again. I don't know how sane I would be after another round of 'Oh, Danny Boy.'"

"Hey, it could be 'Tom Dooley.'"

"Ah. Don't even think that. I'll take 'Danny Boy' over 'Tom Dooley' any day."

Finished, Itaaj cleaned up his plates and deposited them with the dishwashers on KP. He went outside to wait for his Squad to form up. He joined some of his Squad already outside waiting.

"So, what's on the agenda for class today?" he asked.

"Yeah, like you need to know," ribbed one of his Squad-mates.

"You never know, it might be new information to me. Why? You don't know either?" Jon asked.

"Nope. Like you, I will go where told and listen to whatever. I'z been brainwashed. It's the mind control lasers, I tell ya… Oh, here comes O'Niell"

"Ordo"

"Sir, Trainee Ordo reports as ordered."

SrA O'Niell glanced at his watch. "Have the Squad form up in three minutes and proceed to classroom 106"

"Yes, Sir."

As SrA O'Niell walked off, Jon turned back to his Squad-mates. "I guess we'll find out in a few. I'll go scan the dining facility to see if everyone is out yet"

A few minutes later they filed into the assigned classroom. Jon identified the JAG as the same one who taught the UCMJ class. He frowned momentarily as he tried to recall which classes the JAG would teach. He felt that it was important. That he had wanted to remember for a reason.

"Welcome, Trainees, at ease. This class will be about the Law of Armed Conflict or LOAC. Can anyone tell me what LOAC is all about?" The JAG instructed.

Oh crap! I forgot about the Code of Conduct briefing, right after the LOAC briefing. Okay, no big deal. You have an hour to get your head on straight. Deep breath. That's it.

The JAG continued to discuss the details of intergalactic law and its application to war and other armed conflicts for the next hour. Jon sat quietly in the back.

"… So, the principles governing armed conflict are; military necessity, distinction, and proportionality…"

Itaaj flashed back to a time when it had been deemed a 'military necessity' to eliminate a political leader from the shadows. And another time when a drug lord was eliminated the same way.

"… The Geneva Conventions of 1949 of the OAG distinguished between lawful combatants, noncombatants, and unlawful combatants…"

Itaaj longed to point out that LOAC usually only applied to the OAG and other superpowers. That the Separatists and Death Watch had never cared to follow intergalactic law, let alone during war. Or that Outer Rim planets only followed intergalactic law when it was to their advantage.

But Itaaj succeeded in keeping quiet. He was even able to swallow his laugh when the JAG stated that the Rules of Engagement were always strictly adhered to and that the Geneva Conventions Treaties protected Medical and Religious personnel from POW status.

Yeah, keep believing that, Sir. I hope it helps you sleep at night. I know of one too many medics that refuse to wear the Red Cross because it makes them a target. They joke about the invisible bubble the Geneva Conventions has thrown around them that can deflect bullets and mortar rounds, like magic. And wish for world peace while you're at it.

"Alright, let's take a five-minute break before the next class," the JAG wrapped up the class and started to setup for the next class.

Itaaj went outside for some air. He was starting to feel closed in. Taking several deep breaths, he closed his eyes and tried to think happy thoughts. Go to your happy place. Sunshine, palm trees, nice beach, little bikinis. See, no problem.

"Time to go back in, Trainee."

Already? Deep breath. "Yes, Sir." Itaaj took his place again and immediately started to fidget. I'm not ready for this. STOP THINKING! Focus on… on… shit! 99 bottles of beer. That's it! Anything to distract me from this class… 99 bottles of beer on the wall, 99 bottles of beer, take one down and pass it around, 98 bottles of beer on the wall…

\- WARNING - CODE OF CONDUCT BRIEFING -WARNING -

The JAG's voice broke into his internal singing, "'Article I: I am a Mandalorian, fighting in the forces which guard my system and our way of life. I am prepared to give my life in their defence.' Can anyone explain what this means to you?" the JAG asked the class.

Oh come on! You have to ask? It means I signed up knowing that I might have to DIE to protect the good ole' Mandalor. Death before dishonour and all those pat little clichés. You know, it doesn't say anything about how many times you have to die to adequately satisfy Article I. Once? Ten times? Twenty? When is it acceptable to crack just to stay dead. Wait! That's the catch

The JAG's voice broke into Itaaj's attempt to distract himself, "'Article II: I will never surrender of my own free will. If in command, I will never surrender the members of my command while they still have the means to resist.' How would you define that last part, 'while they still have the means to resist'?"

Again, this one is too easy. Fight or evade until you can't fight anymore. Death is not an option the Mandalorians likes to take. So if the choice is capture or death, the government prefers capture, except if you are on a covert mission that is not sanctioned by 'official' policy. Then they prefer death. It's easier to leave you behind if you're dead. It's easier to forget about the 'spy' then to acknowledge that you were trying to assassinate a political leader against 'official' public policy. And that you forgot to get all the team out, namely yourself.

The JAG continued to drone on, "'Article III: If I am captured I will continue to resist by all means available. I will make every effort to escape and to aid others to escape. I will accept neither parole nor special favours from the enemy.' Can anyone give an example of 'special favours'?"

HA! Yeah, I could give you a long list of special favours. Like I'll stop beating the crap out of you if you tell me know many Mandalorians were in your team. Or I'll turn off the electricity if you give me a name. I'll let you out of the box if you simply sign this document. I'll give you food, water, a blanket, whatever… if you just tell me why you are here on this planet. How about, I'll stop torturing this poor kid if you will only tell me what you know about the attack on the palace. Or, my personal favourite, I'll let you die permanently if you just tell me what the they want with the girl. Yup, I could give you a long list of special favours the enemy likes to bring out during a good torture session.

The JAG recited the next Article, "'Article IV: If I am a prisoner of war, I will keep faith with my fellow prisoners. I will give no information or take part in any action which might be harmful to my comrades. If I am senior, I will take command. If not, I will obey the lawful orders of those appointed over me and will back them up in every way.' Could you ever be senior ranking in this kind of situation?" the JAG asked the class.

The PA warning sounded _"Oh, Danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling…"_ As the last notes faded, he slowly opened his eyes to see the JAG looking directly at him. Shit!

"Trainee, so pleased you could come back to us. Please read Article V for the group."

Great! Just push the drowning man under da water, why don't ya. Fine! Ya wanna quote? I can give ya a quote. But I'll be doing it on my terms, laddie. "Yes, Sir." But rather than reading the Article, Jon stood and walked slowly to the front of the class, his steps tightly controlled. The JAG stepped aside, confused.

Itaaj recited remembering what the Death Watch did to his father, "Article V: When questioned, should I become a prisoner of war, I am required to give name, rank, service number, and date of birth. I will evade answering further questions to the utmost of my ability. I will make no oral or written statements disloyal to my system and its allies or harmful to their cause. And when you feel that you can no longer evade answering their questions, and you WILL feel like giving in, keep in mind that answering will not make the 'questioning' stop. It will merely inform your captors of your breaking point. If you answer one question, they will ask more, and now they know one of your weaknesses. When that day comes and you want desperately to break, remember Article I and pray to whatever God you follow for salvation or peace."

Eventually, the JAG shook off his surprise and continued the class. "Uh, yeah, thank you. The… um… last one is 'Article VI: I will never forget that I am an MAndalorian, fighting for freedom, responsible for my actions, and dedicated to the principles which made my country free. I will trust in my clan and Mandalor.' Any questions on this last one? No? Okay, let's take a ten-minute break before the last section, while we wait for the Chaplain."

\- END - CODE OF CONDUCT BRIEFING - END -

Finally, Itaaj let out a deep sigh and looked around the room. TSgt Vega was in deep conversation with the JAG. The Chaplin had arrived and was setting up for the next lecture. His Squad-mates were moving about the room in small groups. A few were sending him quick glances.

Good job, Ordo. Now they all think you're just a bit whacked out of your mind. Of course, they could be right. Itaaj turned and went outside. He walked to the edge the concrete pad surrounding the building. He let the bright open space encompass his entire vision blocking any further dark thoughts.

"So, what was that all about?" a voice startled him out of his peace.

Itaaj turned to see the JAG. Now what? "Sir, Trainee Ordo reports as ordered. What was what about, Sir?"

"The Code of Conduct briefing. You had a little outburst, remember?"

Jon glanced back at the classroom door. TSgt Vega was collecting the other trainees. Holy cow! Saved by the bell. "Good class, Sir. If you'll excuse me, I need to return to my Squad now, Sir" Itaaj didn't wait for a dismissal. He simple snapped to attention and marched back to class, using one of the many evasion techniques.

"You can't avoid this forever, Trainee," the JAG dogged his steps.

Itaaj stopped and turned to face the JAG once more, "With all due respect, Sir, I've always found that sticking your fingers in your ears and humming loudly solves a whole slew of problems… Sir." Now, bugger off! Itaaj turned and stalked off again, this time humming 'Danny Boy.' He was relieved when the JAG stayed put. He took his seat just in time.

"Good afternoon, I'm Chaplin Moore and today we will be discussing Cultural Sensitivity."

Oh, for crying out loud! Are you trying to kill me?

And with that, Jon quietly hummed 'Danny Boy' the entire rest of the class. Totally tuning out the entire lecture.

Friday, thank goodness, was nothing like Thursday. Even if the days all still seemed the same, TSgt Vega was very glad that Thursday was finally over. However, this morning instead of reveille, he was greeted by Ricky Martin's Livin' La Vida Loca.

He sighed, resigned to the fact that the song would now be stuck in his head. At least it's not 'Danny Boy.' He was very thankful that there were no more lectures today. Yesterday had been weird enough.

First, MSgt McCaffey, his Blue Rope supervisor, had asked him to keep an eye on the Ordo kid. The kid had been off in la la land for the last two days. And when he finally did re-join the group, he had gone all weird in class. Very, very creepy.

And to top it all off, the kid had some kind of nightmare that woke half dorm at 0200 hours. And not just any nightmare, but a full blown screaming and kicking nightmare. TSgt Vega even had the bruises to prove it. He just wished he could understand what the kid had been screaming, but it was in some foreign tongue. Possibly a clan tounge.

Regardless, when he grabbed the kid's shoulder to wake him, he had been surprised at how quickly the kid had taken him out. A chop to the throat and a hefty kick to the gut had left him gasping for air as the kid fled to the corner behind the bunk. The other trainees had enough sense to stay back until the kid had pulled himself out of his nightmare. By the time TSgt Vega could breathe normally again, the kid was using that deep breathing exercise he had used during class to calm down and re-focus.

The final insult had been the kid's parting shot as he climbed back into bed. "Thanks for the wake up. Next time, just kick the bunk." And then like that, the kid was asleep again. TSgt Vega spent the entire rest of the night jittery and wide awake from that adrenaline rush.

Of course, now at 0445, the wide awake part was fading. He turned the Squad over to SrA O'Niell for PC and breakfast. If he didn't get some coffee now, he wouldn't be awake for drill later.

After a nice long shower and a change of clothes, TSgt Vega felt a bit more human. He reached for the coffee pot in the dining facility only to jerk his hand away as he spotted a small snake on the counter near the coffee maker.

Heart beating in his chest, he carefully watched the snake. It didn't move. He cautiously poked it with a straw. Still no movement. He finally grabbed the damn thing to find it was made of rubber with 'Made in OAG' stamped across its belly.

Son of a b—ch! He calmed his frazzled nerves and carefully poured his coffee and made his way over to the Snake Pit. "Mornin'," he greeted the other two TI's. He dropped the rubber snake on the table.

"Ah! You found another one."

"Another one?"

"Yes," the TI pulled up a box that had four of the rubber snakes in it already. "I dare say the trainees will find the rest. These are just the ones the KP found in the kitchen area."

"Great." TSgt Vega sighed. He could hear the first of the Squads back from PC outside. Soon, the trainees were trickling into the dining area and wolfing down breakfast. Before long the entire dining facility was full of trainees.

 _"Attention in the squadron. Due to a recent noise survey, all trainees are required to wear hearing protection within a five-foot radius of any Training Instructor. Repeat, all trainees are required to wear hearing protection within a five-foot radius of any Training Instructor. Any trainee currently experiencing hearing problems should report to Medical for a hearing test"_

TSgt Vega heard a deep sigh next to him. He turned to face MSgt McCaffey, the origin of the sigh.

"You know, eventually, the practical joker will get bored and move on."

TSgt Vega chuckled, "Is that before or after the rest of us all go insane?"

MSgt McCaffey returned with a smile of his own, "Oh, after. Definitely after."

"Ah! There's my Squad. Time to go."

"What do you have today?"

TSgt Vega thought for a moment, "Just drill and job classification on the plate for today."

"Good. Remember what I said about that Ordo kid."

"Don't worry. I've got both eyes on him. Am I looking for anything in particular?" TSgt Vega asked.

"Nah, just a hunch."

"Alright, see you later."

TSgt Vega had already intended to keep a close eye on the kid. Too many odd things were happening around him. But today, his close watch was for naught. Unlike the previous day, Ordo was right on and focused, though quieter than he had been before. He must have worked whatever was bugging him out of his system. As TSgt Vega retired for the evening, he gave a sigh of relief that nothing else odd had happened.

Saturday dawned bright and early. The Squad quickly formed up and left for PC and the weekly fitness evaluation. As the Squad was lining up in the dorm to head out for breakfast, one of the trainees called for TSgt Vega.

Now what? He sighed and followed the trainee to the dayroom. Their dorm was on the third floor of the building. As a result, the dayroom had a perfect view of what HAD to be the latest prank.

In the centre of the roof below the dayroom windows, was a splash of green with a white spot in the middle. It took a moment for TSgt Vega's brain to catch up to his eyes. In amongst the rest of the roof, someone had setup a perfect square in sod. Then they had staked a sheep to the centre of it. The poor sheep was munching away contentedly on a pile of hay seemingly without a care in the world, completely undisturbed by its rooftop surroundings.

"Is that a sheep?" one of the trainees asked.

"Yup," responded another.

"Sweet! Definitely improves the view."

Chuckling, TSgt Vega could make out other trainees across the way, peering through their dayroom windows. Shaking his head, "Ordo, report this to the CQ. The rest of you, form up downstairs for breakfast."

Breakfast was interrupted only by one announcement. _"Attention in the squadron. All trainees departing for base or town liberty, the 'no drinking of alcoholic beverages' rule does not imply that alcohol may be imbibed through an IV or enema. Repeat, the 'no drinking of alcoholic beverages' rule does not imply that alcohol may be imbibed through an IV or enema"_ The announcement only elicited a few rolled eyes, before the trainees returned to eating.

TSgt Vega worked the Squad hard during drill practice, but was very satisfied with their progress. So satisfied that he released the Squad to go to the BX without an escort, and he only demanded a promise to return to the squadron by 1600. They even managed to keep it.

Yup, the Squad is shaping up very well indeed.

Codex update, The Mandalorian Militiamen

"Each of you came here to help protect our home from those who would dare challenge the Mandalorians! Today, we will fight with the OAG to stop the Death Watch! for too long they have caused a great disgrace for all Mandalorians! They dare call themselves Mando'ad! They dare say they want help the Mandalorians! It's all a lie. While they may be some who are Mandalorians, those like Pre Vizsla are just idiots who can't understand how much has changed." Mandalore the Freedom addressing the newly developed Mandalorian Militia army in jungles of Mandalore.

The Mandalorian Militiamen were a Mandalorian army made of volunteers from various of Mandalorian clans, Clan Bralor and Clan Shysa being biggest ones to join. They were not really a standing army as they were only called up to defend the Mandalore Sector and wore various of armor colors or designs. But they were were highly skilled soldiers and warriors, being very well trained in jungle warfare. They saw heavy action against the Death Watch with the OAG, despite Satine's disagreements towards very idea of violent and fighting, she had no longer could say no Mandalore needed an army to protect the people.

The rogue Alpha class ARC trooper Spar would join this army, before he would later found the Mandalorian Protectors in True Mandalorians image.

Home base.  
It was within the jungles of Mandalore, very close to the Werda Kurs(Dark Forest), thus the Mandalorian soldiers had lot of training as they on many times had to fight Mandalore's most dangerous creatures, honing their skills.

Equipment.  
The Mandalorian Militiaman all owned their own personal sets of Mandalorian armor, each with their own custom designs and symbols. They used beskads, Mandalorian swords made from beskar, thus making it enable go against lightsabers. As for blasters, members of the group were fond of using either WESTER blaster carbines or EE-3 blaster carbines, other members chose their own personal blasters.

Creatures of the _Werda Kurs_ , the Dark Forest:

 **Echo Snakes:** Massive serpents that have lost their eyesight due to their time spent in the murky waters of the jungle's rivers. They have since evolved to use echolocation to stalk their prey both within the water and out. They are highly dangerous constrictor-class snakes that are efficient ambushers and deadly opponents.

Ranger Recommendation **:** Kill on sight. Teams of six or more Rangers are recommended. Do not engage near rivers or streams and _do not_ engage while in the water.

 **Kalo Wolves** : Large canine beasts with quilled backs and six legs. A distant relative of the strill, Kalo Wolves can be found across Mandalore, often in dense forests or jungles or in mountainous regions. The jungle variants have long, venomous fangs they use to paralyze their prey, leaving them to be torn apart by the larger pack.

Ranger Recommendation: Kalo Wolves are a common cause for complaint among the civilian pioneers living within the jungle. Rangers are recommended to avoid packs where possible and retreat if engaged. If civilians are endangered, use two teams of three Rangers to chase away or exterminate as necessary.

 **Razorback Sharks:** Not technically sharks, Razorbacks are actually a species of aggressive porpoises that compete with the larger Echo Snakes in the jungle waterways. They are streamlined creatures with sharpened, razor-edged scales they use to slice open their prey. Swarm in schools of upwards of ten to fifteen and can be very dangerous to clumsy or inattentive water-goers.

Ranger Recommendation: try not to engage. Razorbacks do not attack if they do not feel threatened. If a school is spotted, try to avoid. If Razorbacks stray too close to civilian population centers, use nets and electro-shock mini-grenades in the water to drive the school away.

 **Cackle Birds:** Strange songbirds that inhabit the upper treetops of the jungle, Cackle Birds are large and multi-colored avians that have a talent for mimicry, particularly when applied to human speech. They often mimic people calling out for help, leading Ranger patrols into dangerous areas such as Kalo Wolf dens. The Rangers are then killed by the larger, deadlier beasts, and the Cackle Birds scavenge whatever is left over.

Ranger Recommendation: Do not trust calls for help or other pleas within the jungle borders. Most often, they are Cackle Birds leading patrols into a trap. However, large flocks of Cackle Birds should be investigated, as they usually point the way toward recent kills or other oddities within the jungle. The avians themselves are harmless and usually do not attack Rangers operating within the forest. Can even be tamed and potentially domesticated, given time.

 **Mover Roots:** Chameleon-like creatures that look like the twisted, gnarled roots of trees. Movers are actually a species of reptile that move slowly and draw their prey in by blending in with the background flora. When unknowing prey drifts too close, their root-like arms snap out and draw their meal in, devouring them over the course of the next few days.

Ranger Recommendation: These reptiles are usually harmless, and do not actively hunt humanoid beings. However, Rangers should be on the lookout for Movers when on patrol. They are difficult to spot, but they will ensnare and devour man sized beings or larger if they get the chance.

 _ **Jai'galaare**_ **or Shriek-Hawks:** Massive, man-sized avian creatures with piercing eyes, binocular vision, and a very long, razor-sharp beak. They prowl the treetops and skies above the canopy and are the top of the food chain in their natural environment. They are viciously aggressive and attack whenever possible, though Rangers sticking to the forest floor are usually sheltered by overhanging branches. Can be identified by their ear-splitting hunting screech. Their feathers are highly prized across Mandalore as badges of honor.

Ranger Recommendation: Avoid at all costs. _Jai'galaare_ are highly respected in Mandalorian society and should not be harmed unless absolutely necessary. However, if engaged, the Shriek-Hawk will not retreat until either it or its prey is dead. In such cases, lethal force is authorized.

Addendum: Any Rangers caught poaching the _Jai'galaare_ to sell feathers on the black market will be immediately stripped of command and tried for disobeying fundamental Mandalorian tenets, the punishment for which is being branded _dar'manda_.

 **Blackstalkers:** A highly dangerous arachnid species with twelve legs, twenty compound eyes, and the ability to quickly climb trees. Blackstalkers, named for their highly reflective black carapaces, spin nearly-invisible webs through three branches and wait for distracted animals or Ranger patrols to pass through. They then spin their prey up in a cocoon and inject them with a venom that liquifies the internal organs for consumption by the creature. What remains afterward is usually a web-tied husk with the external features mostly intact or even undisturbed, but all the internal organs completely gone.

Ranger Recommendation: Blackstalkers are numerous throughout the Dark Forest and seem to increase in number each passing season. As such, special teams are dispatched on a weekly basis to travel into the jungle and burn out any Blackstalker nests with special liquid flamethrowers designed specifically for the Ranger Corps. Any other Blackstalkers encountered on patrol should be killed immediately either by blaster shots, bladed weapons or, most preferably, with fire.

 **Clan Askaari:** Clan Askaari are a highly hostile Mandalorian clan even to other Mandalorians, who reside in the Werda Kurs. They have been in isolation in Werda Kurs for many years and are hostile to anyone entering their territory, they will kill everyone who enters their territory and steal their equipment. It is firmly believe that because they been in isolation for so long since Great Galactic War couple thousand years ago, they are actually not aware of there are other Mandalorians on the planet up till Death Watch made contact with them. From reports in contacts with them, they are mostly humans who stand roughly 6 foot tall, wearing what looks like ancient sets of Mandalorian armor dating back to Great Galactic War.

Recommendation: Under orders of Mandalore the Freedom, Mandalorian patrols are not to engage members of Clan Askaari unless they are attacked or had taken prisoners from patrol, Mand'alor hopes try make talks with the clan as he is not one fight fellow Mandalorians. But there is a limit to what Mandalore the Freedom will accept. Patrols are to be watchful of trees as Clan Askaari appear be very skilled in ambushes.

 **Reaper Raiders:** The most common threat to civilians living within the limits of the _Werda Kurs,_ Reapers are not actually creatures, but humanoid bandits who raid fishing villages, hunting posts, and other settlements throughout the forests. They are usually not well-equipped, making do with salvaged or self-made weapons. However, in large enough numbers Reaper Raiders do pose a significant threat to both the local settlers and the Ranger Corps.


	11. The Mandalorian Militiamen part 2

**The First Contact War**

 _Chapter 11 The Mandalorian Militiamen Part 2_

* * *

Third WOT Agenda: Basic Self Defense, Mental Preparation for Combat, Basic Field Security and Tactics, 2nd Uniform Issue, Haircuts, Weapons Evaluation, AEF Predeployment Preparation, AEF Assignment Notification

TSgt Vega stood up and glanced around. "Well, ladies. Since you're already up. Get dressed and ready for chow. Reveille is in 5 minutes. You have 35 minutes to be ready. That includes tidying your lockers, beds, and common areas. MOVE!" TSgt Vega stopped Ijaat with his hand. "Ordo, I want to talk you about this later. Understood?"

"Yes, Sir," Ijaat replied. Great. Just great. The damn TI was channeling Daniel now. Next thing you know, SrA O'Niell would be spouting techno-babble. Oh joy.

Breakfast was a leisurely affair for BMT. After the initial excitement over the foaming sugar cubes by the coffee pot, the Flight settled down to eat. They didn't even bother to warn the next Squad about the sugar cubes. Didn't want to spoil their fun.

Ijaat continued to remain subdued. He still felt ashamed about this morning's incident and could barely stand to look his Squad-mates in the eye. He finally pushed the whole thing to the back of his mind. Did it really matter who he was as long as he was alive? He re-lived every memory. He was caught up in every damn nightmare. The least he could do was claim them as his own. But how do you explain a nightmare, that you shouldn't be having at all, to people who wouldn't understand?

Once the Squad had marched back to the dorm, TSgt Vega called them all into the day room for the weekly agenda briefing. Ijaat sat near the front, not wanting to know if everyone was watching him, waiting for him to crack.

TSgt Vega stood behind the podium in the day room, "Good morning, Trainees. Welcome to your Third Week of Training. It looks like some of you might actually make it through training to become members of my Militia. By Third WOT, you are expected to know how to keep the dorm clean and tidy at all times. Sometime this week will be your Red Line Inspection. Failure to pass this inspection will result in you being recycled to an earlier week with another Squad. If enough of you fail, the whole Squad will be sent back to repeat Second WOT. Any questions?" TSgt Vega asked, scanning the room.

"No? Alright then, next up is this week's training agenda. In addition to the daily PC and Drill, on Monday, we will be adding a basic self defense class. This will include an evaluation on what you already know and how to bring all of you up to a basic skill level. These classes will be taught by the Mandalorian Scout Ranger Training Cadre. So, if you are hoping to go into their VERY elite ranks, here is your chance to impress them.

"Tuesday will continue the self defense classes and add a class on how to mentally prepare yourself for combat. Wednesday will see the third and final self defense class and a primer in field security and tactics. You will be using these techniques in Fourth WOT so pay attention. On Thursday, you will pick up your blues from logistics and get another haircut. Pictures will follow. That afternoon we will evaluate how well you have cared for your weapons. Friday is mostly classroom instruction for Warrior Week. AEF Just-In-Time (JIT) training, pre-deployment processing, assignment notification, yada yada yada. This will basically run you through the deployment process so you are familiar with it. Saturday, after your FINAL PC evaluation, you will test on the first part of your ATO. Failure to pass either test will result in recycling to an earlier week. On Sunday, we bus out for the field portion of your training. Once there, you will receive extensive training on how to survive in a field combat environment, AKA Warrior Week. Keep in mind that you will be walking a significant portion of the way to your field site with your full field kit, issued on the deployment processing line" TSgt Vega smirked as he watched the trainees' faces. Ijaat was tempted to turn and look for himself, but decided against it. He still wasn't comfortable meeting anyone's eyes yet.

TSgt Vega gave an evil grin as he continued, "Finally, we get to start a new tradition this week: Mail Call. But before I get started, I want you to let you know the penalties. First, for each letter received from a female that is not directly related to you by blood, you will give me 5 push-ups. For fraternizing with the enemy, i.e. OAG Navy, OAG Army, OAG Marines, or heaven help you, the Mandalorian Border Force, you will give me a 2 minute leg lift. For care packages, you will share goods evenly among your element members and give me 30 sit-ups. Any questions?"

"NO, SIR," they chorused. Ijaat could feel the excitement from his Squad-mates as they anticipated receiving letters from home. In spite of the threat of push-ups and sit-ups, these letters would be the first outside news from home that the group received since starting BMT.

"Alright then, Jones. Front and center." Trainee Jones carefully picked his way to the front and TSgt Vega held up three letters. "I assume that Mrs. Edna Jones is a relation, but a Ms. Thiel is not, correct?"

"Yes, Sir." The trainee dropped to the ground and cranked out 5 push-ups. He collected his letters and made his way back to his spot with a huge grin on his face.

"Korkie," he called next and so on. Ijaat began to tune out the proceedings. He wasn't expecting any mail. However, he was startled back to reality with TSgt Vega's sharp comment, "And finally, we have Ordo"

Jon frowned and stood up.

"Personally, I don't know where to begin, Ordo. Luckily, someone already thought of that for me. I figure that this letter labeled 'Urgent' and 'Read Me First' would make an interesting starting point, don't you?" TSgt Vega gave Jon a shit-eating grin as he handed him a single letter. "Go ahead, we're waiting."

"Yes, Sir," Ijaat mumbled as he opened the letter, confused. It was an intradepartmental memo with a sticky note attached. The sticky note was in mum's handwriting. It simply stated, 'I am so sorry. I couldn't stop him. mum.'

Frowning, Ijaat pulled the sticky note off and read the memo.

UNCLASSIFIED NOFORN

1 June 2005

MEMORANDUM FOR All Departments

FROM: MG Han Ordo (Corellian Navy Attaché to the Mandalorian Navy)

SUBJECT: New Morale Program for Department Family Members

Since taking charge of the department, it has come to my attention that we currently don't have any department wide morale programs (Thanks, Walter). So, I have taken it upon myself to create the first DHWS morale program.

As we all know, our families have sustained us through the hard times. We often seek their support to make it through the tough spots. Surprisingly enough, in spite of seeing the worst, the next generation seeks to follow our example and join the military to make us proud.

So to honor these courageous young people, who think they can do better than the old man, I have created the Next Generation Letter Project. Quarterly, a list of newly recruited family members from our own DHWS will be published. All DHWS members are encouraged to send letters and care packages to these young recruits to show them our support.

CMSgt Walter Harriman has been appointed as the Next Generation Letter Project Leader. Anyone wanting to submit a name for the list is encouraged to contact him in Colorado. Thanks for your support

SIGNED

HAN. , MG, CN

Director

Attachment:

4th Qtr List

UNCLASSIFIED NOFORN

Ijaat went white

"Well, Trainee?" TSgt Vega's voice broke through Ijaat's shock and brought him back to his current reality.

"I think I liked it better when I didn't get my memos, Sir" Ijaat continued to look stricken and handed the memo over to the grinning TSgt.

TSgt Vega frowned as he read the memo. "Oh, well I guess that explains the rest of the letters."

"The rest… Sir?"

TSgt Vega's grin snapped back into place as he pushed a large box out from behind the podium. "I counted 206 letters, 40 from females, 104 from the enemy, and 7 care packages. So you owe me, 200 push-ups, 208 minutes of leg lifts, and 210 sit-ups."

Ijaat gave a resigned sigh, "Yes, Sir."

Jon was able to pay up on the push-ups and sit-ups, but only made it through 20 minutes' worth of leg lifts before he was unable to continue. TSgt Vega claimed it was good enough for now and dismissed the Squad to their various Sunday tasks.

After the dorm had been cleaned and most of the Squad had left for the chapel, Ijaat returned to the dayroom to sort through the letters. He was surprised to see how many of the names he recognized. Of course, Daniel, Sam, and Margret had each sent a letter. Sam had sent on a care package as well. Siler had sent the largest care package, and Ijaat was almost afraid to open it. However, the biggest surprise had been the letters from Mrs. Struble's summer pre-school class. The hand drawn crayon pictures alone were enough to make him smile. They reminded him of Merrin and he wondered how she was faring.

"So, how did you get over 200 letters anyway?" his bunkmate, Skoke walked up and sat down across from him, the piles of letters in between them. Ruso, Element Four's leader also joined them.

Ijaat gave them a wane smile, "Ah, long story. Here, I'll let you read the memo." He handed them the DHWS memo.

"What's NOFORN mean?" Ruso asked. "It kinda sounds dirty."

Jon smiled, "It's a type of classification. It basically means no foreign release."

"What is this DHWS? I don't think I have ever heard of it." Skoke was looking closely at the memo header.

Ijaat paused, "Uh… classified."

"But it says unclassified at the top," Skoke pointed out.

Ijaat gave them an evil grin, "The acronym is unclassified. Its long name that's classified. Sorry."

"So, this is your dad," Ruso commented. "Does he know just how badly he's screwed you over?"

Ijaat laughed, "Oh, yeah. Some things are the same no matter what service you went through, officer or enlisted. He did it on purpose, sort of an father's revenge. He's probably just getting me back for the pranks back home"

"Man, you called someone besides family that week," Ruso exclaimed. "I had to hear my mama and let her know I was good. You know. If I didn't, I'm certain my papa would have found me and kicked my ass, Basic or no."

Skoke chuckled, "I don't think my family would go quite that far, but they would have been concerned if they hadn't heard from me."

"Yeah, well, in a way, Daniel is family. Just not blood." Jon chuckled softly. "Actually, it's kind of like everyone in this stack," he gestured to the pile of letters, "is my extended family. I know most of them."

"Yeah, well, extended family or no, you are going to be one buff son-of-a-bitch by the time you graduate." Ruso eyed the stack carefully. "You got a girl in this big stack?"

"Nope. Completely unattached."

Ruso frowned and shook his head sadly. "That's just sad, man"

Skoke chuckled, "Just ignore him. He's not thinking with the right head"

"That's cold, man. Plain cold. Besides, the Sarge said that some 40 of those letters were from girls. I figured at least one would be hot for him."

Ijaat smirked, "Ya sure, you betcha. You might not believe this, but I was a bit of a geek in high school."

Ruso and Skoke both shook their head in disbelief. "No way. You could pass the PC test right now. The geeks are the ones we are trying to get fit enough to pass."

"Really, I spent all my time studying or playing sport. Hell, I even graduated a year early."

"Now we know that you are pulling our legs" Skoke replied.

"Yeah, well, I didn't find high school all that challenging." Jon shrugged and looked for a way to change the subject. "What about you two? You got girls back home?"

"Hell yeah, man," Ruso replied. "I have two or three honeys waiting for me."

"So… Ruso is single. Me… I don't have anything serious. My girl wanted to go to college. Her parents paid her way. I have to use the GI Bill to afford it. So, we parted ways." Skoke shrugged. "It's probably for the best."

The PA warning sounded. All three turned their attention to the PA speaker. _"Attention in the squadron. Due to the truth in advertising laws, AAFES has changed their slogan from 'We go where you go' to 'Like you have a choice.' Repeat, the new AAFES slogan is 'Like you have a choice.' Please continue to patronize your only choice in military clothing needs."_

Skoke turned to Ruso, "I give it a four."

"You're generous. I don't exactly understand the joke. So, two," replied Ruso.

Ijaat gave his two Squad-mates an odd look. "What?" he asked.

Skoke turned back to Ijaat, "Ruso and I started rating the pranks on a scale from one to ten based on how funny they were. That one was not so funny. Eh, maybe we just don't have the right context."

Ijaat grinned, "I bet some TI is laughing his ass off." He gestured back at Skoke, "Would that be your context?"

"I guess," Ruso replied. "At least then at least I'd know that someone got the joke,"

"Poor baby, would it help if I explained it for you?" Ijaat asked sarcastically.

Ruso growled at him, "No way. If I can't get it on my own, I don't want no help." Ruso's face split in a big grin, "My favorite is still the mind control lasers. Pure genius"

Ijaat started to pack away the letters. He had skimmed through all of them. A few he kept for re-reading later. Most, he just folded up. "Well, I'm off to see if TSgt Vega will open the civvies closet to store this stuff. The care packages are open to anyone who wants something"

"I thought you only had to share with your element?" Ruso asked around a bite of chocolate walnut cookie.

Ijaat gave him a pointed look, "And which element would that be exactly?" Being the Dorm Chief meant he didn't belong to an element.

The light went on in Ruso's head, "Ah. Point taken."

Jon picked up the box and headed over to the TI's office. He set the box on the floor before knocking once on the door.

"Enter"

Ijaat opened the door and stepped inside, "Sir, Trainee Ordo reports as ordered. Would it be possible to store these letters with my civilian gear, Sir?"

TSgt Vega regarded him steadily. "Do you think you will get many more of these letters, Trainee?"

Ijaat winced, "Unfortunately, yes, I do, Sir. The Department is a rather tight knit group, Sir. We take care of our own, Sir."

"We?"

Shit! I did it again. What the hell is wrong with me? "The… um…" He let out a huff of air. "The personnel in the Department have treated me like family, Sir. In many ways they are the only family I have, Sir." Good grief, I must sound like the world's biggest sap.

TSgt Vega just stared at him a few more seconds, "Okay, I'll accept that." He reached over and grabbed his keys. Lifting one, he gestured towards the locked closet. "We'll see how many letters come in. For now, I'll let you store them in the closet. Go put them away and come back. We still have to talk about those nightmares."

Jon grimaced. "Yes, Sir." Ijaat took the keys and his box to the locked closet. He unlocked the door and set the box just inside the door. Closing the door firmly, he returned to the office to face TSgt Vega.

Once back in the office, TSgt Vega gestured to the chair and closed the door. "So, tell me. When did the nightmares start? What are they about?"

Ijaat hesitated, "Sir, permission to speak freely and drop the 'sir.'"

TSgt Vega watched him closely. "Granted."

"I have had the nightmares for a while," he replied, honestly"It was just after the OAG showed up. I was walking home with my father when the Death Watch ambushed us. Some OAG amrines were nearby and tried to fight them off, they failed. Me, my father and a single Marine called Daniel were captured and taken away. They held us for a week before they recued us… But…They tortured us, I won't go into details but it left its mark… They are triggered when I feel closed in, trapped. I end up feeling the need to fight back... Unfortunately, that is why it takes me a few minutes to remember where I am."

"Is there anything else, Sir?" Ijaat asked, signaling that the session was at an end.

"No. Thank you"

Jon left the TI's office with his thoughts in turmoil once more. But before he left he heard.

"Ordo, to pull through like you have… Is true grit and courage"

Monday dawned to the tune of Blue Monday by Fats Domino. The jazz tune seemed to fit well with Jon's mood. He didn't really feel like facing this week, but knew that he would have to regardless. He couldn't quit. It wasn't in his nature. He may not know who he was exactly anymore, but he knew what he wasn't. He wasn't a quitter.

"Ordo, run this down to CQ and meet us on the parade ground for PC." TSgt Vega handed Ijaat an envelope and turned to the rest of the Squad. "Form up, down stairs, double time."

"Yes, Sir." Ijaat took the envelope down the stairs towards the CQ office. As he approached, he could hear Col Harding bellowing.

"Captain, I don't care how it got in there. Get rid of it out now." Then the colonel stormed past Ijaat as he walked down the hallway. Ijaat risked a glace in the Captain's office as he walked past. Inside the office every surface was covered in tin foil. In the middle of the room, stood one confused Captain trying to peel the tin foil off of his computer.

Ijaat continued down the hall way smirking. It had taken more time to smuggle the tin foil into the office over the weekend than it had taken to cover every surface. The hardest part had been muffling the noise from the CQ desk, just down the hallway. He almost forgot to wipe the smirk off his face as he handed the envelope to the CQ. "Sir, Trainee Ordo reports as ordered. From TSgt Vega, Sir."

The CQ took the envelope without looking up, "Thank you, Trainee. Dismissed." Ijaat was grinning all the way out to PC. Nothing like a little prank to lift the spirits.

The Squad went through their scheduled PC, breakfast, and drill with practiced ease. They were truly starting to get the hang of their new life. For the first time, TSgt Vega gave them a compliment about their drilling. The whole Squad glowed under his praise. Before long they were marching to the gym where the self-defence evaluations would take place.

They lined up as instructed against the outer wall. In the centre of the room were the ten meanest looking men Jon had seen in a long time. They were not especially large or bulky, but wiry and lean and they moved with a feline grace. Off to one side was the CMSgt in charge of the Scout Ranger Indoctrination Training. Apparently, he liked to see the new trainees for himself.

When Ijaat first saw the Chief, he felt that he should know him, but couldn't remember from where. But when the Chief took his place in front of the Scout-Ranger (PJ) Cadre, Ijaat felt the hairs on his spine rise up. It was Meatball.

"Good Morning, Trainees. I'm Chief Master Sergeant Shysa. I am supervising this evaluation. These men here are experienced instructors in most forms of hand-to-hand combat. They will evaluate your current skill level and determine how much training you will require over the next few days. Likewise, they will be evaluating you for suitability in the elite Scout Ranger specialty. Their good opinion will ONLY give you a chance to test for the position, not guarantee you a spot. Their poor opinion will not even give you that. Line up, 5 to an instructor. Go!"

The evaluations were brief. Most of his Squad-mates had never been trained in any type of hand to hand combat. And those few that had taken lessons or some other form of martial art were only vaguely aware of how safe their sport really was. This wasn't sparring for fun and games. This was combat. Winner take all.

Ijaat was mentally preparing himself as he waited. He evaluated his opponent, as the instructor took down each trainee in turn, like a cat playing with mice. When he finally took his turn, he knew that he was better than the instructor. Or at least that Jack had been better.

When the instructor gave him the signal to begin, he gave the instructor exactly what he was expecting. Ijaat appeared to charge in attack, but instead of coming straight on he dodged left, away from the instructor's attack, and then right into an opening. Two hits and a kick had the instructor on his knees in surprise. Ijaat continued to press his attack and ended with the man in a loose choke hold.

"I yield," the instructor croaked.

Ijaat immediately let go and backed away from the man. The fight had been short, but had left his adrenaline pumping. Ijaat was instinctively looking for another target.

"Well done, Trainee," the Chief's voice startled Ijaat. Chief Shysa had witnessed the match and had come over to take a closer look at the one trainee who practically glowed with promise. "Care to try again against someone with a little more experience?" the Chief asked smiling.

"Yes, Sir," Ijaat said, momentarily forgetting himself.

The Chief's smile faded a bit, Ijaat gave him an evil grin. With that he attacked, taking a different approach from the first match. He tested the Chief's defences and probed his weak areas. He found that Shysa still had a weak defence on the right, a strong left hook, and continued to ignore his legs. Finally, Ijaat attacked in a blinding whirlwind of blows, each a mere tap without any true force behind them.

"Enough," the Chief bellowed. "You've made your point. I yield." Then the Chief bowed to Ijaat. "What's your name, Trainee?" he asked, grinning widely. It wasn't often that the Chief had been bested by a brand new recruit.

Ijaat hesitated, and then gave a resigned sigh, "Trainee Ordo, at your service, Chief."

The Chief's smile faded and his face went pale. "Ordo. Ever consider Scout Rangers?"

Ijaat's grin faded. "Yes, Chief. But, I have other plans."

"Ah, Special Forces then. You'll do well there."

Ijaat continued to frowned, "Thank you Sir"

The Chief turned a sceptical eye on him, "We'll see. In the meantime, you can test if you want. I doubt that you'll have any problems passing, if Coyote has been seeing to your training." With that the Chief turned and headed back to the other instructors.

The Squad made it back to the platoon just in time for the daily prank announcement. _"Attention in the squadron. There will be a meeting at 1800 in Classroom 104 for the Caffeine Addicts Anonymous group. Repeat, there will be a meeting at 1800 in Classroom 104 for the CAA. Tonight's topic will be field remedies for the caffeine addict. Bring the instant coffee packets from your MRE's. See you there."_

Ijaat heard a few snorts while he grabbed lunch off the serving line. He dug into his food while he debated how best to discourage Chief Shysa.

"Ordo, is it true?" one of his table mates asked between mouthfuls of food.

"What?" he asked.

"Is it true that you got offered a chance to test for the SR's?" the trainee clarified.

Jon chewed thoughtfully, "Yeah."

"Sweet."

"Yeah, if you say so."

The self-defence class that afternoon went as well as Ijaat had expected. The instructor called on him several times to demonstrate a specific technique for the rest of the trainees. He and the other trainees with experience were tasked to assist the instructor in teaching the most basic techniques to their Squad-mates.

Ijaat watched as Chief Shysa and TSgt Vega chatted on the side-lines. Apparently, whatever was said was enough for the Chief. Ijaat wasn't asked again if he wanted to test for Scout Rangers. Ijaat was both relieved and disappointed with the outcome. So, the Squad marched back to the Platoon tired and eager for another round of Mail Call. Ijaat's muscles dreaded the event with equal feeling.

Tuesday dawned with reveille. Half the Squad was up before the first notes sounded. They were finally adjusting to the schedule. Ijaat was surprisingly nightmare free and that put him in a good mood to start the day. He heard a startled expression from the dorm guard, just as the Squad was ready to depart the dorm. Peering down the short hallway, he could just make out the newsprint on the paper covering the dorm doorway and smirked. You betcha, a good start indeed.

TSgt Vega took charge as the Squad hesitated, "Come on. Tear it down. You don't want to be late for PC. The clock is ticking, trainees."

In short order the Squad had cleared the mess, and was on its way down to the parade ground for PC. Their brother Flight across the hallway was still cleaning their's up as they filed past.

Again, PC, breakfast, and drill went smoothly for the Flight. The Flight had just settled into the classroom for the Mental Preparation for Combat class when the PA sounded, _"Attention in the squadron. Today's memorable quote is 'Interdum feror cupidine partium magnarum Europea vincendarum' attributed to a young Napoleon during his alter boy days. In English it says, 'Sometimes I get this urge to conquer large parts of Europe.' Contact the Military Historical Society for more information."_

"What was that all about?" the Lt Colonel from the Medical Group's Life Skills department asked TSgt Vega.

Ijaat grinned as he watched TSgt Vega stumble through a bogus explanation about improving trainee morale through humour. The good LtC didn't appear to be amused.

Ijaat tuned out the rest of the class while appearing attentive. He knew that there was no true way to prepare yourself for combat. The mental health doctors could harp about conditioning and reflex reactions, but ultimately, you will either freeze or fight when faced with the prospect of kill or be killed.

It is the most primal emotion that humans experience. And until these trainees were faced with the reality of their death, they would feel invincible. Nothing could change that. Only in that moment of truth would the fighters draw on their training. The rest would freeze. Though with the all-volunteer force, few of the latter ever bothered to join any of the armed services, while the former seemed to be drawn to it. Lunch was followed by another self-defence class.

Wednesday started off much the same as the previous days. Reveille was followed by PC and breakfast. However, drill was replaced by an extensive class on basic field security and field tactics.

Today's prank on the unit became evident when one of the instructors for their tactics class, sat down in his chair at the front of the classroom. A long, loud fart noise soon followed. Even in the face of a piercing glare, the trainees couldn't help but crack a smile. TSgt Vega quickly intercepted the hapless instructor before he could tongue lash the trainees for their lack of respect.

However, the initial good humour over the joke was soon replaced by tension as the trainees learned the basics in setting up a perimeter, defensive positions, and lines of fire. The instructor was clear to let the trainees know that the field tactics part of the course was for their information, in case their officers were killed and they were to assume command to complete the mission objective. The instructor followed that comment up with the fact that the evaluation teams enjoyed killing off the field commanders in an exercise just to see what the trainees would do.

After that the trainees were dismissed for lunch and from lunch they went to their final self-defence class. Just as the class was finishing, Chief Shysa pulled Ijaat aside again to be refused again.

Later that evening, after another nearly endless round of push-ups and sit-ups from Mail Call, Ijaat was walking through the dorm bays and helping his Squad-mates and fix minor discrepancies with their lockers. He had a funny feeling that the Red Line inspection would come soon. And since his 'spidey senses' were tingling, he decided to get his Squad to focus on the super-minor details now, when they had the free time.

Tomorrow's prank was almost setup. It just had to have the time delay set to execute and fill the ink well. A matter of a few minutes at most. So, Jon had planned to be available all night, just in case.

"Here, see this T-shirt. The folding is perfect, but the edges are not quite flush with each other or the locker shelf" Ijaat pointed to the stack. It was almost perfect. "Much better," he commended once the stack was properly aligned. "Alright, close it up and don't touch anything you don't have to." He patted the kid on the shoulder and moved to the next locker.

 _"Attention in the squadron. All trainees will note that all facility lights must be in the On Full Force mode when the room is empty. Repeat, all trainees will note that all facility lights must be in the On Full Force mode when the room is empty. Instructors are encouraged to police their areas of responsibility for compliance. Contact Civil Engineering help desk for more information."_

"What the hell is 'On Full Force' mode?" one of the naiver trainees, Bergen, asked.

Bergen's bunk mate snorted and corrected him, "O. F. F. Off."

"Oh…OH!"

"You guys want any help with your lockers?" Ijaat asked them.

"No thanks, Dorm Chief. Thomas came by earlier and checked us out. We should be good," came the quick reply.

Just then, Ruso stopped next to Ijaat "Okay, I have quadruple checked every locker in my element. The bathroom is spotless with only one pisser open. Are you happy yet?"

Jon smirked, "I'm never happy, but I'll concede that we have done everything we can for now."

"Excellent." Ruso turned to the bay. "Everyone, don't touch nothin' and get to the day room." Ruso left to collect the rest of the Flight and make his announcement in the other bay.

Once the whole Squad had assembled in the day room, Ruso stood in front of the podium. "Good evening, ya'all's. It occurred to me not too long ago that we all have been here three weeks already and have done pretty much nothing but get our heads filled with stuff. In fact, I would go so far as to say we were zombies these last few weeks. So, now that we know we can hack it, I got with the other Element Leaders to help boost our morale a bit. Okay, Stretch, you're up."

Ruso was joined by Skoke, Thomas, and Jackson. Skoke spoke next, "We wanted to commend those of our Squad-mates who have improved their performance with an informal awards presentation. Please accept these prizes thanks to the Dorm Chief's extended family, without which we would have to visit the BX a lot more often. For the Most Improved Running Time, Taylor from Element 3" The whole Flight cheered the slowest trainee. "Nice job"

Jackson stepped forward, "For the Best Made Bed, we have Soto from Element One. For the record, the quarter jumped 22 inches on the bounce"

Thomas stepped forward as Jackson stepped back, "For the Most Likely to Get Married award, we have Lorenzo from Element Four. Man, we love you and all, but I think I know more about your girlfriend than she does"

Ruso stood forward once more, "For the Least Likely to Get Recycled award, we have Stull from Element Two. I just want ya'all to know that this dude, has volunteered for night, dorm guard duty from now until graduation, just to study his ATO. He is so studiously avoiding having to open the door to the wrong person that he is willing to pull double shifts. Thanks a lot, man"

"Finally, we have the Mary Poppins' Award," Skoke spoke once more. "For the trainee who is 'Practically Perfect in Every Way.' Ordo. Way to go Dorm Chief. Come on, speech"

"Ack! I'm not so good with speeches. It's one of my many flaws" Ijaat held up his hands to stem the tide of boos sent his way. "I'm just sayin'… Alright, I get it." Ijaat stood up and paused for effect. "Fine," he held up his dog tags like an Oscar, "I want to thank my press agent for getting me the part… Yeah, well, what can I really say? You're comparing me to Mary Poppins, fer crying out loud. Are you all so TV depraved that this…" he gestured around the day room, "is 'must see' entertainment?"

Another round of cheers was his only answer.

Thursday arrived in much the same way as the previous weeks. Ijaat often wondered if he was in another time loop because of the sheer similarity in schedules for each morning. PC, breakfast, and drill. Though this time drill was cut short to ensure the Squad made the march over to Logistics where their Class A blue uniform were ready for pickup.

Several long hours later, the Squad was ushered through the barber shop for a quick trim. This time, instead of a straight buzz, they were allowed to leave what little growth they had on top, while the sides and back were cleaned up.

Sometime while they were gone that morning the Red Line inspection team had passed through their dorm. The Squad as a whole passed the inspection with flying colours. Each trainee had at least one mark, because of the morning rush, but no one failed the inspection. The Squad was ready to celebrate passing this milestone on their way to lunch. TSgt Vega was actually seen grinning on the way to the Snake Pit.

The highlight of the day was during lunch. The same contraption that had been rigged for the glitter trap was used to dispense disappearing ink onto the awaiting TI's in the Snake Pit. The TI's, upon hearing the tell-tale snap of the trap, simply stayed put until the last of the ink fell. Their initial outrage over the ink stains faded as the ink quickly disappeared. One Blue Rope actually started laughing as the last of the ink faded from sight.

That afternoon the Squad took pictures both as a Squad and individually. Even Ijaat ordered a set of photos on a whim. The Squad finished out that afternoon with a weapons check. Thanks to Jon's insistence on having the entire Squad inspection ready, all his Squad-mates passed this inspection as well with flying colours.

Just after Mail Call, TSgt Vega announced that the Squad would once again have base liberty for passing their Red Line inspection. They were to report back to the dorm by 2000 hours. Ijaat spent that entire time out in the base's static aircraft display, enjoying the solitude. He found sitting among the old war birds comforting, like being surrounded by old friends.

Ijaat made it back to the squadron just in time for the evening's announcement. _"Attention in the squadron. Due to the recent news coverage over a friendly fire incident, the Munitions Systems Specialists wanted to reassure OAGN members by stating that 'Smart Bombs have bad days too.' Repeat, 'Smart Bombs have bad days too.' Contact the Munitions Systems Branch for more information."_

Ijaat went to bed early. He needed to get up early to pull off tomorrows prank.

As was the new habit, on Friday reveille had been replaced. Today it was 'Thank God It's Friday' by R. Kelly. TSgt Vega, having gotten over his initial ire over the strange pranks, was actually looking forward to them now.

Especially today. Today, he was expected to escort his young charges through the pre-deployment process. Having been through this process far too many times himself, he failed to see how he could make it anything but a trial. A long, boring trial. He really hated the 'hurry up and wait' of deployment processing.

TSgt Vega was really proud of his Squad. They had really pulled together and were demonstrating a level of teamwork that surpassed all his previous Squads. Even the petty complaints seemed to be few and far between. Passing the Red Line inspection had not been a surprise. But the comments from the Inspection Team had been. They stated that they had to look twice as hard to find a single discrepancy in each locker. They found that granting a clean pass in Third WOT was inviting complacency, but were recommending this Flight for evaluation as an Honour Squad for their superior performance. They would be looking to see if the Squad still held to the high standard in Fifth WOT.

So, TSgt Vega was in a very good mood and hoping that something, anything would liven up this day. Unfortunately, his prayers were answered.

"Be careful what you wish for," he whispered quietly as he surveyed the chaos in the classroom.

All the chairs had been disrupted and were out of alignment, the room smelled of maple syrup. The linoleum was covered in a sticky mess, presumably source of the maple smell, and there was a small piglet happily lapping up whatever had been poured on the floor. The only good news appeared to be that the pig had yet to relieve itself in the room.

"Ah… Ordo," he called hesitantly.

"Sir, Trainee Ordo reports as ordered." The trainee had immediately rushed over at his call.

"Um… Find out if anyone in the Squad is experienced at catching pigs."

The trainee gave him an odd look, before replying, "Yes, Sir."

As the trainee turned back to the Flight, TSgt Vega stopped him. "Oh… and send a runner to CQ with the news," TSgt Vega gestured to the pig and the general disruption of the room.

This time the trainee couldn't help cracking a smile, "Yes, Sir."

Before too long, order had been restored and TSgt Vega was fervently hoping that nothing would liven up the day anymore. "Alright, today is the bag-drag for deployment to Warrior Week. You will be issued field gear and chemical gear, including a gas mask. Please ensure that your mask fits properly. You will be using it in a tear gas chamber." He gave all the trainees a stern glare. Here to conduct your just-in-time Readiness training is SSgt Gorman from the CE Readiness Squad"

The next hour was spent sizing, issuing, and inspecting helmets. Trainees were drilled in the proper techniques for putting on and pulling off the mask, or donning and doffing procedures. TSgt Vega quietly stood to one side while the trainees became familiar with the new piece of equipment.

"Remember, you fight like you play. If you don't practice with a sense of urgency now, you will fail when you need it most." With that last bit of advice, SSgt Gorman left the trainees in TSgt Vega's care.

TSgt Vega had a grim smile on his face as he took to the front of the classroom. "From here on out, except for meal times and PC tomorrow, I expect you to wear your gas mask on the ready. If at any time you hear the phrase 'gas, gas, gas' you are expected to properly don your mask within the appropriate time frame. Am I clear?"

"YES, SIR!"

"Yes, now we ha…" TSgt Vega was interrupted by the PA.

 _"Attention in the squadron. Today in the News: MM contradicts OAGN's evidence that submarines are safer than aircraft. The OAG has refuted the MM claim that submarines are safer just because there are more aircraft in the water than submarines in the sky. HQ OAGN finds the logic behind the claims to be faulty and have concluded that 'someone has been out to sea too long.' Repeat, Navy Headquarters thinks that 'someone has been out to sea too long.' Speculation is rampant on just who that 'someone' could be. Anyone concerned over the safety of aircraft vs. submarines should contact the FAA for more detailed information."_

TSgt Vega gave grin and continued, "As I was saying, take a 5-minute break before the next class. Make sure your mask carrier is worn properly. I WILL be testing you."

The next class was the Medical Threat briefing. TSgt Vega liked working with MSgt Cooper from the Public Health Office. MSgt Cooper encouraged the TI's to unexpectedly interrupt the class to test the trainees. This gave TSgt Vega free reign to test them. As it was, he called the 'gas, gas, gas' drill three times during class while MSgt Cooper smiled at the trainees struggling to get into their masks in the allotted 9 seconds.

However, TSgt Vega was careful not to interrupt the flora and fauna portion of the briefing. These Texan threats were all too real and not made up for some fictional site.

"… So, the main threat you will have to worry about outside of the disease carrying mosquitoes is the Texas Cottonmouth. Just follow my advice and you won't have to deal with the big snake chasing you down… Alright, so in conclusion, eat only what you are given. MRE's while unpalatable, generally won't make you ill. Drink only the water provided and CLEARLY marked as 'potable.' That means drinkable for the slower people in the group. Bugs will bite, so use your insect repellant and bed nets. Yes, we have had a few cases of West Nile Virus right here on Lackand AFB. You really don't want to be next case. It tends to piss off your TI. Finally, leave the local wildlife alone. Both you and it will be much happier. Now, any questions? No?" MSgt Cooper looked over at TSgt Vega, "They never do have any questions before they're tossed into medical. Oh well. Have fun in the field, kids."

TSgt Vega gave them another break and waited for the instructor for the next class. His only fun for the rest of the day would be yelling 'gas, gas, gas'. Oh joy! After the briefings this morning, they would go to the deployment processing centre to have their Warrior Week gear issued. Yet more fun.

TSgt Vega smiled as the petite Capt. Harding filed into the classroom. Several trainees tensed up and shied away from her rank. Ah well, time to round them up for Field Sanitation and Hygiene, then FINALLY the Assignment Notification briefing.

TSgt Vega collected the trainees and called them to order. The class seemed to progress really well and finished quickly. Thank goodness. "Alright, final briefing for today. I have here your assignment notification order. Please review it carefully…" TSgt Vega walked through the briefing quickly and the trainees were more than ready to depart for lunch. "…Okay, that's all folks. Let's form up for lunch. Keep your masks on. After lunch you will report to the dorm and pick up your web belt, canteen, helmet, and rifle. Form up outside the dorm in… " he glanced at his watch. "… 30 minutes. FALL IN!"

That afternoon as TSgt Vega watched his Squad collect their field gear, he was again taken with the notion that this wasn't the first time his Dorm Chief had done this. Ordo had taken last spot in line and as the others would hold up the line with questions, he would quickly sort out the issue before the Logistics folks could even work their way over to the stalled trainee.

Most notable was when Ordo had asked for a tactical vest over the load bearing suspenders or LBEs. When he was turned down, he asked if it would be possible to salvage equipment from the downed enemy. That gave TSgt Vega a visual that he would rather live without, so he said yes, just to move him on. At that point the trainee got an evil glint in his eye and continued picking up his gear. TSgt Vega was glad that he was a part of the Exercise Evaluation Team or EET for the field exercise. Technically, he wouldn't exist in the game, just observe. He really didn't want Ordo to think he was the enemy. Even for pretend.

And that reminded him of the conversation that he had with Chief Gunderson earlier in the week. Apparently, the Chief was quite taken with the Oedo kid and wanted to know more about him. TSgt Vega filled in what blanks he had, but outside a high ranking general as a relation and his extensive coaching, he really didn't know much about the kid. All he could really add was that the kid was serious, reliable, and a natural leader. He left off the nightmares. Some things were just too personal.

Then the Chief had dropped the bomb that the kid had easily defeated two instructors with a Level 3 combat skill rating, including himself. So, TSgt Vega's earlier suspicions that the kid could be dangerous were confirmed way beyond his imagination. The kid could have easily killed himself or the dorm guard when he struck out in his nightmare driven haze.

But the part that gave him pause was not that the kid could have killed, but that he didn't. If his earlier assumptions about gang involvement were true, then why did he hesitate to kill? Why ask for surrender? The blows were aimed at disarming and disabling, not crippling or killing. Surrender was a police or military response, not a criminal one. Curiouser and curiouser.

Is today over yet? No wait, we still have Mail Call. Ah, take joy in the small things. Speaking of which, it was time to head back to the squadron.

Saturday morning started with the next challenge. The Final PC Evaluation. The Squad got up and went through the final evaluation for the most part successfully. Overall, TSgt Vega lost 6 trainees. They just couldn't make the two mile run under the time limit. However, a few were close, only a 15 second split from passing. They would have one last chance to pass tomorrow morning, before the rest of the trainees were bussed out for Warrior Week. Otherwise they would be recycled back to Second WOT.

Breakfast was disturbed only by the odd, red, foaming cereal. The cereal, which looked normal, seemed to foam into a red froth when milk was added. That the foam resembled movie blood was a serious draw back to the appetite.

After breakfast, TSgt Vega presided over the first of the Knowledge Tests. While he had harped on studying, he knew that a good portion of the trainees had ceased actually reading the ATO by the start of Third WOT. That was one reason he reminded them last Sunday that they would test today. Even with the reminder, 9 of his trainees failed the Written Test. They too would have a chance to retake the test tomorrow before the bus left. Their last chance to stay on track with their peers.

TSgt Vega hated to recycle trainees. It was especially a disappointment when it was over fitness and the trainees in question had worked so hard to pass. Not surprising, was the fact that his Dorm Chief had passed both tests with flying colours. In fact, 7 of his trainees had earned the War hawk Award for fitness excellence.

The PA interrupted his thoughts, _"Attention in the squadron. Today's Bunny Survival Test has been cancelled due to protests from PETA. Repeat, today's Bunny Survival Test has been cancelled due to protests from PETA. Testing will resume once PETA has announced what types of tests will not unduly endanger the marshmallow bunnies involved in the testing"_

TSgt Vega cracked a grin and called over his Dorm Chief. If anyone could get these trainees to pass their re-take tomorrow, fitness or written, it would be Ordo.

 _Fourth WOT Agenda: Deployment Briefing, Equipment Issue, Field Hygiene, Field Exercises, Anti-Terrorism Training, Chemical Biological Nuclear Defense Training, Confidence Course, Culminating Exercise_

Ijaat leaned back and stretched his cramping back muscles. He had spent the last hour typing on his computer, setting up this week's prank. Initially, he wasn't sure how he could continue to pull his practical jokes on the squadron while his Squad was deployed in the Warrior Week field training exercise (FTX). But he also didn't want the command structure to figure out that his Squad was the source of the jokes.

So, he was in a quandary as to the best course of action. He could try to make it back to the unit during the week, but he doubted that the FTX would be close enough to the unit to make that option feasible. He could stop playing practical jokes for the rest of his time in basic, but that would take away all his fun and still leave his Squad under suspicion. Or, plan C, he could use the computer to play pranks in his absence.

He opted for Plan C. His main challenge would be to devise a prank that would have no easy countermeasures. So, the repeat calling of the PA and even CQ was out of the question. If Col. Harding changed the phone number again, Ijaat wouldn't know about it until he returned, spoiling his fun. But he was able to devise a significantly evil plan that would be better than his 'Oh, Danny Boy' routine at driving the squadron members bonkers.

Ijaat typed in the phone number for every phone in the entire squadron, including each dorm and classroom, into his dialling program. He intentionally left the CQ phone number off the list, just in case. Then he programmed the computer with 10 different pre-recorded messages. Some were prank calls asking to order a pizza or Mandalorian food and don't give the receiver any way to politely end the call. Others were setup as if the caller was actually answering the phone, but they couldn't get good cell phone reception. So, they keep asking the receiver to speak up. But Ijaat's favourite was the recording where the caller puts the receiver to hold and then has a barely heard conversation about his girlfriend and their relationship problems with a mysterious third party. The last recording could go on for ten minutes, if the receiver holds out that long before hanging up.

Finally, Ijaat programmed the dialling program to call a different squadron phone number every two hours from 0700 to 1900 hours with one of the pre-recorded messages. The program was setup so that the numbers did not repeat until all of them had been used.

Ijaat figured that after several days of this the squadron would be wishing they had the more mundane physical jokes instead. Psychological warfare was always much more effective if the victim was expecting it, dreading it, and it didn't happen. He was certain that the CQ would be wound up tight waiting for their call.

With the computer setup and ready to go, Ijaat just needed to safeguard it against casual detection. He had been keeping it in one of the ventilation ducts on the roof. So far, the computer had remained undetected, but Ijaat made sure to re-secure the grill every time he put the computer back. He also doubles checked the power cord to ensure it was still buried under the roof gravel.

Computer in place, he quickly policed the area to ensure that he had removed all sign of his presence. He even scattered the roof gravel back into random patterns to remove evidence of his foot prints.

Satisfied that his secret was safe, he quickly looked over the edge of the roof to see if anyone was around. Usually, he was alone at 0300, but you never can be too careful. The parking lot was clear and no one was in sight, so Ijaat carefully swung his body over the edge of the roof and lowered himself onto the railing of the fire escape outside his dorm. Silently, he set his feet back onto the safety of the fire escape. He scanned the area one more time before turning his attention to the fire escape door.

Ijaat pressed his ear to the door and listened for any sign that the dorm guard was patrolling. Hearing only the soft snores of his fellow trainees, Ijaat eased the door open a crack and listened again. With still no indication of anyone awake, he opened the door just enough to squeeze through and quickly closed it silently behind him. Ijaat scanned the nearby area and then turned back and removed the stick he had used to disable the alarm on the fire escape.

Now, safely back in the dorm, Ijaat just had to sneak back to his bunk. He removed his sneakers and silently padded back to his bunk. He gave a small sigh as he slid under his covers once more. His last conscious thought was 'Mission Complete,' before he fell into a light sleep.

Ijaat awoke to the sounds of his Squad-mates getting up, before reveille. He yawned one last time before getting up. He completed his morning routine and dressed in his PC gear. He had promised the trainees who failed the PC evaluation yesterday that he would run with them to help them achieve a fast, steady pace. With luck, they would pass the run.

Unfortunately, Ijaat was almost certain that most of them wouldn't be able to keep up. The trainees that failed the test had actually achieved a personal best time with yesterday's failed run. Two had nearly passed out after pushing themselves past their limits in one final effort to pass the PC test. Personally, Ijaat thought that they could use the extra two weeks to get into better shape. But he would do his best to motivate them this morning regardless.

As reveille sounded, the 6 trainees that had failed the PC evaluation yesterday lined up next to him, ready to retake the test. Ijaat gave each of them a cocky grin as they waited for TSgt Vega to make an appearance.

"Are you guys ready?" Ijaat asked quietly.

One of the trainees, Nevus, nodded steadily. The others just looked unsure.

"Don't worry about it. Best case scenario, you pass and press on as you were. Worst case scenario, you have two more weeks to get up to speed AND you don't have to retake the written test. Heck, ya even get more time to study the parts of the ATO that we haven't tested on yet" Ijaat tried to reassure them, but they continued to look nervous.

Before Ijaat, could say anything else, TSgt Vega knocked on the door and was let in by the Dorm Guard. He gave the trainees a once over, and then looked a question at Ijaat.

"Dorm Chief?"

"Sir, Trainee Ordo reports as ordered. The trainees are ready to run, Sir" Ijaat replied quickly.

"And?"

Ijaat cracked a small grin, "I'll be joining them on this run, Sir"

"So, I noticed. Well, let's get going. I'm sure the rest of the Squad would like to get breakfast on time."

"One moment, Sir" Ijaat turned back to the hallway facing the two dorm bays. "SQUAD, FALL IN."

The rest of the Squad immediately lined up in the hallway, all dressed in PC gear. Most of them were grinning.

Ijaat smirked as he turned back to TSgt Vega, "The Squad is ready for PC, Sir"

TSgt Vega looked at the entire Squad confused. "You're all going to run?"

"YES, SIR," was the unanimous response.

"I see. Well then, form up down stairs. We'll march to the parade grounds." He gave them all one last look and just shook his head as he left.

Ijaat gave them all a huge grin. "Fall in downstairs and form up by fours. FALL OUT."

The entire squad quickly exited the dorm to build the proper formation on the patio. A short march to the parade grounds and they were lined up on the running track.

Ijaat didn't like to lose. Any System Lord could tell you that. And losing men was out of the question. Even if they weren't technically lost, just staying in basic for an extended period. The point was that Ijaat had taken responsibility for each of the trainees when he was appointed as Dorm Chief. And like it or not, he felt responsible for ensuring that each and every one of them finished with their Squad, HIS squad. And somehow his commitment to his Squad-mates had rubbed off on them. Because, his Squad-mates were now just as committed as he was to keep these trainees with them.

So, Ijaat had talked to the entire Ijaat the night before about their Flight-mates and his need for assistance. When he had addressed the group last night, he had intended to have someone take his place and supervise the dorm clean up while he ran with the trainees. But instead, the Squad had opted to re-run the 2-mile course with those trainees as a show of moral support. The Squad had also spent the evening grilling each of the trainees that had failed the written test in an impromptu study session.

"Alright, ready, set, go" TSgt Vega started the stop watch as the runners started to jog. The each gathered around the trainees who had to pass today or be recycled.

As a group, the trainees set a steady pace and worked at distracting the testing trainees by quizzing them on popular culture. Their intent was to distract them from the run. The ploy seemed to work and the group gradually increased their pace without the testing trainees noticing.

This plan had been concocted by Korkie and Thomas who noticed that several of the failed runners tended to focus on how bad they were doing, rather than just running. Ijaat had approved of their plan and kept the runners back for a pep talk while Korkie and Thomas spread the plan to the rest of the Squad.

Yet, in spite of all their efforts, Ijaat could tell on the seventh lap that four of the group would not make it. They were huffing so bad that Ijaat was concerned for their health. The other trainees noticed too and slowed the pace. The trainees may not pass, but they would be alive to tell the tale. Small trade off, but you take what you can get.

The last two trainees seemed to be making good progress. When they reached the halfway mark on the last lap, Ijaat pushed them to their limits and the whole group sprinted the last 200 yards. TSgt Vega gave the first group a huge smile and congratulated the two trainees on passing the PC evaluation. He then went on to harangue them for failing in the first place and making the whole Squad go through this a second time.

However, for the trainees who failed the retest, TSgt Vega gently shook his head and left them to mourn with their Squad-mates. The whole Squad would have one last breakfast together as a whole. After that, the four trainees would be placed in a Second WOT Squad in another squadron.

Of course, the morning wasn't over yet. The 9 trainees who failed the written test still had to re-take their test as well and this time the Squad couldn't join them in their efforts.

After the trainees had finished cleaning the dorms, they had gathered in the day room, as had become their habit. They still hadn't heard from TSgt Vega or the nine trainees taking the retest. Ijaat and Korkie had just been discussing how best to entertain the group when the shyest trainee in the lot, Carson, came forward.

"Um, Dorm Chief?" he asked quietly.

Jon encouraged him with a smile, "Yeah, Carson."

"I, um… we…" he gestured to the back corner of the day room where a cluster of trainees was looking in their direction, "we were wondering if you knew what was going to happen this week? I mean, some of the other trainees were talking the other day… And they were saying some pretty freaky stuff about Warrior Week. They said we would be gassed with real gas, not just smoke!" He whispered the last bit, as if volume alone would make it true.

Ijaat continued to smile and was barely able to suppress his smirk. Barely. "Who exactly was telling you this and what exactly did this other group of trainees tell you?"

"Oh… that Fifth week group we saw on the patio last night when we were helping Duback study. We were asking about Warrior Week and they told us that we would have to practice wearing our helmets a lot… and that they would put us in a small house with only one door and have us helmet up. But that they would use real gas and if we didn't put our mask on right, we would die" Carson was obviously rattled about this sudden prospect of death.

Ijaat nodded knowingly, "Sounds about right, all except the death part. Do you really think the TI's are going to kill us now, after we passed the half way mark? What would they tell your mother?" Ijaat gave Carson a reassuring smile. "I have it on good authority that NO ONE is allowed to die in basic without orders. Way, way too much paperwork. However, they are allowed to make you cry. So, they use tear gas to test the seal on your helmet" Ijaat's smile took on a decidedly grim turn, "Do you remember who told you all this?"

Carson suddenly turned shy, "Um… well… it was that guy… you know… that… um, that you had words with… in, um, Second week."

Yeah, Ijaat knew exactly who Carson was talking about. The bully that was so quick to put down the kids in the younger Squads. Ijaat's smile turned decidedly evil as he contemplated how best to get even with the bully.

"Thanks, Carson"

"Um… sure… anytime" Carson retreated back to his corner to pass on the information about the tear gas.

Ijaat pulled his thoughts back from his happy place with effort. He turned back to Korkie, "So, Big Guy, you make a decision yet?"

Krokie just shook his head, "I don't know. I don't think we have enough information. I mean… how can we decide if we can attempt to capture the flag of our enemy. Think about it, we don't even know who or what our mission will be in the field."

"Ah, that is where I can clarify it for you. WE don't have any training in ANYTHING but manual labour and standing guard. So, when we are not on guard duty, we will either have NOTHING to do… which is doubtful at best… or we will be digging holes and filling sandbags… which is much more likely" Ijaat gave his bunk-mate a cocky grin, "I can get us away from the perimeter and track down the enemy encampment fairly easily. We just need to have a plan for payback"

Korkie started to shake his head, "See, that is where you lose me. How are we going to get past the guarded perimeter, in the dark, to find an enemy base, all without getting caught?"

"Easy, team effort. Now, choose, flag, honey, string, what?"

"Alright, my personal favorite has always been honey in the bunk, but swiping the flag or stringing their tents would probably get us into less trouble when we get caught"

"Korkie, you have no faith. But if you want cautious, flag and string it will be" ijaat patted Korkie on the shoulder and then turned to the rest of the Squad. "Hey guys, listen up for a second"

Ijaat waited for the Squad to turn their full attention on him. "We have been on this team building operation called 'Basic Training' for several weeks now. How many of you feel like we are a team?"

Ijaat grinned at the roaring positive response from his Squad-mates.

"Good. I wholly agree. So, I was talking to Korkie here, and we felt that we had an opportunity for a bonus team exercise during the upcoming week. We all know that the TI's are going to be 'evaluating' us and all that. But they won't be the attackers during our little war games. So… hypothetically speaking… what if a BMT Squad were to… oh, I don't know…. Say… play a prank on the aggressors. Would you be for or against it?"

"FOR"

"Really… even if this prank was to… again, I'm not really sure… um, let's just say the enemy flag went missing… maybe even turned up in our encampment…that wouldn't upset any of you?"

"NO"

"Oh, well that's nice to know. What about if this… purely hypothetical group… also setup a string trap or tied boot laces or some such. Would that make you angry, upset, or disillusioned?"

"NO"

"Nice…" Ijaat scanned the room. "So, who has hunting experience from back home?"

Several of the trainees put up their hands. Ijaat recognized most of them as coming from smaller towns in mid-western cities. Perfect. "Excellent. How good are the rest of you at keeping a secret?"

Their only response was a massive, group, evil grin. Yes, this would be very good. "Sweet"

Ijaat heard a commotion at the dorm guard's door. He quickly glanced about the room. "Okay, you all just saw who asked for extra ATO study help. I will personally see that you get any extra help you need, even while we are in the field. Anybody else have any questions?"

The Squad went from automatic panic at the thought of discovery to relief as Jon's words sank in. A few of the Squad sent guilty looks to their neighbours, but most just nodded at Ijaat as if studying the ATO was the only thing being discussed.

Out of the corner of his eye, Ijaat watched TSgt Vega enter the room and moved to stand behind the podium. He set a closed box at his feet. Only five of the nine trainees who went to test that morning entered the day room and took a seat. Ijaat gave a sad sigh. Four more trainees had been recycled. They were most likely cleaning out their lockers right now.

"Good morning. We have a lot to do today, so let's get this weekly summary started. As you know, today we depart for the field and the start of Fourth WOT, Warrior Week. You will take the bus to a location near the field site and march the rest of the way to the location. We have been assigned to Charlie Bunker with 3 other training Squads. Once we have arrived, you will be issued additional equipment and receive site specific briefings, including the Rules of Engagement (ROE) for the exercise area. After we arrive at the bunker, I will turn over command of the Squad to the bunker commander. I will then assume my place on the Exercise Evaluation Team or EET. This means that you will be following someone else's orders. Don't disappoint me. I will be watching you. Monday you are expected to complete the confidence course. The course is your chance to shine or fall flat. It should be a nice change. However, I would not recommend falling into any of the water obstacles. You will not have a hot shower available until we get back to the squadron next Saturday. Monday, after the confidence course, you will receive the Anti-Terrorism briefing, UXO and IED identification briefings. Pay attention, when the 3-day exercise kicks off, several of these devices will be simulated. You will be expected to properly identify, report, and mark the devices. Tuesday is dedicated to NBC training. Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical threats will be covered. You will be trained EXTENSIVELY on the proper use of protective gear including your Helmets and chemical protective over garment or CPO. MOPP Levels, alarm conditions, radio protocol, and pre-, during, and post-attack reporting. If you don't feel quite up to perfect recall, I have your solution."

TSgt Vega reached down for the box. He pulled out a thick booklet about 5 inches wide by 7 inches long on a spiral binding. "This is your new bible. This is the AFMAN 10-100. The militiaman's Manual. It is printed with all the information you will need for the exercise, and much more. It will be located in one of the pockets of your CPO and is water proof and chemical resistant, making it ideal for use during a chemical environment. Study it so you know where to find the information that you will need to reference during the exercise"

TSgt Vega shoved the box towards Ijaat. Ijaat took the hint and began to pass out the manuals, ensuring he kept a copy for himself.

"Wednesday is the start of the 3-day field exercise. Follow your training. Listen to your bunker commander. Read your 10-100. And for heaven's sake, THINK before you act.

"Some time Friday or Saturday, the exercise will be terminated and you will begin the clean-up phase. The sooner you complete clean up, the sooner you can march home to this lovely dorm and get a nice hot shower.

"Any questions?" TSgt Vega finished his quick summary.

Carson was pushed up by his neighbours, "Sir, Trainee Carson reports as ordered. Will we be doing PC or drill this week, Sir?"

TSgt Vega shook his head, "No, PC and drill practice will be suspended for Warrior Week. But don't forget anything, you will still have the Sixth WOT parades and anyone who wants to test for Scout Rangers must be able to pass the PAST test upon graduation and ANYONE who wants to test is welcome. PC will resume in Fifth WOT"

Korkie stood up, "Sir, Trainee Korkie reports as ordered. What about Mail Call, Sir?"

TSgt Vega cocked his head to one side, considering, "I'll leave that up to you. Just remember, anything mailed in, you carry out. All for Mail Call?" TSgt Vega made a quick mental count. "Opposed?" Again he made a quick count. "The Aye's have it. Mail Call will be conducted during Fourth WOT."

Ijaat gave a small internal moan. Knowing his luck, this would be the week that dad coordinated to have everyone send a book or other impossibly heavy item to him. Old man, the revenge will be sweet, just you wait.

"Anyone else? Okay, one final order of business before we finish packing for the field. This morning is our last day with SrA O'Neill. He will be moving on to the next baby Squad due in later this week. Make sure you thank him, before we leave today. Anything else?" TSgt Vega looked to SrA O'Niell then to Ijaat. Ijaat gave him a nod. "Dorm Chief?

"To everyone who volunteered to participate in the ATO study group. Just a reminder, please be sure to pack any study materials you think you may need this week. I doubt we will have access to the BX. Thanks" Ijaat almost smirked as he gave the coded message to the Squad. He did see several answering grins, not so subtly concealed in the group.

"Right, good thinking, Dorm Chief. We don't want a repeat of yesterday. Now, I want the A and C bags that were issued to you Friday stacked in the hallway by the door. Pack your duffle bag with your remaining gear. Don't leave anything out, thinking you will make your bag lighter. I will personally inspect each duffle and locker before we leave" TSgt Vega glanced around the room one last time. "You have one hour. Dismissed"

The Squad spent the next hour laying out and packing their duffle bags. Ijaat was ready in record time and TSgt Vega quickly passed his duffle after inspecting it. Ijaat wasn't surprised that TSgt Vega completely missed the additions to his bag. But then, TSgt Vega was looking for trainees to leave stuff behind to make the bag lighter, not to add stuff and make it heavier.

His task completed, Ijaat spent the rest of the time helping his Squad-mates properly pack their bags. Before long, the whole Squad was ready to go. The Squad dutifully carried all their mobility bags down to the squadron patio where they were loaded onto the back of a flatbed Speeder truck. The Squad then climbed onto several buses with their duffle bags.

Ijaat was able to secure a seat in the middle of his bus, blending in with the rest of his Squad for the first time in weeks. Once settled, he pulled out the Militiaman's Manual. He perused it in wonder. This manual had not been published yet to the general public when he had joined up. Eyeing the sheer volume of information, it contained, he was surprised that it hadn't been developed sooner. He especially liked the critical information checklists at the back.

Of course, it took him several minutes to figure out that the FPCONs were really just the THREATCONs with a new name. Like calling them Force Protection Conditions made the threat any less real. As if.

Not to mention that the CWE was now called the BDO, which was being replaced by the CPO. It was a SNAFU bordering on TARFU that would inevitably become FUBAR and could only have been designed by an I D Ten T.

Ijaat glanced around the bus and noticed Carson looking lost. "Carson, you okay?"

Carson turned to Jon, "Um… yeah. I guess I'm just nervous."

Jon gave him an encouraging smile, "You'll do fine. Just keep your mask handy." He continued at Carson's confused look. "We are due for a 'Jumping Jack Flash' anytime now"

"A what?... OH!" comprehension dawned. Carson made sure his helmet was easily accessible while he was riding on the bus.

As if on cue, TSgt Vega popped his head onto the bus and shouted, "GAS, GAS, GAS!" The trainees scrambled through the now familiar routine of pulling the helmet on and securing it quickly. Smiling, TSgt Vega left them with their helmets on and went to the next bus. Ijaat just shrugged with his gas mask on and pulled up the Militiaman's Manual once more.

The buses departed the squadron and after a short ride, the Squad was told to get off the bus with their duffle bags. Next, they were told to take off and re-pack their gas masks, and then formed up for the march. Soon, they were joined shortly by three other Squads from different squadrons; all repeating the same actions. Once the Squads were all lined up, they marched, in formation, behind the truck carrying their all the mobility bags.

Compared to some of the other marches, hikes, and long range patrols that Ijaat had been on, this one was a cake walk. But Ijaat's Squad-mates didn't think so. They didn't complain. But they were starting to slow down. Mandalor in the summer was not the best time for a long hike with a heavy pack.

Finally, one of the smaller guys started to waver. He didn't even seem to notice that everyone around him was at a 45-degree angle. However, TSgt Vega had been waiting for someone to drop in the heat. He deftly caught the trainee and moved him over to the side of the road. The Flight stopped.

"Everybody, take a five-minute break. Drink water and rest" TSgt Vega motioned to the medics and they came forward quickly. After doing a quick assessment, they had the trainee cooled down with water and had him drink a special solution. The trainee's duffle bag was tossed on to the back of the flat bed trunk. The medics walked through the other trainees, looking for signs of dehydration and heat stress. After five minutes, TSgt Vega formed them up again and they continued the march. The trainee who dropped continued the march without his duffle bag.

The group only stopped for a quick lunch of MREs before arriving at a large bunker complex around 1300. Not before Bunker hill radioed in saying the route was clear from the creatures of the surrounding jungle. Once there, the TI's turned over control of their Squads to the Charlie Bunker commander, Captain Collins.

In short order, the Squads of trainees had unloaded the truck with all the mobility bags and formed up into the four Squads in the centre courtyard of the bunker complex; one Squads in each corner.

Their new commander took the opportunity to address them, "I am Captain Collins, your Commander for the duration of this exercise. These," he pointed to the people ranged behind him, "are my staff. They will be your instructors and administrators this week. At the start of the 3-day exercise they will become EET.

"Each of your squads will be responsible for one of four shifts to guard and protect this bunker." He turned to Ijaat's Squad in a line up. "You are Alpha Flight and will man the sentry posts from 0000 hours to 0600 hours" He turned to the next Squad, "Bravo Flight will post from 0600 to 1200" He turned to the two remaining Squads, "Charlie Flight will post from 1200 to 1800 hours and Delta Flight will post from 1800 to 2400 hours. These postings will begin tonight at 2400 hours. Your existing Flight trainee leadership will report directly to the Command Post or CP. My staff will go over the details in another briefing. For the duration of this exercise, you will NOT give a reporting statement unless you are directed to report to me. You will NOT salute any officer. This is a field exercise and we will simulate field conditions, including suspension of some customs and courtesies. Your bunk houses are located one per wall. Each is marked according to your shift designation. Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, and Delta. You are now dismissed to place your mobility gear into your bunk houses. Dorm Chiefs will bunk in the command centre. Element Leaders will bunk at either end of the bunk house. Dismissed"

Ijaat quickly directed his Squad to the pile of mobility bags and had them pull all the ones marked with their Squad number, 1342, and take them into the bunk house. They sorted the other Squads bags as they pulled theirs and neatly stacked them in piles by Squad number. Soon each of the other Squads had adopted their sorting technique.

Once the mobility bags were stored in the bunk house, Ijaat had his Squad gather their individual bags and stow them at the end of their assigned bunks. Korkie offered to help him carry his bags over to the Command Post.

As they entered the CP building, an instructor directed them to some individual rooms labelled A, B, C, and D. Jon quickly scanned the A or Alpha room and set his bags neatly in one corner. The room was barely big enough for his bunk and bags. But it did contain a small window. Ijaat nudged Korkie and pointed at the window, before turning to leave.

They were both grinning as they returned to the CP instructor. "Alpha Squad is ready for further instructions, Sir"

The instructor turned towards them, "And you are?"

"Trainee Ordo, Dorm Chief for Flight 1342 assigned to Charlie Bunker as Alpha Squad. This is one of my Element Leaders, Trainee Korkie, Sir"

The instructor nodded and jotted his name down before replying, "Return to your Squad. I'll have one of the instructors over in a minute"

"Yes, Sir" Ijaat and his bunk mate turned a left the CP.

The instructor, SSgt Tate, arrived shortly after Ijaat and Korkie returned to Bunk House Alpha. He escorted the Squad through the entire bunker complex, showing them the layout and the location of each of the 8 defensive fighting positions (DFP). He also showed them the various locations of the shelters, the contamination control area (CCA), and the casualty collection point (CCP).

SSgt Tate spent several minutes briefing them outside the Medical Treatment Facility discussing 'real' versus 'exercise' injuries. Real injuries would immediately terminate the exercise and the trainee would immediately go to the medical treatment facility. Exercise injuries would receive self-aid and buddy care depending on the exercise scenario and be transported to the CCP when possible, again depending on the exercise scenario.

The sergeant stopped them outside the supply office. "This exercise will be as realistic as possible. To this end you will be issued full MILES gear, radios, a voice emitter, blanks, and a blank firing adapter for your EE-3. Dorm Chief?" SSgt Tate addressed the Squad.

"Here, Sir," Ijaat replied.

"Dorm Chief, line 'em up for equipment issue."

"Yes, Sir." Ijaat turned to the Squad. "FALL IN." He waited until the Flight was in formation. "Enter by columns, MARCH."

The squad filed into the supply office. One by one they were each issued a set of MILES gear, including a Beskar helmet with a sensor band and a sensor harness. They also received a laser attachment and blank adaptor for the EE-3, a small short range radio with gas mask voice emitter, and six magazines of blank rounds. Ijaat was the last to collect his gear. Nearly an hour later, his Squad was decked out for Warrior Week.

Next, SSgt Tate walked them through the Force Protection Conditions (FPCON). "So, starting tonight the bunker will move to FPCON Bravo. FPCON Bravo means that an attack is possible. Sometime on Wednesday the 3-day exercise will kick off and we will move to FPCON Charlie. Charlie means that an attack in the immediate area is probable. Finally, once the attacks start, we will move to FPCON Delta. Delta means that an attack is imminent or occurring. Any questions?... Alright, break for dinner. Dorm Chief, the field kitchen is to the left of the CP. Meet back here in one hour. Dismissed"

Ijaat motioned for the Squad to gather around. "You all hanging in there?" he asked.

Ruso shook his head, "Barely. My head is stuffed. Information overload, you know!"

Ijaat laughed, "It'll only get worse from here. Alright, let's get chow. We are all going to be up at 2400 hours for our first shift on sentry duty. Report to your Element Leader. Dismissed for chow" The squad shuffled off to the dining facility. This was the first time they were allowed to enter the dining facility without the aid of a formation.

After dinner, the Squad was once again instructed by SSgt Tate. This time he covered alarms and signals and what they mean. He followed that class with the Rules of Engagement or ROE for the exercise.

"Okay, this is just an exercise. Please keep that in mind as we work through the various field scenarios that will be presented over the next few days. Safety is our number one concern. Any single one of you can call an exercise termination if you find that safety is being violated. The point of Warrior Week is to teach you how to operate and survive in a hostile field environment.

"To this end, you will not be asked to do anything you have not already been trained to do. Your sole mission is to defend this bunker complex. The exercise scenario will not include any non-combatants. So, anyone you encounter can be considered a combatant. You will challenge anyone approaching your position and report any suspicious activities in your area. Page 95 in your Militiaman's Manual outlines the proper way to report an attack or suspicious activities using a SALUTE report. Page 84 in your Militiaman's Manual outlines proper security procedures and how to challenge intruders."

Ijaat interrupted the sergeant before he could continue, "Sir, what about prisoners?"

"Prisoners?" SSgt Tate looked startled by the question.

"Yes, Sir. When we take prisoners, what is the protocol you want us to follow?"

"When…" SSgt Tate pulled out his own tattered copy of the Militiaman's Manual and flipped to a tabbed page. "Yes… well, IF you should come across some of the enemy who want surrender, then follow the protocol on page 89." He put his Militiaman's Manual away, "Now, where was I… oh yes, challenging. Throughout the exercise you will use all three ways to challenge potential intruders; Sign-Countersign, Chemical Code, and Duress words. Page 88 outlines how each of these is used. The current codes and words will be posted in the CP each morning and relayed to you by your Dorm Chief and Element Leaders. Okay, exercise guidelines. All rocket and air attacks are to be assumed as chemical attacks. All ground attacks are considered conventional attacks. This means that you will seek shelter and assume MOPP 4, i.e. helemt, for any air strike or rocket attack. Next, you will wait for the all clear from the CP. We will go into the MOPP levels in more detail on Tuesday. All aggressors will be wearing the Grassland. All EET will be wearing BDU's with a red ball cap. No non-combatants will be allowed in the play area. If you are not sure, challenge. The entire area, with only two exceptions, is within the play area. You are expected to be alert regardless of where you are and prepared to respond accordingly. The exceptions are the real world medical treatment facility and the morgue. However, don't think that being dead is easy. All trainees who are 'killed' and shipped to the morgue are expected to fill sand bags for the duration of their stay, even if it is their normal sleep cycle. You will stay 'dead' for a minimum of 8 very long hours. Alright, any questions so far?" SSgt Tate asked.

Ijaat glanced around and then raised his hand, "Sir, obviously we can't do much to defend against a rocket or air attack, but do we have any Intel on the capabilities or limitations of the ground forces? Staging area? Training and tactics? Weapons used? Or the average size of the ground forces?"

Again, the sergeant looked at a loss. Ijaat almost grinned. He could tell that the prior trainees had never asked those kinds of questions before. With luck the good sergeant would fumble and give away aggressors guidelines and limitations.

"Ah… let me see…" SSgt Tate stammered. "Generally, the attacking forces have been small, 10 or less in each group. Staging from the abandoned Echo Bunker. Standard small arms, no hand-held rockets or such. You should be able to defend against most attacks if you are alert and ready for them."

"So we have a location on their staging area?" Ijaat asked.

SSgt Tate seemed to realize that he gave some vital information away, "Um… yes, but they don't always come from that direction. You should be prepared for attack from all directions"

Ijaat smiled, "Of course, Sir." He would bet money that the Echo bunker was marked on a map in the CP. And if they were staging out of it, then the 'enemy' would be very easy to find. So far, the good sergeant had not listed that the trainees could not counter attack the enemy staging area. Only that they had to defend the bunker. Ijaat began to formulate a plan that would allow them to do both within the guidelines given.

SSgt Tate eyed Ijaat suspiciously, "Yes, the final guideline for this exercise is that Capt. Collins will be the only staff member who will not become EET at the start of the 3-day exercise. So, make sure you pay close attention to these briefings. You will be expected to secure this bunker against attack starting Wednesday"

"YES, SIR."

"Next up, Radio communication. If you will all, please pull out your Militiaman's Manual. Turn to page 197. When using a radio in the field you will use several key phrases, called ProWords. Hollywood has made several of these words common knowledge, like 'say again' and 'out.' Make sure you read the real meanings behind these ProWords and understand them. You will be using them for this exercise. On page 196, is the military phonetic alphabet. If you have to spell anything out, use this alphabet and not a civilian counterpart. Finally, radio discipline and Operational Security or OPSEC. Think before you say anything over the radio. Use the established code words given by the CP for specific locations or actions. Be brief. Use call signs and NEVER use names or ranks. Occasionally, conduct a radio check, you don't want to find out that your battery ran out just when you need to make a SALUTE report. Always assume that the enemy is listening in to each and every radio transmission. Your Dorm Chief will assign you to a specific posting tonight. Each post comes with a specific call sign. Know your call sign and the call signs of everyone you may need to contact. Now, for the most basic of the radio problems. First, make sure your radio is on the correct channel. Charlie bunker uses channel 3. Check your radio now and make sure it is set to channel 3. If you are instructed to go to the alternate frequency, change to channel 7. But only when instructed by the CP. Second, make sure you recharge your radio battery during your sleep cycle. A four-hour charge will last the whole day. Recharging stations are located in your bunk houses. Third and final issue with radios, they won't work unless they are ON. If your radio is strangely silent throughout the day, check to see if you remembered to turn it on. Okay, last chance for questions tonight" SSgt Tate looked around the Squad. When no one asked a question, he continued, "Alright, you are dismissed until 2300 hours for a post briefing. Dorm Chief, you will need to establish a schedule and assign everyone a posting. The CP will give you the guidelines. Dismissed"

Ijaat turned to his Squad before they could go anywhere, "Just a second, guys." He waited until he had their full attention. "I would strongly recommend that everyone get some sleep. I will conduct the post briefing at the bunk house at 2300 hours. Charge your radios and keep your gear handy. Sleep with your boots on. I need the Element Leaders with me. Payton, you are in charge until the Element Leaders get back. Dismissed"

Ijaat had the Element Leaders follow him to the CP to help make the schedule. The CP gave them very flexible guidelines. Two people per defensive fighting position (DFP). Eight DFP's throughout the compound. Two teams of four were to be assigned Post Attack Reconnaissance duty (PAR). Two teams of four were to be assigned Casualty Recovery Teams (CRT). Two people assigned to the CP. Anyone else could be assigned as needed.

In the case of Ijaat's Squad of 42, that left eight people that could be assigned anywhere as needed. Grinning, Ijaat submitted his final schedule with two additional teams; a Fire Team and a Manpower Team. They had also decided to use movie hero dog names for call signs. Jon couldn't wait to call Rin Tin Tin and Snoopy over the air.

Ijaat dismissed his Element Leaders to return to the bunk house and rest. Taking his own advice, he instructed the CP to wake him at 2230 hours and lay down to catch a few hours of sleep.

That night, the CP woke Ijaat promptly at 2230. Ijaat made a quick rest stop then headed over to the bunk house. Unfortunately, SSgt Tate made it to the bunk house first. Ijaat nodded in greeting to the instructor before waking his Squad-mates.

"Up and at 'em. You got five minutes till briefing" Ijaat roused the exhausted trainees from their cots as quickly as he could. Several he had to shake several times to get them going.

Before long the whole sleepy group was assembled. "Okay, guys. Here is the roster for postings tonight. Make sure you check your radios and memorize the call signs" Ijaat passed the roster around.

"Now, a few last things to remember. First, be vigilant. Second, check in. I want an hourly check in with the CP. This lets us know that you are still alive and kicking out there. Third, do not to leave your post until someone relieves you. I'll be roving, so if you should need to make a latrine run, call for Benji, that's me, to rendezvous with you. Fourth, don't forget your Militiaman's Manual. Fifth, USE your Militiaman's Manual. It outlines the procedures you need to use when someone outside approaches your post. You can practice on me tonight and tomorrow. Sixth, call signs. As you already know, I'll be going by Benji. All the DFP's are designated Dino 1 through 8. CP is Dynomutt. PAR Team 1 is Scooby. PAR Team 2 is Scrappy. CRT 1 is Lassie. CRT 2 is Rin Tin Tin. Fire Team is Snoopy. Finally, Manpower Team is Astro. Key call signs to remember now, yourself, Dynomutt, and Benji. Dynomutt to check in each hour. Benji if you need to take a leak. I'll be coming around and helping you memorize the rest throughout the shift. Finally, sign/countersign, chem. code, and duress words. Challenge word is 'Monkey' and response is 'Diamond'. Chem. Code is 8. And the duress word is 'Pumpkin.' Again, Monkey-Diamond, Eight, and Pumpkin. These will change every day, so make sure you know them before you post. CP members will be briefed by the instructor in CP. I need to meet with the PAR, CRT, Fire, and Manpower Teams before you post. The rest of you, arm up and head over to your station" Ijaat looked around trying to think of anything else. He turned to SSgt Tate, "You have anything to add, Sir?"

SSgt Tate stood doing the fish mouth thing before he finally, shook his head, "No, Dorm Chief. I think you covered it all" He then gave Ijaat a critical look before motioning the Squad on to their posts.

"Alright, get out of here, you mug. Post and I'll be around in a bit" Ijaat motioned the remaining trainees to move off to one side to let the others exit the bunk house.

"Okee-dokey, PAR teams… Tonight and tomorrow, I want you two to train together. Starting Wednesday, PAR 1 will be posted here in the bunk house and PAR 2 will be posted at the CCP"

Ijaat walked over to the corner of the bunk house and motioned the others to follow him. He glanced around until he found a huge foot locker marked 'PAR Kit.' "This is your kit. Inside you will find the user's manual. Read through it carefully. SSgt Tate will be happy to answer any questions you may have, but read the manual first. Your job is to clear the area after an attack, find UXO's, find casualties, and determine if a chemical agent was used during the attack. Read, train, follow the maps included, and ask questions now. Manpower Team, if we lose people on the PAR Team, you will be expected to back fill. So tonight, I want you to train with the PAR Teams. Tomorrow, you will train with the CRT's. Any questions on the PAR Team?" Ijaat looked around. Several of his Squad-mates looked half asleep. But most were paying close attention. Those trainees shook their head.

"Next, the CRT's" Ijaat pulled away from the PAR Team Kit and went over to the opposite corner. Here he sought out another foot locker. This one labeled 'Bunker-SABC.' "Casualty Recovery Teams, like the PAR Teams, I want you to train together tonight and tomorrow. This is your kit. CRT 1 will be posted here in the bunk house. CRT 2 will be posted in the CCP. When the PAR Teams find casualties, they will call for you to come and recover them. Practice litter-carry techniques and commands. Study the Self Aid and Buddy Care steps in the ATO and the Airman's Manual. The Manpower Team will backfill if you lose anyone on the team. Don't be afraid to reference your Militiaman's Manual while trying to treat a casualty. Better to do it right, then to accidentally 'kill' a team-mate. This manual," Ijaat pointed to the SABC kit manual, "will give you specific instructions on your duties. Again, I'm sure SSgt Tate would be more than willing to answer any of your questions. Now, any questions for me about the CRT?" Again, Jon received a sea of shaking heads.

"Well, holy guacamole, who's that leave us with?"

"Da Fire Team, Dorm Chief," was Ruso's sarcastic reply.

"Oy… Fire Team, let's take this outside and get out of their hair" Ijaat pointed to the PAR and CRT teams already breaking up into their groups to go over their manuals. Ijaat hid his grin as SSgt Tate was waylaid by one of the PAR Team members with a question and a map.

Once outside, Ijaat turned to face the bunk house door. "Okay, guys, let me make this quick. You are on ATO Study detail, masquerading as a Fire Team. You have no set post. Make it a habit to never be in the same place twice. Walk around a lot, etc, etc. I will recon the enemy stronghold as soon as possible. Hopefully, later tonight. In the meantime, I want you guys to train as a fire team and practice 'sneak and peek' techniques…"

Jon saw SSgt Tate evade another question and make his way out of the bunk house. "…now, as a Fire Team, your primary job will be to assist the DFP's in repelling an enemy attack. So, remember what I said about going over this entire bunker facility. You need to know it like the back of your hand. If you hear Dino 4 call in a SALUTE report, you need to copy the report and head over to Dino 4's location" Ijaat acknowledged SSgt Tate as he approached. "SSgt Tate, is there anything else they should know?"

Once again, SSgt Tate looked off guard, "Um… yes, make maximum use of the cover available. Because you will be moving towards the fighting, you will be more visible and vulnerable to enemy fire. If need be, identify locations where you can create a firing position and submit it to the commander. Ah… that should do it."

Ijaat gave SSgt Tate a quick nod before continuing, "Alright, get to it. Don't forget to radio in. CP won't know where you guys are, so that makes the radio check in all that more important. Dismissed." The Fire Team turned away and started walking away from SSgt Tate talking quietly.

"Dorm Chief."

Ijaat stopped mid turn and winced internally. Externally, he turned a neutral smile to the instructor. "Yes, Sir?"

"The commander would like to speak with you in the CP." SSgt Tate briskly delivered his message then turned back to the bunk house.

"I guess that would be all then, Sir… Yes, Trainee Ordo, that is all. Dismissed," Ijaat whispered to himself as he turned towards the CP.

After a quick briefing from Capt. Collins, Ijaat picked up and escorted several of the EET inspectors around the bunker complex to see where his teams were posted.

The rest of the shift the Squad was closely observed by the EET inspectors. The EET didn't interfere with the teams when they were training, but the moment they stopped. They would quiz the Squad members mercilessly.

Despite this constant harassment, the shift went smoothly. Each position promptly reported in each hour and the training went smoothly for both the PAR teams and the CRTs.

Ijaat wandered from post to post throughout the night taking coffee and water to each position. He assisted the various teams to get a feel for their duties and how best to execute them.

Because of the EET, Ijaat was unable to get away to scout the surrounding woods or the enemy positions. And, with Ijaat's coaching, his Squad had not faltered in their vigilance or diligence. By 0600 hours, the entire Squad was more than ready for the shift change.

The tired group ate a quick breakfast and reported in at 0700 hours on Monday for the short march to the confidence course with one of other squads. Ijaat and his Squad-mates were able to successfully navigate the course with only a few falling into the water obstacles.

The confidence course was set up to allow the trainees to release some of their pent up frustrations without the TI's constantly harassing them. It also allowed the Squad member to yell and cheer their Squad-mates on, building up unit cohesion. Ultimately, the leisurely pace of the confidence course was a nice change from the previous weeks at basic. The obstacles, while physically challenging, were more mental challenges than physical ones. Ijaats Squad was rejuvenated by the positive team building experience that the confidence course provided.

After a quick lunch back at the bunker, SSgt Tate was replaced by TSgt Simon. TSgt Simon really enjoyed his chosen profession and it showed in his teaching. He spent the next few hours walking the Squad through the Anti-Terrorism training, Un-Exploded Ordinance (UXO) identification, reporting, and marking procedures, and Improvised Explosive Device (IED) identification and reporting procedures. He spent extra time explaining how passive defence worked to their advantage and how to expand on existing passive defensive structures like expedient hardening, camouflage and concealment, and blackout procedures.

Finally, TSgt Simon spent the time to explain the security procedures that SSgt Tate had glossed over the previous day. He explained their duties and responsibilities as sentries, how to challenge intruders, how to handle prisoners and defectors, and the best way to use challenge signs and passwords. He even took the time to explain the SALUTE report and what the acronym stood for.

TSgt Simon grinned at the trainees lined up before him, "Come on. Surely, one of you knows what SALUTE stands for. Didn't any of you read the 10-100." As one, the Squad turned to look at Ijaat.

"What?" Ijaat replied. "Alright, I just wanted to give the rest of you a chance" Ijaat turned back to TSgt Simon. "Time, Location, Equipment, Size, Unit, Activity."

TSgt Simon scrunched up his face as he tried to put the response in proper order. Finally, he replied, "Yes, but in acronym order that is Size, Activity, Location, Unit, Time, and Equipment."

Ruso put his hand up, "How's we supposed to know the unit? It's not like we can just ask them."

TSgt Simon chuckled, "They just might display a unit banner or markings on their vehicles or uniforms. But if you don't know, you can always just state 'unknown unit.' Any other questions?" The rest of the Squad shook their head. "Alright, dismissed until you report for sentry duty." TSgt Simon pulled Ijaat aside, "Dorm Chief, your Squad's mail is ready for pick-up at the CP. You might want to hand it out before they bunk down for the evening.

Ijaat gave a tired, "Yes, Sir," before turning towards the CP to pick up the mail. Hey, at least I don't have to do the punishments this week. With that last thought, Ijaat disappeared into the CP building.

Ijaat was on his tenth circuit of the DFP's. Only a few hours or so left of their sentry shift and Ijaat had finally lost his EET tag along. As he made this circuit, he was checking in with each of his Squad-mates. They all seemed to be wired and ready for more than the classroom briefings they had received. It was probably the lack of sleep and the near overdose of caffeine used to keep them up.

After he checked this last DFP, number 8, Ijaat planned on checking out Echo Bunker. Jon had guessed correctly. The CP had detailed maps of the surrounding area, including the neighbouring bunker complexes. Each complex was laid out in exactly the same way. This made it easier for Jon to gather Intel, because he could freely move through an exact replica of the enemy staging area, i.e. his own bunker. He had passed that tasty titbit to the Fire Team after he discovered it.

Ijaat approached DFP 8. Payton and Jones were carefully scanning the tree line for any sign of movement. He cleared his throat and Payton turned in his direction, weapon ready. "Halt!" Ijaat dutifully came to a stop. "Who goes there?"

Ijaat grinned at the cliché phrase, "Trainee Ordo, Squad 1342, Alpha Squad" He watched in approval as Jones continued to scan the trees, but was acutely aware of what his partner was doing.

"Advance to be recognized!" Payton continued.

Ijaat stepped forward into the light. Payton nodded in recognition. "Blue."

"Butterflies," Ijaat replied with the proper countersign.

Only when Ijaat had given the proper countersign did Payton drop his weapon. "So, what's up, Dorm Chief?"

"Nothing. All's quiet on the western front… or some such. You guys see anything?"

"Nope. Not a peep," Payton replied.

"Good, good. I finally lost my shadow. So, I figured I would mosey over and check out the competition. Or at least find the best path for a posse."

Ijaat turned walked to the front of their DFP. He shed most of his gear and helmet and stowed it in a shadow out of sight. His Squad-mates watched, fascinated as he used dirt to darken his face and hands.

Ijaat turned back one final time and gave them a cheeky grin, "Don't shoot me. Be back in 30." Then without a backward glance, he slid into the shadows between the trees and foliage.

God, I missed this. Ijaat ghosted between the trees from shadow to shadow senses alert to any noise or movement. Freely tapping into his memories and finding peace in the quiet of the Jungle. Almost like finding his centre. This is what he was. This is where he felt at peace with himself. This is where he belonged; sliding through the shadows with a mission to complete.

All too soon, Ijaat found the Echo Bunker complex. Unlike his bunker, there were no sentries posted. He grinned as he slid into the complex to investigate. The first bunk house was filled with PJ trainees, probably still in their indoctrination training phase. Not even these trainees were up at 0300.

Ijaat walked around the complex and found that even the CP was dark and quiet. He slid inside and examined the plans so casually spread across the walls. He almost laughed out loud at the blatant plans to 'attack' the various surrounding bunkers.

After committing the plans to memory, Ijaat couldn't help himself. He pulled out his little bottle of natural red dye and dumped it in the coffee maker's reservoir.

Ijaat circled the bunker complex. He wanted to make sure it was exactly like the Charlie Bunker complex. And he found that it was basically the same. One bunk house was filled with PJ trainees. The other three were filled with the PJ instructors and the EET members who were bunking in the play area, like TSgt Vega. The commander of the 'hostile' forces was in the CP building using the same room that Capt. Collins used at Charlie Bunker.

Ijaat grinned at the totally unguarded flag of the enemy. It proudly showed the patch and motto of the 'Devil Dogs.' The cogs were already turning on an appropriate replacement flag.

Ijaat made one last stop at the field kitchen. He easily picked the lock on the refrigerator and took a peek inside. Carter isn't the only one with 'questionable' skills. Ah ha! Just as I suspected, cake.

He carefully purloined the best 3 pieces of chocolate cake and carefully wrapped them up for the walk back. After removing all traces of his presence and disposing of the dye bottle in the kitchen trash, Ijaat slid back out of the complex with no one the wiser.

All too soon, Ijaat was back within sight of Charlie Bunker. He carefully made his way back around to DFP 8. He watched with approval as Payton and Jones continuously watched the tree line. He crept up to the tree line and stepped out into the open. Before long, Jones spotted him leaning casually against the trees.

"Halt! Who goes there?" Jones asked, already knowing the answer.

"Trainee Ordo, Flight 1342, Alpha Flight," Ijaat replied casually.

"Approach to be recognized."

Ijaat walked forward grinning.

"Blue."

"Butterflies."

"Damn. Where the hell did you come from? I didn't see nothing until you were leaned up against that tree." Jones was a little bit spooked by his sudden appearance.

"I just pulled off my cloak of invisibility and poof. Ta-da."

"Right, I'll believe that as soon as I see your wand, Harry," Jones was no longer spooked and had started to grin.

"Well, if I must," Ijaat pulled out his bag and pointed a finger at it, "Ala-ka-zam…" Ijaat then pulled out the carefully wrapped pieces of cake. "Is that good enough for you, Ron?"

"Oh, yeah," Jones snagged one of the pieces of cake. "Hey, this is good," he commented around a mouth full of cake.

"Only da best for me men," Ijaat blustered between mouthfuls of cake.

"Benji, Dynomutt," their radios crackled to life.

Ijaat swallowed his bite, "Go ahead, Dynomutt."

"You are requested to rendezvous with a ghost at Lassie's location," the command post instructed.

"Copy, Benji, out," Ijaat replied. Lassie was the call sign for CRT 1 and a ghost was the code name for the EET members. Ijaat quickly finished his piece of cake and finished wiping the dirt from his face and hands. He gave the two sentries a casual wave, "See ya, Dino 8."

"Later, Dorm Chief."

Ijaat quickly made his way to the bunk house where his CRT 1 would stage was assigned. As he entered the bunk house he immediately noticed the EET member, TSgt Vega. He gave his Ijaat-mates a casual wave and went over the TI.

"Sir, you requested a rendezvous?"

TSgt Vega smiled in welcome, "Yes, I did Dorm Chief. Walk with me." TSgt Vega immediately turned and started for the nearest exit. Jon followed in his wake.

"Dorm Chief, I was just looking over your posting schedule and had a few questions," TSgt Vega started.

Ijaat glanced at the TI warily, "Sure, Sir. What do you want to know?"

"First, you have two extra teams, why?"

Ijaat carefully considered his answer. "Well, Sir, we had more people than postings. They can backfill for the PAR team or the CRT. In fact, when we lose a trainee during the exercise, either to injury or simulated death, they will back fill the other postings. I noticed that there was no Fire Team assigned and created one. As for the rest, well… Manpower really says it all."

TSgt Vega carefully considered Ijaat's answer. It really just presented more questions than answers. Hollywood had touched on Fire Teams rarely and as yet had never glorified the Manpower Team. So how did this kid know about them? And of course, none of this fitted with TSgt Vega's suspicions about Ijaat's past. Finally, he sighed. "It occurs to me, Ordo, that I don't really know all that much about your background."

Ijaat was instantly on alert. He reviewed his answers to see what might have triggered this line of questioning. He couldn't detect any red flags. So, what had prompted that comment. Ijaat wasn't quite ready to drop his shielding yet. He was too tired to guarantee control. "Ah, Sir?"

But TSgt Vega wasn't ready to share his findings or to question Jon further, "Don't worry about it, Ordo. Now, show me your teams."

Jon eyed TSgt Vega warily, "Yes, Sir" He directed the TI back into the bunk house. "PAR 1 and CRT 1 are stationed here…"

The exhausted Squad was relieved by Bravo Flight on time. They once again made quick work of breakfast to make it to their first briefing at 0700. Today was the Chemical, Biological, and Nuclear Defence training. Few of the trainees had enough energy left to worry about the impending gas chamber.

TSgt Simon was back again as their instructor. He showed a level of patience hereto unknown to the trainees as he walked the Alpha and Charlie Flights through the Chemical Protective Over garment (CPO), the Mission Oriented Protective Postures (MOPP levels), and contamination avoidance.

"…Alright, now that you all have proven to me that you can successfully wear the CPO, what is the difference between MOPP 3 and MOPP 4?"

"Ah, Sir… in MOPP 4 we wear everything, but MOPP 3 we wear everything but the gloves," Seymour answered.

"Correct, but do you know why?" TSgt Simon asked.

The Squad replied with dumb looks.

"Because, once in a while, there will be an increased threat of an NBC attack with little or no warning. But not very often. Our usual procedure is to progress from MOPP 0 to 2 to 4 then back to 2 for clean areas. Now for the good news, because of the current weather conditions, Capt. Collins has authorized the Mask and Gloves Only MOPP option. So you will simulate, MOPP 2 with BDU sleeves down and when directed go to MOPP 4 with only the glove inserts, gloves, and gas mask" TSgt Simon grinned at the trainees. They were all too tired to do more than smile at the welcome news.

Of course this good news was off-set by the next lesson, the gas chamber. The trainees were told to mask up and then dutifully crammed into a small hut with no windows. Into this small enclosed area, the instructors tossed several tear gas canisters. All the trainees had to do was count to ten and then exit the building in an orderly manner.

Sounds simple enough until you mix in nearly 100 overly tired trainees. Inevitably, at least one of the trainee's panics. In Ijaat's Squad, it was the Carson kid.

Luckily, Ijaat and Korkie noticed that he was a bit panicky before he put his mask on and entered the building. When he started to freak, Korkie pinned his arms and Ijaat gently led them out of the building. Once outside, Carson immediately calmed down and didn't even try to remove his mask before he was told.

For the rest of the morning, TSgt Simon talked about the various chemical biological agents that have been developed into weapons. He explained their symptoms, treatment, and antidotes. Finally, as the most dedicated of the trainees was about to drop, he explained the Contamination Control Area (CCA). Its purpose, location, and a basic description of how the contamination was removed without injuring the member.

TSgt Simon then released them for a late lunch and their much needed sleep cycle. Jon made sure to check for mail, before retiring to bed himself. He decided that the post briefing was a better time to hand it out.

"Snoopy, Benji," Ijaat called on the radio. They had been on shift for almost 30 minutes. The base had gone into FPCON Charlie during the last shift. Ijaat knew that the base would be upgraded to FPCON Delta soon. Before that happened, he needed to talk to his Fire Team.

"Go ahead, Benji."

"Request rendezvous at Dino 6. Copy"

"Copy. Rendezvous at Dino 6. Snoopy out"

Ijaat worked his way over to Dino 6. They weren't challenging him tonight. The DFP's had all the practice they would get. Sometime tonight the games would really begin.

"Hey, Dorm Chief," Sanders greeted.

"Howdy, campers. Anything yet?" Ijaat asked.

Sanders' partner, Nelson, just shook his head.

"Sweet" Ijaat turned as he heard the Fire Team approach. "Let's take a walk" Ijaat reached for his radio, "Dynomutt, Benji"

"Go ahead, Benji"

"Snoopy and Benji will be out of the back yard. Response is within 3 Mikes. Copy."

Ijaat's radio crackled, "Copy. Snoopy and Benji are out of the back yard but within 3 Mikes. Dynomutt, out"

Ijaat turned back to his Fire Team. "Alright, boys, it's time to learn some tricks of the trade."

Ijaat led the Fire Team a short distance into the surrounding Jungle. He turned down his radio and motioned the others to do the same. "Circle up. Okay, you can't do anything about your MILES sensors. To mess with them is forbidden. The EET will have a 'God gun.' It is a sonic toy that is guaranteed to trip your sensors, unless you have disabled them. So, you are stuck being vulnerable to enemy fire.

"But there is no rule about futzing with the lasers." Jon pulled up his rifle. He carefully pointed it away from the group. "The laser is triggered by an impact. Normally, it will 'shoot' when you fire a blank round. However, if you tap the back of the laser hard enough, like this, it will also fire. This essentially lets you shoot when you are out of rounds, or better yet, when you don't want the noise of the rifle to give your position away. Don't get caught doing it. But it will significantly extend your ammunition. I also want to put one of you up a tree to snipe the aggressors from behind. Again, wait for the aggressors to fire on the bunker then start picking them off. No noise to expose you and the fire from the bunker will cover your kills"

"That really works?" Korkie asked.

Ijaat gave his bunk mate a grin, "Of course. Have I been wrong yet?"

Korkie gave him a strange look, "No. And frankly, that concerns me. But, I'll accept your word that this will work too. Now, show us again how hard to tap"

Ijaat went through the demonstration again. He coached each of the Fire Team members through doing it themselves until they felt comfortable with the procedure. He checked his watch. "Time to check in" Ijaat reached for his radio again, "Benji with a radio check"

He waited and soon the radio cackled to life, "Read you loud and clear, Benji"

Korkie nodded, "Snoopy with a radio check"

Again the radio responded, "Read you loud and clear, Snoopy"

Ijaat listened to the radio as each post called in. He counted and found that all his teams had reported in. Finally, the last call came through, "Dynomutt with a radio check."

Ijaat replied, "Read you loud and clear, Dynomutt."

Ijaat turned back to the Fire Team. "The exercise will start in earnest in the next hour. Before that happens, I want to show you the path to Echo bunker. We won't execute the operation tonight. We will be too busy."

"Are we going to go tomorrow?" Smith asked. He was one of his hunters from North Dakota.

"No. I think it would be best to wait until the last night of the exercise. Things will start to wind down and we should be able to sneak off," Ijaat replied. "Now, everyone turn off your radios. I'll keep mine on minimal volume"

Everyone complied and then followed Ijaat as he led the way through the woods. The trainees took note of the well-used path leading up to the bunker and the many paths that branched off of it. Ijaat motioned them off the path and up a small hill. They soon could see the entire bunker complex laid out before them.

Ijaat whispered, "The layout is almost exactly the same as our bunker. Alpha bunk house has the PJ trainees in it. This will be the main target. Bravo bunk house has the PJ instructors in it. This will be a secondary target, but use EXTREME caution. They are a lot more alert than the trainees. If we can't get them, then we will skip that target. Charlie and Delta bunk houses have the EET members in them. This is NOT a target. The CP and Flag Poles are our final targets. I'll take the CP. They will be awake and directing their aggressors for that shift, so it will be harder to complete all the assigned tasks. The flag pole, as you can see, is completely unguarded. Our final target will be to replace the 'Devil Dogs' with something highly inappropriate. Any questions?"

The Fire Team shook their heads. Ijaat nodded and motioned them to head back to Charlie bunker.

The group was almost back to the bunker when Ijaat heard the radio click. He increased the volume. "Benji, Dynomutt"

"Go ahead, Dynomutt"

"Ghost requests a rendezvous at Dino ,"

Ijaat smirked, "Wilco. Benji, out" Ijaat turned to the others, "If anyone asks, we were patrolling the bunker from the outside to determine the most likely approaches of attack and the best way to defend against them. Keep doing that now, so you can answer their questions. I'll head in" The Fire Team nodded and turned away from the bunker to start a slow circle around the complex.

As Ijaat approached the DFP he made sure to make extra noise. He carefully emerged from the trees with his hands away from his weapon.

"Halt!" Ijaat stopped. "Who goes there?"

"Trainee Ordo, Squad 1342, Alpha Squad," Ijaat replied.

"Approached to be recognized"

Ijaat approached the DFP. He heard the challenge, "Fluffy."

Ijaat couldn't contain his smile as he gave the countersign, "Bunnies."

Only after he had given the proper countersign did he finally see Sanders' head pop up. "Who the hell picks these challenge words anyway?" was his only greeting.

Ijaat grinned in return, "Someone with way too much time on their hands," he replied. "You have a ghost for me?"

"Yeah." Sanders jerked his hand towards the back of the DFP.

 _"Attention in the area. This is the Giant Voice with an exercise input. Exercise, exercise, exercise. Enemy aircraft have been seen within a 100 mile radius. All personnel are to assume simulated MOPP 2. Repeat, enemy aircraft have been seen within a 100 mile radius. All personnel are to assume simulated MOPP 2. Force Protection Condition Delta. Alarm Yellow. MOPP 2. Repeat Force Protection Condition Delta. Alarm Yellow. MOPP 2"_

Here we go!

Ijaat waited for the next radio broadcast from Dynomutt. Hopefully, Capt. Collins had updated the alarm condition to coincide with the new threat.

Come on! This should be automatic. Trained monkey's can see that you have to announce alarm yellow.

Finally, the radio clicked, _"All personnel, Alarm Yellow, FPCON Delta. Assume MOPP 2. Dynomutt, out"_

About damn time. "Benji, all present and accounted for." Ijaat started the roll call that he had insisted on after any change in the bunker's status. His call was quickly followed by Lassie and so on. Ijaat started jogging to the CP to find out what was going on.

Inside the CP, his two Squad-mates, Carson and Seymour, were busy taking in messages from the Survival Recovery Center (SRC).

Hell! No wonder it took so long. The damn captain isn't even awake yet.

Ijaat sent Carson to wake Capt. Collins. The PA warning rang just as the Captain arrived.

 _"Attention in the area. This is the Giant Voice with an exercise input. Exercise, exercise, exercise."_ The PA then played a recording of jets streaking overhead followed by several explosions.

Ijaat immediately hit the air attack alarm, not waiting for the sleepy Captain to give the command. He could just hear the wavering tone echo through the courtyard. He dropped to his knees and put on his Helmet and gloves for simulated MOPP 4. When he was properly geared up, he looked over at his Squad-mates. They were quickly donning their gear. He nodded approvingly at his two Squad-mates as they finished getting into their gear. Ijaat set his helmet back on his head and then attached his voice emitter to his gas mask.

Ijaat moved over to the Captain. The Captain didn't seem to exhibit the same sense of urgency that the training instructors had been trying to get the trainees to display. Ijaat watched in disgust as the Captain took his time putting his gloves on.

He finally couldn't take it anymore. "Sir, should I announce the new alarm and MOPP level?" Ijaat's voice was slightly distorted the voice emitter.

The Captain turned to Ijaat and gave a visible sigh, "Yeah. Alarm Red. MOPP 4"

Ijaat resisted the urge to shake his head where the Captain could see him. "Carson" Ijaat called.

Carson turned to Ijaat. "Got it, Dorm Chief," his voice also distorted.

"You use the PA to announce our current status so the guys sleeping in the other bunk houses know. I'll radio the Squad" Ijaat stepped away from Carson so his call wouldn't interfere with Carson's announcement. Jon spoke slowly and as clearly as possible to minimize the distortion in his voice through the emitter and the radio, "All units. FPCON Delta… Alarm Red... Simulated MOPP 4… Repeat… FPCON Delta... Alarm Red... Simulated MOPP 4… Give Dynomutt your count. Benji, out"

He waited for a response, just like before. _"Lassie, all present and accounted for"_

 _"Rin Tin Tin, all present and accounted for"_

Ijaat listened as each one of his units called and announced that they had everyone. Finally ending with Dino 8. Now the other Squads should sound off.

 _"Bravo is all present and accounted for"_

 _"Charlie is all present and accounted for"_

 _"Delta is all present and accounted for"_

Ijaat turned back to Seymour, who had been checking each unit and Squad off of his checklist. Finally, Seymour turned to Capt. Collins. "All personnel are present and accounted for, Sir"

The Captain walked over to the phone and dialed the SRC. "Charlie bunker, all present and accounted for…Yes, Sir." The Captain hung up the phone and turned back to the trainees. "Alarm Black. MOPP 4. The SRC is sending out initial recon teams. You might as well get comfortable. This could take a while." And with that sage advice, the Captain stretched out on the floor and went back to sleep, helmet and all.

Carson made the announcement to change from Alarm Red (under attack) to Alarm Black (attack is over and NBC contamination and/or UXO hazards are suspected or present). Ijaat repeated the same announcement on the radio.

That done, Ijaat made himself comfortable in a nearby chair. Before long, sweat started to drip down his face inside the mask. It was annoying and there was nothing he could do about it. Well, maybe not nothing. But ripping the mask off to wipe sweat was not considered kosher. Then again…

Ijaat leaned back in the chair, balancing it on two legs, and began one of his least favourite exercise games; the sweat maze. Yup, just like the old children's marble maze game, Ijaat would tilt and turn his head to keep the sweat from running into his eyes. Of course, this game was infinitely more challenging because he had to contend with multiple bogeys from multiple locations.

The group waited nearly 30 minutes before the SRC called to declare that the initial sweep was clear and to send out secondary teams.

Ijaat glanced over to the snoring Captain in disgust. He should have awoken when the phone rang. It was loud enough. Scratch that, he should have stayed awake as an example to the trainees. Stupid… lazy…

Dad may have been a difficult SOB to work with, but he never slouched off on a job, especially training. You needed every second of practice you could get, because the real thing was 20 times worse. You play like you fight. And the Captain must like to play dead, because he sure wouldn't last a week under dad's command.

This Captain acted like he was enduring some kind of punishment, rather than facilitating the exercise for the trainees. Dad had always operated on the principle that you don't HAVE to train. You GET to. Ijaat was exactly like dad in that regard. His father had too many memories of times when his training had saved his life and the lives of his team-mates.

Nope, training was too important to slouch off. And the example that this Captain was showing these new Air Force trainee was despicable. Idly, Ijaat wondered if Capt. Collins behaviour would improve if an EET member was here watching him.

The rest of the morning was more of the same. Two more air attacks and one rocket attack had the Charlie bunker in MOPP 4 for most of the rest of their shift. When Bravo Squad finally relieved them, the whole group was tired and dragging.

After a quick breakfast, Ijaat had the Squad form up in the courtyard. They were instructed by Capt. Collins to fill sand bags and fortify their positions using expedient hardening, i.e. sandbag walls.

He broke up the Squad into their elements and directed two elements to fill while the other two carried. He switched every hour to give the illusion of variety. Luckily, the ongoing air attacks would send the Flight scurrying to the nearest bunker. They stayed in MOPP 4 long enough to relax from the hard physical labour of moving sandbags. A few of his Squad-mates even managed to doze off.

Just before lunch, the first of the casualties arrived wearing a big black vest announcing that he was DOA. The poor souls helped fill and carry the bags but didn't get to rest when the group went into MOPP 4 yet again.

Finally, they were relieved for lunch by Bravo Squad and again ate quickly and hit the latrine, before turning in at their bunk house.

Ijaat called everyone over before they fell into their bunks to try and sleep. "Okay, campers, I know you are all exhausted. If you want to sleep uninterrupted, I recommend that you sleep with your gas mask and gloves on. The element leaders and I will take turns keeping watch and conducting a roll call. We will wake you if we go to MOPP 4 and you are not already suited up. Get to your bunks and we'll do one final roll call before lights out. Finally, if you care, I have today's mail" Ijaat held up the bag of mail. Only two people stuck around to see if they received anything. The rest worked towards their cots and fell into them.

The last roll call found his Squads 'all present and accounted for.' Ijaat took first watch and soon was surrounded by the sound of his team mates snoring muffled by their gas masks.

Thursday's shift was a lot more exciting than Wednesday's. Instead of near constant air attacks, they were busy repelling near constant ground attacks. Ijaat and the Fire Team were busy responding to different SALUTE reports. His Manpower Team was already back filling for the 3 guys that had been 'killed' during these attacks.

The EET were a constant presence. They seemed to attack the trainees during any lull in the action. They asked for definitions, alarms, signals, MOPP levels, SABC treatment options for a list of symptoms, EE-3 characteristics, and so on. Never giving the trainees a chance to relax.

The whole Squad was both anticipating and dreading their Bravo Squad relief. Anticipating because they would no longer be the main target of the EET. Dreading because they would once again be filling sandbags with tired, achy muscles.

Around 0500, Ijaat had finally had it with the ground attacks. He broke off from the CP and waved at Dino 3 before disappearing into the tree line. Once in the trees, he circled the compound until he was overlooking the compound from a small hill above Dino 5. He sighted in and as the enemy began to appear, he would snipe them from the hill.

The aggressors finally, figured out what he was doing and tried to surround his position, but Ijaat was already ahead of them. He slipped into the trees and waited for the first of the PJ trainees to pass. As the hapless militiaman, walked by, Ijaat grabbed him in a bear hug, stole his knife and pressed the dull edge into the trainee's neck.

"You're dead, militiaman," Ijaat whispered into the man's ear.

The aggressor relaxed in his grip.

"Strip off your gear. Keep the MILES. I'll take your weapons."

"But…" the man tried to protest.

"Ack! You are dead. You don't care remember?"

"Right" The kilitiaman stripped off his gear.

Ijaat stacked up his gear and told his dead captive to move and lay down in the spot that Ijaat had been sniping from. Then he waited for the next one, and the next one, until he had a tidy pile of gear.

"Thanks for the re-supply. Have fun at the morgue," Ijaat gave as a farewell and returned to the bunker loaded with gear.

Surprisingly, Ijaat made it all the way back to the bunk house without seeing anyone but his Squad-mates. He stowed the gear and when asked, said that he had recovered it from several of the enemy kills just outside the walls. This made his Squad-mates grin.

Ijaat barely remembered the rest of the day. He was so tired that he was on auto-pilot. He responded to the alarms and signals automatically. Often catching himself right before he made the wrong action. Twice he found himself running towards the sound of gunfire in the distance before he remembered that he was supposed to seek shelter instead.

That afternoon he fell into a deep exhausted sleep.

Friday continued Thursday's pace. The trainees woke up exhausted. Ijaat made sure they posted properly and continued as they had the last several days. After one air attack, the EET seemed satisfied that they were going to continue to maintain the exhausting pace.

Then they disappeared. Apparently the EET needed to sleep too.

Ijaat thought that this would be their best chance to pull off their prank. He joined the Fire Team at Dino 4 and the group silently slid into the Jungle.

As tired as they were, Ijaat was proud of how well his team-mates were holding up under the stress. Even knowing how exhausted they must feel, they still moved quietly through the trees towards the enemy bunker.

Once the bunker was in sight, the group broke up into 4 groups. Ijaat alone would try to handle the third objective, the CP. One group of two, korkie and Gumm, would handle sabotaging the PJ trainees. Meanwhile, Smith setup the trip wires on the PJ instructors' bunk house, and Emery would steal the flag and fly a replacement.

Ijaat snuck into the CP building. He quietly filled two water bottles with clear vinegar and set them next to the coffee pot. The CP had a habit of storing water nearby to ensure a continuous flow of coffee. The vinegar would spoil at least one pot for sure. Next, Ijaat set up a continuous line across every surface in the hallway. It took 10 minutes to setup, but anyone rushing into the CP would be instantly tangled by the cord. Finally, Ijaat tied each of the individual rooms' door knobs to a door knob across the hallway. The doors would open about 6 inches, but only one at a time.

The whole time, Ijaat could hear the CP technician working in the CP talking on the radio and making calls, directing the opposition as they worked into position. Ijaat slipped out of the building as silently as he snuck in, and went to the overlook point that had been designated as their rendezvous point.

Ijaat slid next to Emery and Smith where they were waiting. "How'd it go?" he asked.

Smith's grin was answer enough.

Emery replied, "Easy as pie, Dorm Chief" He handed the 'Devil Dogs' flag to Ijaat.

"Good." Ijaat pulled out a pair of 'recovered' binoculars. He watched Alpha bunker looking for any sign of Korkie and Gumm. The pair finally emerged and put the final trip wires in place at either end of the bunk house before entering the woods.

Ijaat turned the binoculars to the flag pole and spied Ruso's handiwork. The replacement flag for the 'Devil Dogs' was a white apron purloined from the kitchen linen with the words 'Toasted Puppies' emblazoned on either side. At the bottom, not visible from his vantage point, Ijaat had written "'In war there is no substitute for victory.' – General Douglas MacArthur. Ka-Boom. Signed Your Enemy." The early morning breeze was making the apron flap merrily in the wind. "Nice"

Once Korkie and Gumm made the rendezvous point, group made their way back towards Charlie bunker. Once they were within sight, Ijaat stopped the group. "Pick sniper positions. One per side. Call an attack when you see it, but wait until you hear the DFP's fire before eliminating the enemy silently."

Ijaat left them in the woods as he made his way silently back to the bunker complex. As he approached the perimeter, Ijaat could see that the EET had returned in force. He slipped by the DFP team while they were busy being grilled by the EET member.

Ijaat angled back towards the bunk house and had almost made it when he heard "Ordo"

Damn! He turned to give TSgt Vega a welcoming smile. "Yes, Sir."

"I finally found you. I want you to walk me through your defensive plan for today."

Ijaat gave a small internal sigh, "Yes, Sir. Today, I have rotated the Dino teams…" he continued to outline his plan for defending the compound today. TSgt Vega continued to grill him in such a way that he might have begun to doubt his strategies. But he knew the strategies were sound. Otherwise the only Military College on Mandalor wouldn't teach them to all the high ranking officers.

Finally satisfied, TSgt Vega let Ijaat continue to the bunk house, just in time for another air strike. The rest of the shift was just as busy. But Ijaat did find the time to properly fold the enemy flag into a nice tight bundle.

After Bravo Flight relieved them, Ijaat and his Squad once again filled sandbags and continued to harden the existing structures. His Squad no longer sat down so much as controlled their collapse. The release for lunch couldn't come soon enough.

Ijaat swung by the CP to pick up the day's mail and make one small final delivery. He snuck into the Captain's quarters and hung the 'Devil Dogs' flag in the Captain's window where the whole bunker could see it, if they were looking. And Ijaat knew that Chief Gunderson would be looking.

With his last mission accomplished, Ijaat slipped back out of the building and returned to his bunk house to hand out mail and take his watch.

Around 2000 hrs, the exercise termination was called. Ruso woke Ijaat so he could report to the CP for orders. The trip was wasted as the only orders were for the trainees to stand down and rest. Ijaat reported back to the bunk house. He and Ruso stripped the helmets and gloves off their sleeping team mates. As a testament to how exhausted the trainees were, only two woke up during the process.

Ijaat sent Ruso to his bunk and returned to his own bunk in the CP for the first time in 3 days.

Saturday dawned bright and clear. TSgt Vega was well rested after leaving the exercise area early last night. The trainees had performed very well during the exercise; His trainees more so than the Squads accompanying them. To say that he was preening, would not be a stretch.

The Charlie bunker 'hot wash' was scheduled at 0800. TSgt Vega was more than ready to attend the 'hot wash' for the exercise. He had been able to identify only a few faults with his trainees. He was curious to see if anyone else had similar difficulties.

TSgt Vega entered the briefing room to find only three other people already in attendance. One was a TI he recognized from the 324th. But the other two were strangers. TSgt Vega was curious about the large black man in the corner wearing a hat. He had seen him observing the trainees during the exercise, but had not been able to meet him formally.

"Morning all" TSgt Vega greeted the room. He picked his way through the mass of chairs in the briefing room to the stranger. "Hello, I'm TSgt Vega. The TI for Squad 1342. I haven't had a chance to meet you yet" He extended his hand to the large black man.

The stranger regarded TSgt Vega closely before slowly clasping his hand. "I am called Teal'c and I return your greeting, Technical Sergeant Vega."

TSgt Vega felt like he had just passed some kind of test. The stranger had a strange formal accent, but otherwise was an oddly soothing presence. "So, what did you think about my trainees. I had the ones working the early morning shift, Alpha Squad"

Again as the stranger regarded him, TSgt Vega felt himself being weighed and measured. But he had nothing to hide, he returned the man's steady gaze with one of his own. He received a faint nod before Teal'c spoke.

"I found the whole battle to be most illuminating." Teal'c paused, "Do you command the one called Ordo?"

TSgt Vega had never heard it put quite the way before, but… "Yes, he is my Dorm Chief."

"And this… 'Dorm Chief' is a position of leadership?"

The question caught TSgt Vega off guard. The term Dorm Chief was well known throughout the Air Force. That this man could be on the EET, but not Air Force, was very strange. "Yes… You're not Mandalor Militia are you?"

The man gave him a slight bow at the head, "I am not."

"Ah, well then, the Dorm Chief is the ranking trainee in any Squad. The trainees report to their Element Leader. The Element Leaders report to the Dorm Chief. The Dorm Chief reports to the TI," TSgt Vega explained.

"Thank you. Your explanation is most helpful."

Just then several people stormed into the briefing room. One Major looked royally pissed and was closely flanked by an equally pissed off Chief. Both were wearing PJ wings and berets. TSgt Vega recognized Chief Gunderson from the previous week and wondered who could piss off the happy go lucky Chief. TSgt Vega winced and took several steps back to remain out of the line of fire.

The Major scanned the room, apparently looking for someone in particular. And apparently not finding him. "Where is he?" he asked the room.

"Uh, who, Sir?"

"The former Captain Collins, that's who."

"He hasn't made it yet, Sir," TSgt Vega ventured, before boldly gesturing for the Major to take a seat at the table.

Soon other EET members and the other TI's arrived, but still no Capt. Collins. The briefing started promptly at 0800. Capt. Collins failed to show to provide any input.

Each of the Squads received passing grades for the exercise. Alpha Squad was recognized as the outstanding performer for not only the bunker, but for the whole exercise area. Each of the TI's were commended and instructed to return to their Squads and assume command.

As he was leaving, TSgt Vega pulled Chief Gunderson aside. "Chief, what happened?"

The Chief gave TSgt Vega an evil, grim smile, "Capt. Collins orchestrated a counter-strike on Echo bunker."

"He did? I was under the impression that Capt. Collins couldn't lead a dog out of a box. How do you know it was him?" TSgt Vega asked.

Chief appeared to consider his question, "The flag was hanging in his bunk room… But, you know, now that I think about it, you're right. But how did the flag get into his room?"

Now, TSgt Vega was confused, but before he could reply he heard Teal'c's deep voice, "Of what flag do you speak?"

The Chief turned to regard the new man. Teal'c returned his gaze steadily. "Our 'colours' went missing Friday morning. They were found in Capt. Collins room in Charlie bunker that afternoon"

Teal'c turned to TSgt Vega for and explanation, "His colours are the flag that his unit flies. It is usually specific to a unit"

"Indeed. Then to lose such a flag would bring great dishonour to the unit." Teal'c turned back to the Chief who was turning red at the mention of dishonour. "Would your anger not be better spent on disciplining the sentries on duty rather than directed at the one who succeeded in acquiring such a prize against difficult odds?"

The Chief gapped at Teal'c and then turned deep red in embarrassment. "There were no sentries on duty"

Teal'c turned and looked at TSgt Vega confused, "Were they not on opposite sides of the battlefield? Why would one side post sentries and the other not?"

"Ah, well, the trainee bunkers are not supposed to attack the aggressors' camp," TSgt Vega replied.

"Is this written in the Rules of Engagement?" Teal'c asked.

TSgt Vega considered the question, was it? "No, it isn't."

Teal'c turned back to the Chief, "Then you should have expected a counter-attack and posted sentries to defend your compound. Anything less is arrogance for in battle nothing is certain. To be angry at an enemy for taking advantage of your weakness is cowardly" The Chief looked suitably chastised. Teal'c turned back to TSgt Vega. "It has been an honour to meet you, Technical Sergeant Vega. I shall see you again at graduation. Until then, goodbye." Teal'c bowed his head again before walking around the pair and exiting the briefing room.

The Chief and TSgt Vega watched him exit.

"Well, that was odd," Chief Gunderson stated out loud. "Where do you know him from?"

"I don't. He was EET. I just met him before the meeting," TSgt Vega replied.

"He's going to your Squads graduation?"

"Apparently." TSgt Vega shook himself and turned back to the Chief. "If I had to guess, I would say that he works with the Ordo kid's uncle. He asked about my Dorm Chief earlier. I mean, how else would a civilian get permission to evaluate BMT trainees?"

Chief Gunderson tensed at the name Ordo. "In war there is no substitute for victory," the Chief whispered to himself.

Chief flashed back to a time when he had been chewed out by his team leader for failing to give an exercise the proper amount of attention. He had argued that it wasn't real, only a war game. Major Jack O'Neill had countered that it was never a game and that his actions had directly resulted in the death of his entire team. The Major ended the lecture with the quote and then proceeded to make his life hell for the last 3 days of the exercise. "Ah hell. Damn it!" Chief Gunderson turned back to TSgt Vega. "Do you know that for a fact? About him working with Ordo?"

"No. Why?"

"'Cause, I think ol' Coyote just pulled one over on me. That or he learned how to chew me out without actually being here" He rubbed his hand on his forehead, trying to stave off a tension headache.

"Ah…"

"Never mind." Chief sighed, "I'll go reign in the Major. And he was so looking forward to hurting Collins"

"Alright, I'll see you around, Chief" TSgt Vega left to go collect his Flight.

Why was everything so damn weird around the Ordo kid? Why couldn't he just have a normal BMT Squad? TSgt Vega just couldn't resolve the loose ends around the kid. The harder he tried to tie them up, the looser they got.

TSgt Vega now doubted that the kid had been in any kind of gang. Killed? Maybe. Seen something horrible and lived? Definitely. The nightmares were proof enough of that. But TSgt Vega was through making assumptions about the kid and his past. He would instead collect only facts.

From what TSgt Vega observed this week, he knew for a fact that the kid had seen battle before. Not just gunfire, but an all-out fire-fight. In fact, the kid was conditioned to respond to gunfire by running towards it, battle ready. Gangs don't give you that kind of automatic response. Neither does any kind of police training that TSgt Vega has ever heard of. Gangs train to run away. Police train to duck. Only the military trains to run towards. But the kid was far too young to have any practical military experience.

And that, dear Watson, leaves us with the most improbable; that the kid had been raised as some kind of super-warrior.

But that made even less sense as the rest. This wasn't some kind of Sci-Fi special. Why train a super-warrior from babyhood just to send him to BMT? And, for all intents and purposes, the kid acted like any other normal teenager.

TSgt Vega spent the rest of his morning trying to coax his exhausted Squad to clean and tidy the bunker complex. After they had packed the last of their gear, TSgt Vega had them load all their bags onto the back of a flatbed truck. They had finished just in time to break for lunch. TSgt Vega made sure they were fed and watered for the long march back to the dorm.

Oddly enough, the whole Squad was in an excellent, if exhausted, mood. They were tired, but TSgt Vega didn't hear a single complaint about the work or even about the march. It was almost eerie. TSgt Vega chalked it up to his imagination. He kept hoping that they were just too tired to complain… or something like that.

TSgt Vega also kept a quiet watch on the ordo kid. As exhausted as he was, he still managed to keep up the encouraging comments and lend a helping hand to those who were obviously past their limit. The kid was a natural leader. TSgt Vega could see how he cared for each of his Squad-mates. It was a bond that couldn't be faked and was demonstrated, not with words, but with actions.

As TSgt Vega expanded his observations, he noticed that the Element Leaders were unconsciously mimicking Ordo. Each was ensuring that the trainees assigned to their Element were cared for first and only then would see to themselves. Finally, the rest of the Squad followed where the others led. They volunteered to help without coaxing, even though they were numb exhaustion.

TSgt Vega couldn't argue with the result. The Squad was an efficient machine that worked well together under the most stressful of conditions. He doubted that he would have been able to see this interaction for himself if the whole Squad had not been too tired to remember that he was there. And for that, TSgt Vega felt privileged. These new Militiamen would take this lesson with them to the rest of the militia.

Today was another day where it was truly worth being a BMT TI. He could only feel pride for what his Squad had accomplished. Definitely worth it!

Anyway, TSgt Vega had happily spent the whole week in a dank bunker, sleeping on a bunk. He was almost dreading going back to the squadron and its latest rounds of practical jokes. He almost wondered what had been happening at the squadron, but not enough to want to ask anyone.

However, the smile was soon wiped of his face. " _This is bunker hill, we are being overrun by black stalkers and shriek hawks repeat we are be-AHHHHHHH"_ as then transmission ceased. "Get everyone in this bunker armed now!" TSgt Vega ordered.

"Why?" asked Captain Collins.

"The wildlife is coming, they've already overwhelmed Bunker hill, we need to arm everyone and man the walls" The next twenty minutes were spent running around arming the Squads and EETs with weaponry to combat the potentially incoming wildlife.

Ijaat yawned. He was still exhausted from warrior week but now he and the other Squads faced the possibility of a genuine attack. Ijaat stared into the dense jungle surrounding the bunker, there was a god fifty metres distance that had been cleared. Ijaat stared closely again. "What the hell?"Ijaat thought as he grabbed his binoculars. Ijaat gazed in fear at what was approaching. "Sir! Bugs are coming!" Ijaat screamed to the Captain. Similar shouts came from all sides. The creatures were coming. But they weren't alone.

Plasma was launched at the Bunker. Two men got instantly scorched. I looked back and saw the burnt bodies. "Freaking Artillery!" Ijaat screamed. Ijaat fired with his EE-3 at the approaching black Stalkers as they quickly approached. But they didn't realize the numbers of the Bugs. It was like there was an entire army. Ijaat felt he was going to die.

Black stalkers ran screaming songs of death at the defenders. Ijaat just kept firing. We were lucky to hit a few Bugs with each round. "Why don't you die!" The person next to him screamed, just before a Shriek hawk grabbed him. Ijaat quickly turned and fired a three round burst at the bird, as a result it fell to the ground and dropped the now terrified militiaman to the ground. Ijaat continued to fire. Black Stalkers were trying to climb up the walls. One Bug had its claws into the metal. The others saw this and did the same. Ijaat smiled and shook his head and dropped a grenade.

Need I say more?

Artillery, presumably from the death watch, Black stalkers and Shriek hawks kept coming. Ijaat fired, and fired and fired. Still they kept their seizure up. lasers flew, Bugs ran, plasma burned, then the worst happened. I looked behind me. The bunkers doors started breaking. they all turned their attention to the door. But they forgot the Shriek hawks. Men started to be snatched away. The door broke and black Stalkers stabbed some men. Ijaat noticed Vega was going berserk. The Captain was doing the same; we could all tell he hated the Bugs more than all of them, surprising seeing as he was so lazy during the warrior week. The door mat was literally soaked with Bug juice because of him and a OAG machine gun he had.

Black Stalkers started pouring in. "Die mother fuckers!" Ijaat screamed as he flung a flurry of grenades at the door. A chain of explosions went off. Bug parts scattered around. A Shriek Hawk flew at him, Ijaat fired an entire round at its face and rolled away before it crashed into him. Ijaat got up and fired at the Bugs at the wall. He then noticed something bad. The Bug corpses were slumping into one big pile. "This day is getting better," Ijaat sighed sarcastically in his head. What to do? These Bugs were far too smart for their own good.

"You! Get down here and cover me!" the Captian roared at him. Ijaat instantly obeyed "I'm gonna see if we can get saved! Cover my back!" The Captain ran into the outpost. Ijaat followed him, but exterminating any Bugs that came too close. Ijaat saw one guy get surrounded by the fuckers. They chopped him up like a butcher to ham. A Black stalker ran up to me. Ijaat panicked and smashed it in the head with my gun. It flinched. Ijaat remembered the training video. _"Aim for the eyes, the head stem or the legs."_ Ijaat aimed his gun at its eye. Ijaat caught a glimpse of its fear.

"Enjoy hell!" Ijaat shouted as Ijaat blew the bastards brains out.

"This is Captain Collins OAG 1! Come in _Amestris_!" the Captain yelled into the Comm. link. A muffled reply came through. We could just barely make it out. "We need a pick up! There are way too many, we're at Bunker Alpha!" the Captain screamed into the mike. _"Affirmative Captain, this is the OAG Amestris we are sending two warbirds"_ came a static reply. The Captain made a fist and said 'yes' through clenched teeth. Ijaat ran outside to continue the mindless killing. Ijaat blew up a large amount of Black Stalkers when he noticed something happening in the ground.

"Holy shit!" Ijaat screamed. Ijaat jumped onto the stairs. The floor was collapsing! It was like sand trap! Numerous men were sucked in, including the Captain! TSgt Vega rushed to the hole and grabbed the poor man out. Ijaat didn't want to get distracted from the battle, but what happened to the Captain was scary! He was half eaten! The man was fucking ripped apart from the torso down. He was breathing in agony, but still alive. Ijaat gave a sigh of relief. Ijaat didn't have time to enjoy it though; Ijaat had to kill a damn bug. Ijaat turned back to the half-eaten man. TSgt Vega was at his aid, getting cover fire from a fellow militiaman. The Captain grabbed him.

"you know what to do!" He yelled at him.

"Yes sir, I do!"

"Then do it!"

Ijaat turned away as TSgt Vega pointed his gun at the Captain's head. Ijaat couldn't hear the shot because of the fighting. Ijaat fired at the Bugs like no tomorrow. "Eat this you fucker! I didn't forget about you, filthy bug!" Ijaat fired at any Bug he could see. Then the worst arrived.

From out of the pit, came a massive beetle like creature. Ijaat looked at it. It roared in triumph. It sprayed its foul acid across the floor. Ijaat witnessed infantry and trainees being frazzled. Ijaat looked at TSgt Vega, hoping he would do the stunt he did last time. He was too busy evading the acid, and the Black Stalkers. Ijaat fired at the Bug's eyes. Nothing happened. They were screwed.

Ijaat shot down a Shriek hawk. Its blood splattered on his helmet. "Yuck" Ijaat thought. Ijaat heard a peculiar noise from above. Ijaat looked up. The transports had arrived! They were saved. Ijaat jumped down and kicked down a Black Stalker and shot its nearby friend. Ijaat then noticed the transports weren't landing. The big beetle was too much of a threat! "Dammit!" Ijaat screamed to high hell. Ijaat continued to blast away the Bugs. If he was gonna die, at least he would go down fighting. Ijaat saw a militiawoman run to the massive bug. "Must have a death wish" Ijaat thought.

She grabbed a grenade and threw it at the bug. It wasn't gonna do much good though. But the bug must have been not thinking for a moment. It swallowed the grenade! Maybe the Bugs were stupid after all. Ijaat laughed as the ignorant beetle blew up. It was satisfying. The main body exploded, then the head. It collapsed down. The girl cheered. TSgt Vega cheered. Everyone cheered. A Black stalker came and stabbed her.

Everyone stopped cheering. Vega screamed and shot the Bug to pieces. He and another militiaman snapped off the black stalkers jaw. The girl fell into TSgt Vega's arms. The transports landed. Everyone who was able-bodied climbed aboard. Vega's new friend was slowly dying. She coughed up blood. "C'mon, hang in there!" TSgt Vega begged. "I'm not afraid to die," she whispered. TSgt Vega climbed into the cockpit and started talking to the pilot and co-pilot. Ijaat just sat back on his seat and trembled as the adrenaline began to wear off.

* * *

 _22BBY, Couple hours later on Mandalore, tapcaf, Oyu'baat, Mand'alor Tar Mav meeting with the clan heads to discuss the future of Mandalore._

* * *

Mand'alor Tar Mav stood around a table with the heads of multiple clans and the duchess. There was Clan Bralor lead by Rav Bralor, one of Cuy'val Dar trainers. Clan Cadera, led by Maklae Cadera, an old friend of his. Clan Awaud lead by Tor Awaud, an experienced Mandalorian warrior. Clan Kryze lead by duchess Satine Kryze.  
Clan Priest lead by Dred Priest, a Cuy'val Dar trainer, a old rival of his. Clan Ordo lead by Canderous Ordo, he had the privilege to meet the man's brother's daughter Tracinya Ordo, her son and Canderous's nephew Ijaat Ordo had been in a combined bug and death watch attack, Mand'alor intended to visit the survivers. Clan Kelborn lead by Raina Kelborn, his old flame. Clan Farr, led by Juna Farr, female human Mandalorian. Clan Gedyc lead by Lorka Gedyc. Clan Sharratt lead by a male Kaleesh Mandalorian anme Kal Sharratt. Clan Itera from New Mandalorians, led by Muhaj Itera.

While there were many more clans coming to this meeting, those were top clans.

 _'It's been long time since I've seen so many clan leaders gather.'_ Thought Mand'alor Tar Mav as he glaze upon the other Clan Leaders as they enter the room. Mand'alor Tar Mav hasn't seen this many Clan Leaders gather since during Mandalorian Civil War when he was only a young recruit in True Mandalorian army under Mand'alor Jango Fett, memories he hasn't thought of in long time.

It had been an eventful trip from the landing bay to the conference room. He remember overhearing OAG marines asking about the Death Watch, he remember what was said there.

 **Flashback**

 _"So what is big deal between you guys and Death Watch?" Mand'alor Tar Mav turned his head to voice, standing near couple crates were couple OAG marines in full armor, they were facing a familiar red skin Twi'lek Mandalorian in blue and orange armor._

 _'Jana, didn't realize she was back.' Thought Tar Mav as he watches an old friend from Cuy'val Dar talking to OAG marines. Jana like most female Twi'leks was very beautiful, her blue eyes were almost like ice but yet held a warmness to them that many don't to see like he has._ _"This roughly happened 30 years ago before this war. Things were bad with Mandalorians at the time, many of us had become no better then raiders, pirates, slavers. You name it. But this all changed when a man name Jaster Mereel came to join the Mandalorians." Said Jana, the young OAG Marine notice there was lot of respect in her voice when she spoke of Jaster Mereel._

 _"Anyway, Jaster Mereel was once a Journeyman Protector on Concord Dawn, he was exiled from killing his corrupted officer. He end up joining the Mandalorians. He gotten the current Mand'alor's attention, Mandalore the Fair. She passed on her knowledge and legacy to Jaster Mereel before she died. Jaster was determine restore the Mandalorian's honor so he created Supercommando Codex."_

 _One of the Marines quickly realized what Supercommando Codex. "Isn't that rule most of you Mandalorians follow?" He had heard mentions of it from other Mandalorians. the Twi'lek Mandalorian nodded, "that's right. It's where Mandalorians would act more like soldiers while still maintaining their warrior culture. If one wanted to fight, their go as honorable mercenaries... But not all agreed to Mandalore's ideal."_

 _The Mandalorian's voice become dark here. "A Mandalorian name Tor Vizsla opposed this, he wanted to bring back days when Mandalorians were going on crusades and try conqueror the Galaxy. Tor hated that Jaster gotten be Mand'alor and not him, he did one better too. He turned his back on Jaster Mereel and rally a army behind him, calling themselves the Death Watch. That was a huge disgrace for him."_

 _"How much of a disgrace?" Though the young Marine had a feeling it was like a Samurai turning his back on his master. "Very, you're going against everything you swore to uphold. It's like going against everything you promised, our code, Resol'nare or Six Actions, goes as of wearing armour, speaking the language, defending oneself and family, raising your children as Mandalorians, contributing to the clan's welfare, and when called upon by the Mand'alor, rallying to their cause. Tor not answering Mand'alor's call made him Dar'manda, no longer Mandalorian."_

 _The young Marine though was curious what was Tor's relation with Pre Vizsla. "Vizsla? You mean like Pre Vizsla?" The Twi'lek nodded, "yes, his Tor's son and his no better than Tor. He did one better, he rallied an army of likeminded followers and they called themselves the Death Watch. This would cause up the Mandalorian Civil War, in less than one year, the Death Watch killed over a 1000 people who disagreed with them, doing horrible things to both Mandalorians and outsiders. The New Mandalorians despite not being involved, suffer vicious attacks from the Death Watch."_

 _The OAG marines were growing disgusted with sound of Death Watch even more then they had already. "Despite what New Mandalorians would say about the True Mandalorians, they were only ones keeping Death Watch off them. It was their blood that kept them alive... That's what deal is between Death Watch and the Mandalorians, the difference between a warrior and a zealot." Mand'alor tuned out the rest, he knew the rest of the story from there._

 _Afterall... He was there when it had happened._

 **End of Flashback**

It had been pleasing to see that the OAG marines stationed on Mandalore had taken an interest in why they were here, the next bit had not been so pleasant. "You alright there kid?" Tav Mav turned to his right. Standing there was an older male human looking be in his 60s, he had fair skin and graying hair. He wore gold and brown Mandalorian armor under a grey flightsuit, there were two blasters equip to his belt. "Nothing Kal, just thinking about some things."

Kal Skirata was another good friend of his back in Cuy'val Dar, he was experience Mandalorian soldier back in days of Mandalorian Civil War, the two fought together during war against Death Watch. "It wouldn't happen to involve Raina would it?" Asked Kal, his eyes darted to the person that Tav Mav had been thinking about. At far end of table was a female Kiffar with blight blue hair, she was fair skin and grey eyes, the tattoos of Kiffar race was on her left eye.

She was Raina Kelborn, the clan leader of Kelborn. "Yeah, it kinda does." Kal eyes soften, "have you two worked things out?" Kal Skirata was very aware of relationship both Mand'alor and Raina Kelborn have.

Raina Kelborn and he went way back, the two trained together under same Mandalorian Rally Master, Jakna Varad and fought together in Mandalorian Civil War, the two were... close. She had actually revealed Mandalore's first name when he with his girlfriend Mesh'la Spar and an OAG special forces man by the name Sparrow, he remember meeting well.

 **Flashback**

 _"You sure we can trust them? You did say their warily of outsiders." Asked Sparrow as he and two Mandalorians followed a Mandalorian in blue and grey armor, wearing a camo cloak over him._

 _Sparrow wasn't sure what think of Clan Kelborn, from what he had heard members of Clan Kelborn were warily of those outside their clan, even to other Mandalorians. It was more due to fact they were_ _betrayed by Clan Gedyc during Mandalorian Civil War, many of their clan members were killed because of it, thus they relocated themselves in Werda Kurs._

 _"Yes we can trust them, the clan leader is an old friend of ours." Spoke a firm yet soft voice, Sparrow turned to the other Mandalorian that came with them. Mesh'la Spar was a female Zabrak, Sparrow couldn't quite tell what she looked like under her helmet but he could see her horns poking out of top of her Mandalorian helmet. She wore cobalt blue and gold Mandalorian armor, there was black kama equip to her belt, couple grenades and ammo strap across her chest plate._

 _Sparrow shrugged, "If you say so." The rest of trip was quiet, Sparrow took his time to glaze upon jungles of Mandalore. It always amazed him about how similar forests were like the Amazon Rain Forest, but the trees were much larger, he could spot couple birds flying by, he assumed those were cracke birds._

 _"We'll here." Said their guide, his voice was gruff, not much friendly in his tone, Sparrow had feeling he didn't them very much. Coming up ahead was a large camp, he saw large tents and couple fire pits around camp, he could see lot of Mandalorians out and about, but soon as they came in site, they all stopped what they were doing and turn their attention to them._

 _Sparrow become little warily as he saw many were resting their hands on various of weapons, he noted their attention was on him though. 'Real friendly bunch.' Thought Sparrow._

 _"Well Janja, it's been a long time,"_ _Sparrow snapped his head to voice. Up ahead was a female Mandalorian in light armor in colors of blue and dark green, strap to her back was a large sniper rifle that Sparrow had doubt that could blow person apart. Mand'alor cross his arms, Sparrow was surprised to see that he looked almost shy._

 _"Raina it's... been a long time."_

 **End of Flashback**

That actually surprises great deal of his comrades nearby and had sent the OAG operator in to a fit of barely contained giggles. He knew Raina had feelings for him but she learned Mesh'la Spar and him were already having bit of a thing, she stepped out but still kinda of hurts her, even though she hides it well.

He still felt guilty about it but he knew his heart belong to Mes'la. Mesh'la Spar, a Zabrak, was a true Mandalorian, honorable, keeps her word but she's not afraid to be ruthless, she's shown this when facing Kaminoians to who she hates big time. When talking about the Mandalorians, anyone can hear how much pride there is in her voice, she's what you call a patriot as well. Cares deeply for clones she trained, passing Mandalorian traditions to them.

And like him, she also shown a disliking towards fellow Cuy'val Dar trainer Dred Priest, to which she'll probably end up killing one of these days despite his many protests.

It was always awkward when he and the two women were around each other. Sparrow had put it as ' _'E_ _very boyfriend's worst nightmare, the misses and the ex,''_ he had been careful to say it under his breath to him so as to not incur the wrath of the two female warriors. Coming back to the present Mand'alor stood up once everyone was in room.

"Now we are all here we can begin." Mand'alor Started, "we are here today to discuss and decide upon the future of our planet. Our first issue today is the Death Watch."

There was a snort far end, Mand'alor didn't need to see who it was. "Well well, all the mighty Mand'alor. Never expected you to try take the title Tar Mav." Dred said to Mandalore the Freedom interrupting the proceding, being sure use some disrespect in his tone of voice. Dred Priest was a tall human male, looking be in his 30s, Dred had a thin face with a lopsided mouth, the sort of face one could punch all day, according to Kal Skirata. He wore red and gold Mandalorian armor under a dark grey flightsuit.

Mandalore narrow his eyes on Dred. "Dred Priest, how's the scar doing for ya?" Dred frowned, narrowing his eyes on Mand'alor, he traces his fingers on a large scar across his face, scowling all while, "fairly alright, though I am more than willing return the favor Mand'alor" Everyone noted things were getting tense in room.

Satine frowned at the two, ' _What's going with them?_ ' Satine didn't knew much about the Clan Chieftain of Priest, but she has heard of a bloodthirsty background on him, she had rumors that he was one of Mandalorians that helped trained the Clone Army. But by looks of things here, it would appear he has a history with Tar Mav. "That's enough Dred. You two can sought things out later when we don't have worry about safety of Mandalore." Satine turned to see who said that.

Coming over to Dred and Mand'alor was a male Mandalorian in black and gold armour, a red cape was over his shoulder. What concerned Satine was the very familiar fallen Jai'galaar in colours of red on his shoulder guards. Mand'alor and Dred stared at each other for few moments before Dred scoffed, "Fine, let's just get this over with." He ignored the looks he got from his fellow Mandalorians.

"The Death Watch should be eradicated! They have caused us nothing but grief and death, if our new militia and our OAG allies work together, we can make a decisive effort to finally end their pathetic existence" said Canderous receiving nods and mummers of approval from all present. Canderous was a older human male in his 40s, dark brown hair that was in point of graying, his dark gray eyes were much like coming of a storm.

Mand'alor turned to the OAG general in room. "General Craig is that possible?"

General Craig nodded. "Most definitely, our men are expertly trained and combat ready as is your militia. I can have a joint taskforce set up and ready to deploy within a week." General Craig responded. There were couple nods but that was when Raina Kelborn chose to speak.

"Hate break it to you general but that won't be as easy. If it had, the Death Watch would have been destroyed years ago. As much as I hate to say, the Death Watch are much apart of us as any Mandalorian, their an ideal that refuses to die." There were mummers of agreement there, Raina Kelborn had good point.

The Death Watch are masters of Mandalorian tactic ba'slan shev'la, or "strategic disappearance". They shown this after Civil War when Jango Fett killed Tor Vizsla, and now they were back.

General Craig frowned. "Be as that may, we can at least stop them now and force them at least go into hiding, we can then focus on more important matters once that is through." Once again there were agreements met by the OAG general. Raina shrugged, "Fair point." She only chose spoke to point that fact out.

"The next issue is what we do with the militia once the Death Watch have been dealt with?"

Satine chose to speak, ignoring looks of distrust by the more warrior clan leaders in room. "I think the militia should be disbanded, we wish to break with Mandalore's brutal past and adopt a more peaceful attitude towards other systems. Enough people have died from our warrior ways. This needs to stop." Satine said, remembering the suffering her people had caused in the past.

But that of course was met with heavy disagreements. "Absolutely not! With the Death Watch aligning themselves with the Separatists in this time of war, we cannot afford to be defenseless. We should make others respect and fear us!" Shouted Lorka Gedyc, slamming his fists on table.

"I will not allow us to descend back into our old warrior ways!" Shouted back Satine, she was already beginning dislike the clan leader of Gedyc.

"If I might interject, may I suggest a compromise here." Asked Canderous.

Tav Mav turned to him, he gesture his hand to allow him speak. "Go on,"

Canderous glaze everyone in room, before he took deep breath and spoke. "It is obvious in this time of Clone Wars, we cannot remain unprotected and relying on a corrupt police force. However, we also not should fall back onto our old warlike ways. Instead we should keep the militia for self-defence purposes and only use it in defense should we be attacked and should we attack those who are attacking us. We also shall use diplomacy until peace is no longer viable so to be able to prevent blood shed. We can then built up a new fighting force to help further defend Mandalore Sector. " The clan heads and New Mandalorians seem to grudgingly accept the compromise.

"Evidence suggest that Count Dooku is funding and arming the Death Watch and had promised Separatist support for a coup before the OAG showed up. The Separatist were planning on invading Mandalore, the question now is do we now declare war on the separatist?" Raina Kelborn spoke.

"The Separatist will only try to invade us again in future. We need to take the fight to them." Dred said, there was grudgingly agreements with him. Satine frowned at this, she didn't like where this is going.

"I will permite there being an Army but I will not support a war." Kal Sharratt said, he didn't want Mandalorians become involve in Clone Wars, he didn't trust neither side.

"They intended to invade our worlds and enslave us. We need to hit them before they hit us!" Shouted Tor Awaud, he was male Chiss in silver and black Mandalorian armor. Like all Chiss, he had pure red eyes that just seem stare at you're soul.

Kal turn face Tor. "And that will only encourage them to attack us!"

"Doing nothing will make us look vulnerable Kal, we need show we are not weak." Tor retold him, him and Kal were now facing each other, glaring deeply.

"With their Death Watch allies on the run they wouldn't dare, the people wouldn't accept a ruler who wasn't a Mandalorian!"

"They would give the people a choice!"

"ENOUGH!" yelled Tar Mav, gaining everyone's attention. "We are bickering like children, both side have good arguments, we can agree on that can't we? General Craig what in your opinion could our military do in the Clone War?" Tar had grown trust Craig's opinion on matters in time his known him. While he had good feeling how it was, he needed other's opinion.

"While your military would not be able to make a contribution of soldiers and weapons like the OAG and Galactic Republic. Mandalore would offer a unique set of skills. You have a small but well trained and equipped army that is full of experienced Mandalorian clan warriors who are masters of armed and unarmed combat and a strong and stable economy to support a war effort. The OAG can maintain a small force on Mandalore in order to assist in the defense of the system should there be a Separatist attack. Even if your contribution to the war is minimal, it will save lives and shorten this war at the very least." The room fell into deep thought about what to do.

"I say we put it to a vote" Tar Mav said.

"All in favour?" Clans Ordo, Kelborn, Gedyc, Priest, Shysa, Braylor, Cadera and Awuad raised their hands.

"All against?" Clans Kryze, Farr, Charrat and Itera raised their hands.

Janja nodded. "Then it is decided. Mandalore is now at war with the Confederacy of Independent Systems." Satine knew she lost this, she can only hope Mandalore will not suffer for this.

"Finally the last Issue is who shall become Manda'lor." Now that gained everyone's attention.

Tar Mav crossed his arms. "Someone will need lead us into this war, while I have no problems taking title. I am open to anyone else who can lead us."

"I nominate Dred Priest of Clan Priest," said a familiar female human in yellow and orange armor, unlike others she chose keep her helmet on. Tar Mav frowned once he saw her, ' _Should have known she would vote for her boyfriend.'_ The woman was another member of Cuy'val Dar, Isabet Reau the clan leader of Reau, she was someone that always made Janja warily, he always got impression of a spider from her.

One of New Mandalorians spoke up, a dark skin human male in typical fitting New Mandalorian clothing. "I nominate Satine Kryze of clan Kryze," Satine looked surprise there, though she was not surprise of looks of heavy disagreements. While Tar Mav respected Satine for wanting protect Mandalore, he felt she was naive and needed understand they can no longer do what New Mandalorians are doing.

But the real kicker that brought everyone's attention was when Raina Kelborn case her vote. "I nominate Janja of clan Vizla." That caused lot of mummers to begin, General Craig turned to Mand'alor.

"You're from Clan Vizla?" He almost wondering what kind of relations they held with Vizslas, Mand'alor nodded. "I was adopted into their clan during Civil War. Before you ask, Vizlas are cousins to Vizslas, we'll nothing like them." Janja remembers the day he was found by True Mandalorians, members from Clan Vizla found him after a battle with Death Watch in battlefield.

He couldn't quite remember who he was before he was found, he just assumed he was child of some farmers of Dantooine.

"Everyone one now cast your votes."

Four votes for Satine. Four votes for Dred. Six votes for Lorka Gedyc. Eight votes for Kal Skirata. Ten votes for Mand'alor Tar Mav. Ordo had yet to vote, looking at Satine then to Tar Mav, he would secure the victory for either two.

"I vote for Tar Mav. All hail the new Manda'lor." Everyone began to applaud except for a sour looking Dredd. Just then the holo-projecter activated, showing Pre Vizsla, standing behind him were two Death Watch warriors.

"Greetings Clan Chiefs and Manda'lor, I'm sure you know who I am. I am here with an offer. Join me and help make Mandalore great again! We are true faith that all of us Mandalorians once knew! Have all of you forgotten this? The galaxy used to fear us and we can do so again! We nearly took the galaxy, together we can do it again as well! For generations, our ancestors fought proudly as warriors against the Jedi, Sith and any who stood in our way." Tar Mav roll his eyes.

While they are some of greatest warriors in galaxy, what Pre Vizsla was talking here was not acts of warrior, it was acts of a zealot. "Now, that woman Satine tarnishes the very name Mandalorian. Defend her, if you will but she dishonored the Mandalorian's generations-old warrior traditions with that has tarnished the very name Mandalorian with her peace-seeking government."

Dred was paying very close attention, so was few other Clan Chiefs. "We are weak but together we can make Mandalore strong! Together we can rebuild the Mandalorian Empire! Together Mandalore will rule the galaxy as it was always suppose to!" He ranted like a madman.

Mand'alor shook his head. "No. you say that you follow this True Mandalorian way but what you really follow is your unquenchable lust for power. It is you who dishonor the Mandalorian way. Begone and remember that your days are numbered. We will look for you, We will find you… And we will, kill you." Pre Vizsla looked out raged.

"Don't be a di'kut Mand'alor! We ca-" Mand'alor Tar Mav ended the call there. Rav Bralor, a woman within her 50s, wearing black and red Mandalorian armor, nodded to the new Mand'alor. "Nice work, I was getting tried of listing to his ranting." Dred though was still thinking there, he kept an rare calm look on his face.

Mand'alor turned to Satine. "Satine, I wish for you to be our voice in the senate and to ensure that we have peaceful and prosperous relations with the rest of the galaxy. While we will maintain our status as warriors, we can still be peaceful to others in process."

Satine looked very surprised but soon nodded. "Understood Mand'alor." Maybe there was some hope afterall.

"With that meeting ajourned." Everyone soon left room or went to tapcaf downstairs, everyone needed a drink.

Mand'alor made his way up to tapcaf, waiting for him was Mesh'la Spar. Her helmet was showing, showing she was a beautiful red skin Zabrak within her late twenties, black tattoos were across her face, her green eyes were reminded Mand'alor of green jewels. Mesh'la walked up behind him and hugged him, before seductivly whispering in his ear "Congradulations Manda'lor, I think we should celebrate this most wonderful occasion."

Mesh'la chuckled when she right away knew Janja was blushing behind his helmet. "Get a room you two." Snorted Rav Bralor as she passes the couple, Mesh'la smirked, "well that's the idea." Janja quickly compose himself.

"Celebration would be good. Drinks are on me everyone!" There were lot of cheers to that.

* * *

 _22BBY, Carlac, Death Watch's camp, minutes after Mand'alor's meeting with Mandalorian Clan Leaders._

* * *

"HOW DARE HE!" Shouted Pre Vizsla as he throws his helmet against the wall, leaving a heavy dent on wall while helmet remained undamaged. "He dares say I dishonor Mandalorians. I know our destiny as warriors damnit!" Pre Vizsla took deep heavy breaths before he calms down.

' _You're pay Mand'alor, you and OAG.'_ He will have his revenge but right now isn't the right moment. Pre Vizsla goes grab his helmet, he held's it against his side and heads outside. He sees his warriors were doing their best set up camp, while they had lost some supporters with now new Mand'alor, Pre Vizsla still had good amount of warriors.

"Lord Vizsla, we are almost finished with camp. What you're orders?" Said a Death Watch warrior in common blue and gray armor most of Death Watch have now chose wear. Pre Vizlsa doesn't face him but does acknowledges him, "Continue with building up camp. Set up patrols and I want some of our men check out the local villages, if they do not agree to our terms, kill them." The Warrior nods and goes carry out Pre Vizsla's command.

Pre Vizsla eyes narrowed in thought. ' _Just you wait Mand'alor, I will be back.'_ Vizsla heads back to his tent, he needed speak with Count Dooku on few matters.


	12. Battle for Jima

**The First Contact War**

Chapter 12 Battle For Jima

 _2622_ _May 5_ _th_ _, Earth Standard Calendar, Commander Luke Sparrow, aboard the Bengal class carrier Amestris over the Planet Ki, about to assault the separatist island stronghold._

Commander Luke Sparrow felt like he was in heaven rather than in the mess hall of the _Bengal class carrier ship, OAGS Amestris_. He was going see his action today, not stuck on a ship with nothing to do. He was attached to the 4th Marine Division that was supposed to go assault an island called Jima within two hours. The General said the mission, dubbed Operation Detachment was designed to provide the Navy with a base to launch strikes at nearby Separatist systems like Ryloth which had just fallen to the Separatists. He and all the others knew that the Sepi's were fanatical fighters. They proved this theory on the worlds of Christphsis, Mimban, the Droid listening station, and the Callas system. For now though he would enjoy the luxurious breakfast of bacon, eggs, toast, and cereal and think about the battle later. Throughout Luke's breakfast he could hear the thumps and blasts of the Navy's 20-hour non-stop orbital bombardment of the island. At exactly 8:40 AM the intercom blared to life.

 _"Attention, all soldiers to the launch bay, final loading in progress"_ In an almost robot manner, all the men stood up and walked to their quarters. Luke quickly did up his jacket, laced up his combat boots, put on his helmet, and sheathed his combat knife, the Kians (the native population) were renowned for their incredible skill in hand to hand combat, they were a species of humans whose emperor had aligned them with the Separatists. Luke had been trained in martial arts to counter this. He quietly joined the line waiting to enter the launch bay. As they entered, the NCO at the entrance handed each of them an AC-160 assault rifle as well as three magazines of ammo. Luke quickly unsheathed his knife and attached it to the barrel of his rifle. Another NCO handed him a few grenades, he already had his sidearm. Other men were being given AC-30 Sub-Machine guns, AC-4 machine guns. Luke then collected his exosuit from itslocker and began the process of activating it. Slowly he made his way to the orbital assault drop pods. Once ten men were in side, the pod launched itself away from the mothership. They passed by the OAGS New York, its big guns blazing as it unleashed another salvo with a deafening roar.

"They keep that up, there won't be an island left to walk on" remarked one private.

"That's just fine with me" chimed in another.

"Yeah, no way anyone's still alive on that joint" said a third.

"I wouldn't count on that if I was you" snapped the Sargent.

"Any of you new guys feel like throwing up. Word of advice, do it now" That advice resounded across the pod and sounds of vomiting were heard from a marine who probably wasn't used to the experience of falling through atmosphere yet, leaving a puddle of breakfast on the floor. The Sargent, who was near the door of the pod turned to face his men. "Men, this will be no milk-run. The Kians have fought hard for every piece of ground in this war, but Jima is different. This isn't like the mainland or the moon. This is Kian holy ground where once their god walked on allegedly, with roughly 18 000 Imperial troops on it. They will not go quietly gentlemen. So keep your heads down, don't waste ammo, and for God's sake watch for booby traps"

The pod suddenly shook as it broke through the atmosphere and then shook again as it took some enemy fire.

"Shit we're hit" the Sargent said as he entered commands for a trajectory change.

"Brace yourselves we're crash landing!" The pod hit the ground and would have thrown everyone around like ragdolls if not for the harness's keeping them from doing so. The pod came to a slow halt on the beach as the marines inside slowly got up.

"Crash landing is still a landing" He muttered as another marine used his exoskeleton to kick the door off. The ramp fell with a thud a few feet away, and the men charged out onto the sulphur beach.

Luke couldn't believe it; they were taking the beaches standing up. They had already secured positions behind a natural sea wall and a forward advance group was moving cautiously inland. _The Kians might be all dead_ he thought hopefully.

Luke watched as the second line hopped over the sea wall and began to advance up the beach. Behind him, the "alligator" T-600 titan tank, which had been equipped with a flame thrower for bunker busting, rolled onto the black beach while a Warbird began to unload ammo and additional troops. Nearly 500 Marines had landed so far.

The advance force of Americans was about to reach the first line of Kian fortifications and had no idea they were even there. Suddenly Luke heard the chatter of over a dozen machine guns as the entire beach lit up with Kian fire. The first wave of men was almost entirely cut to pieces by the accurate fire. Their lasers tore into the Marines who dropped like flies, the sheer weight of fire nullifying the new Beskar armour. Suddenly the ground directly in front of Luke erupted into a cloud of ash and dirt. He scanned the cliffside and saw to his horror that the Kians had placed their tanks and artillery into well-fortified positions that were almost impregnable to anything but a direct hit. The Marines primary objective was to secure Mt. Suribachi, which dominated the entire island. The Kian spotters were directing their artillery fire from there.

"Men move up!" yelled the Sargent. On cue all the men scaled the sea wall and charged to where the survivors were taking cover from the constant shelling. Luke dived into a crater made by a Kian artillery round with about 8 other Marines in it. It was only 50 metres from one of the pillboxes.

"They've stopped shooting. I'll move up, Sparrow, you're in charge if I don't return" said the Sargent. He climbed out of the crater and ran for the position.

The Sarg made it about halfway before the fire renewed. The rounds tore through him and he staggered back and fell into the crater. Luke the look of horror on the man's face. Slowly he took the soldier's dog tag and put it in his pocket. He stayed in the crater for another half an hour before rumbling caught his attention.

"What is that?" asked another man.

"I have no idea" replied Luke. Suddenly a large shadow passed beside the men in the crater as an 'Alligator' T-600 tank rolled by.

"It's a friendly, it's a friendly, thank you Jesus" cheered one of the Marines. The tank fired ahead and continued on. The Kian fired abruptly stopped. Luke knew he had no time to waste; he crawled over to a marine armed with a flamethrower. "Name soldier?" he demanded.

"Private Clark Barnes reporting for duty, sir!" he answered.

"Barnes, get up there and burn out those bastards for us" Luke ordered.

"Right away, sir" Barnes replied and he hopped over the top. A shot whizzed right past the marine's left ear. Barnes hit the side of the bunker and thanked God that he was still alive. He then poked the flamethrower through the hole and fired. Luke had moved up with the rest of his men and could now hear a group of Kians talking below him. "This is for the Sarg you butchers" he said as he opened his pack, produced a grenade, pulled the pin, and lobbed it down the open air vent. The grenade detonated with a boom. Luke could barely see anything; the smoke from the burning bunkers had reduced visibility to what was in front of him. He could however, clearly see the Kian running with his friend on his back. He took aim with his Ac-160 and fired. The clip ejected out of the rifle.

"Damn" swore Mike. The Kian made it safely into the cave. _I'll get that bugger later_ he told himself. He never knew how close that soldier would bring him to death.

 _2200 Hours, Jima_

Luke tirelessly patrolled his tent area. It was around midnight and it had been raining nonstop since his shift started at 2200 Hours. His poncho kept his clothes dry but drops of rain dripped from the brim of his helmet. He almost lost his grip on his rifle due to its increased wetness. He was dead tired, after being pinned down on the beaches and taking heavy casualties they had broken out. A group of 760 Marines made a near-suicidal charge on the Kian positions and had taken heavy casualties. They punched through the Kian lines and completely isolated the garrison at Mt. Suribachi from the rest of the Kian forces on the island. Now Luke was straining his eyes in the dark to look for any signs of a what he would call A Kian banzai attack. That was a favourite Kian strategy; they would banzai attack during the night and the Marines would be taken off guard and slaughtered. They had been specifically told to watch for enemy infiltrators but there had been none the entire evening. Another marine walked out of the dry tent and came up to Luke.

"I'm here to relieve you sir" he said.

"Have fun private" Luke told him before trudging slowly back to the tent. The lights were still on as Luke took off his poncho and helmet. He placed then in his personal trunk and leaned his rifle against it. He proceeded to collapse on his cot.

"Hey Commander, you up to join our game of Black Jack?" asked Barnes.

"Well I've just gotten off a 2 hour watch shift in the rain. I haven't slept since we were on the _Amestris_ " he replied drowsily.

"Okay, suit yourself. Your loss when you wake up tomorrow and find that I won 50 bucks" he laughed.

"Sure, have fun with that" Luke said jokingly.

Clark turned his attention back to the game. "So I get down to the sickbay for my vaccination and there are these two nurses standing there…" Luke sighed and rolled his eyes. He just waited for sleeps wonderful embrace.

 _Day 2_

Luke was woken up the next morning by Clark. As he stood up he heard rumbling as a column of tanks and infantry passed by on the road to the front.

"What's going on?" he asked drowsily.

"I have no idea, the colonel is going to brief us at the front," he replied and the two joined the rest of the division on their way to the front. The walk wasn't long but it was horrid, all the remnants of the gruesome battle the day before still littered the ground. Luke passed by a T-600, only the charred chassis remained. Bodies were scattered all across the sulfuric terrain, some burned and others shot to pieces. The stench of death hung over the men. Some began to puke as the grotesque horror show continued. They passed a Kian anti-tank position and found the gun with its cannon melted and useless. Soon Luke could hear the sounds of battle as the Marines and Kians fought small skirmishes. The troops were probing for a weak spot in the Kian defences. Luke and the rest of the men in his company entered the trench single file and walked briskly to their positions while the tanks moved into a wedge formation. The colonel was waiting in the trench for them and as they arrived the briefed them.

"Men, our job today is to wrest control of this hill from Kians control. We'll steam roll this hill till hell wouldn't have it" he said. "I expect all of you to do your duty." As he walked away over 100 Havoc Mobile artillery aircraft opened up on the first line of Kian defences. All that could be heard was the roar of the OAG artillery as the Marines began their advance. A Kian 75mm field gun fired point blank into the lead tank. It erupted into flames and flying shrapnel.

"Damn it all to hell!" swore Luke as the Kian gun obliterated the tank nicknamed _Detroit Iron_. He and Clark crawled towards a radioman who was taking cover behind a group of tall rocks.

"Hey you…" he called out and grasped the soldier's left sleeve. The man fell on his side and Luke saw a large gaping hole in the middle of his chest. Luke took the soldiers dog tags and picked up the radio.

"Sword six…" he began before noticing several scorch marks from laser fire in the device, rendering it practically useless. Barnes was firing controlled bursts from his AC-130 from behind the relative safety of the rocks.

"We need to silence that field gun and those bunkers so we can advance," said Barnes, stating the obvious.

Luke nodded in subtle agreement and began to formulate a plan. They needed to take this hill today so it could provide a base of fire for the naval guns and carrier-based air strikes. He remembered a map they had recovered from one of the Kian pillboxes on the beach. It had outlined the fact that Jima was virtually a honeycomb of tunnels, bunkers, and command posts. _Maybe Mt. Suribachi is the same_ thought Luke.

"Barnes, be prepared to run," said Luke as he opened his pack and cooked a smoke grenade.

"Fire in the hole!" he yelled and tossed it at the fortification. As the smoke blanketed the area Barnes and Luke leapt out from behind the rocks and sprinted for the bunker. Shots whizzed past as Luke, Barnes and two other marines ran towards the bunker, using their boost to clear the last few metres. Luke stood right beside the bunker window. He pointed his AC-160 in and fired off his clip blindly. As the clip flew out, he inserted a new one and carefully peered into the bunker. To his surprise he found nothing there except and abandoned machine gun and empty ammo boxes. Luke, Barnes, and two other Marines silently hopped into the empty bunker.

"We need to silence that gun" Clark reiterated as the as the group proceeded up a flight of stairs that were carved into the cave floor. Their trek up came to an abrupt halt as the turned a corner and ran into a steel door. Luke walked up and banged his fist on it.

"Damn those Kians, they've barricaded themselves on the upper levels," he said, frustrated.

"Shouldn't we ask them to surrender sir?" asked one, extremely green recruit.

"The Kians never surrender. I'll ask them when I've blown them to hell. Get the C17 up here now!" he ordered.

"Ourah! Yes sir" answered one of the Marines who then left to fetch the charges.

Luke secured the satchel charges to the door and wired them to detonate in 15 seconds. All the Marines ran back down the stairs and braced themselves for the explosion. The door was blown off its hinges and crushed a Kian against the cave wall. Once the smoke cleared Luke and his squad silently moved down the hall. As the recruit turned the corner a shot rang out. Luke could see the laser hit the man in the neck where the armour didn't protect them. He instantly collapsed to the floor dead.

"Barnes, cut those bastards down to size!" ordered Luke, forcibly.

"We'll do sir!" he replied, enthusiastically and fired down the winding corridor. Two Kian soldiers were wasted by the OAG with the light machine gun.

"The Kians are running scared boys!" laughed Barnes as the Imperial regulars scurried down the tunnel.

Luke and his men cautiously moved down the hall wary for booby traps. As Luke rounded the corner he grinned with anticipation, he could see the field gun 3 rooms down. Each room including the one with the cannon itself was filled to the brim with ammo ranging from boxes of machine gun ammo to 75mm rounds to 5 full racks of 40 armed torpedoes. He silently placed 4 detpacks, one on the torpedoes, two on crates of artillery shells, and the last on a crate of 120mm shore gun rounds. He set each fuse to go off simultaneously after 2 minutes.

"We need to go, this place is going to get real ugly, real fast" he told the others. They stopped to pick up the dead body of the recruit and exited through the bunker window. They then took cover behind the tall rocks.

Luke felt the ground shake and heard a roar so loud that it sounded like the earth itself was splitting open. The explosions reached a fiery crescendo as the ammunition in the other rooms detonated and set off secondary explosions. Eventually, the explosions subsided and all that could be heard was the tired cheering of the surviving Marines. Luke relaxed beside Barnes. They still had three more defensive rings to go before they reached the summit but they had won an enormous victory.

 _Day 3_

"Shit, not again" muttered Barnes to Luke. Luke shook his head in dismay. After their initial success the attack had bogged down and after three days of hard, costly fighting they only destroyed two of the four defensive lines. All of the men had been fighting for three days with little to no sleep and most were at the end of their ropes. Luke and Barnes dove from cover to cover, avoiding the Kians that seemed to be coming from every direction. As they neared the third line of bunkers, they came across a Marine sitting in one of the many craters beside a body.

"Marine, status?" requested Luke. The man did not answer them.

"Answer the god damn question soldier!" ordered Barnes and he grabbed the man's jacket. The marine turned to face them. Luke gasped, he was only about 18 years old and his eyes were filled with tears.

"This is all insane! You are all crazy!" he cried. "Leave me alone, I want it all to stop!" he yelled. Before Luke could react the boy drew out his sidearm and shot himself in the left temple. The blood pooled his head when he fell.

"Poor bastard," commented Clark. He pulled off the kid's dog tag and put it in a small bag with the rest of them. Luke and Clark moved towards a small, dry creek bed where a large group of about 40 marines were taking cover.

"Sir we found a weak spot" one of them said. "Seems the Kians ran out of concrete at this section, they only have sandbags and one machine gun here. From there you have a straight shot at the summit" he assessed.

"Excellent" exclaimed Luke _. This is the breakthrough_ _that we need to end this_. "Does anyone have any rifle-grenades?" he asked.

"I do sir" came a response and a soldier crawled over to him. He held out one grenade with the special attachment. "That is my last one sir, make it count," he said.

Like nodded and he quickly attached the grenade to the barrel of his rifle. He aimed at the machine gun and pulled the trigger. The grenade sailed through the air and landed right on the Kian gun emplacement. The explosive detonated and blew the gun and its two users to pieces. Sandbags began raining down from the sky as the marines got up and charged through the gaping hole.

Luke and rest of the marines had made it to the summit and were now battling the defenders who were determined to thwart the Marines attempts at seizing the summit. Luke advanced slowly after nailing one Kian in the head with a round from his AC-160. He could see another regular attempting to shoot Clark in the back. Mike was a faster shooter and put him down before he could even move his finger.

"Thanks" said Clark as he turned to see his would be killer fall the ground.

"Sparrow look out!" yelled Clark and pointed behind Luke. He turned around just in time to see a shiny, curved metal object make contact with the left side of his chin. The Kian officer had drawn out his sword and slashed a deep wound in Luke's face from his lower chin to just below his nose. Luke staggered back and pulled the trigger. At point blank range, the plasma tore the officer's chest open and he fell to the ground as nothing more than a bloody mess. Luke soon felt a pain so intense he blacked out for a fraction of a second.

"Medic!" called out Clark as he rushed to Luke's side. He was starting to feel weak because of the blood loss but everything was strangely quiet. A Corpsman ran up and placed a bandage on Luke's lower face to stop the bleeding.

"Think that's it," said one marine.

"Clear!" came the voice of another. The sergeant stepped up onto a mass of twisted steel pipes.

"Where's old glory? Get her up here!" he ordered.

Another marine ran up to the pipes carrying a wooden pole and a neatly folded up OAG flag, the OAG flag consisted of a dark blue background with an image of Earth at the centre, surrounding Earth were stars, one for each planet. He quickly unfolded the flag and attached it to the pole. Finally, with the help of five other marines raised the flag atop the pile of rubble of Mount Suribachi. A Marine war artist snapped a picture of them doing this, it would become a defining and famous picture in the Galactic Civil War.

 _Day 5_

Luke sat by himself inside the dirty trench. He stroked his hand over the rough scar that had been permanently engraved in the side of his face from the officer's blade. When he looked up he saw all the beautiful stars in the sky and wondered if he would ever see his hometown in England again or if he would die on this miserable, foul-smelling rock. The silence was periodically shattered by the spasmodic chatter of automatic weapons and the loud bangs of rifles.

"Hey, what are you doing? "asked Clark as he walked up and seated himself down to Luke's right.

"Not much, just wondering if I'll ever get back home to see England again," he sighed.

"Yeah, I know how you feel," said Clark.

"So," he said in a surprisingly cheerful and upbeat voice. "Is there a special woman waiting for you to get home, she'd like a medal laden hero like you," he said, mockingly.

"No, nothing like that, no," replied Luke, hurriedly.

Clark laughed heartily then became very quiet as if he were contemplating some deep thoughts.

"What about you?" asked Luke.

"What about me?" responded Clark.

"Do you have someone waiting for you?" Luke restated.

"Yeah I do," he replied. He then pulled a picture out of his pocket and proceeded to show it to Luke.

Luke couldn't see the picture clearly so he fumbled with a box of matches and finally lit one to have a look. The woman staring back at him was absolutely stunning. She had a nice full face, beautiful, sparkling eyes, and long blonde hair from what Mike could tell from the picture.

"Wow, it's been a long time since I've seen a face like that. She's real pretty Clark," he commented.

"Thanks, we're supposed to get married when I return. I get letters from her every day," he said as the pocketed the picture.

"Eyes up ladies," came a quiet but forceful whisper from the new company commander. All the soldiers looked up to see what the commander wanted.

"Now, we have new orders from God. They specifically instruct us to silently approach these defences while the Kians are asleep. Then we burn and blast those bastards off the face of the Earth itself. Do you understand me?" he bellowed quietly.

His question was met with nods and the occasional, silent "yes sir". Soon all the men were ready to storm the hill. _This is crazy, we're all going to die_ thought Luke as the men scrambled up the trench wall and dashed up the hill. Amazingly not a single shot was fired and the troops entered the Kian lines completely undetected. Luke and Clark rounded a corner and saw a Kian soldier standing there with his back to them.

"I've got this one" whispered Luke. Clark nodded and moved back. Luke detached his bayonet and laid his rifle down. Silently and methodically he snuck up behind the soldier, wrapped his arm around the man's neck and finished him with the knife. He then cleaned off his bayonet on the dead man's pant leg, reattached the bayonet and moved on with Clark. Shortly they found another soldier completely unaware of their presence.

"This one's mine," said Clark. He moved up then broke into a run.

"Hey Kian!" he said. The soldier turned just in time for the butt end of Clark's rifle to connect with his jaw and shatter it with a sickening crunch. The regular slumped to the floor. As Clark and Luke reached another bend in the passage, they also heard talking. Luke stuck his head around the corner to see.

"It's a Kian command post. I count six, one officer, two radio operators, and three soldiers," he told Clark.

"Let's take them out" suggested Clark. Luke nodded and the two took up firing positions. Luke pulled the trigger and dropped a soldier instantly. Clark opened up seconds later and soon all the Kians were dead. As they walked into the room Luke immediately ran over to the wall. On it was a Kian flag, he quickly unpinned and folded it and placed it in his empty bag that once held spare field dressings.

"Hey Commander, we got a live one," called Clark. Luke walked over and saw Clark standing over the officer who was writhing in pain on the ground.

"Try to help him, we will spare his life" ordered Luke. As Clark turned around, Luke heard an ominous click. He turned around and saw the Kian soldier prime a grenade in his hand.

"Clark, look out!" he yelled as the officer banged the grenade on the side of his helmet to speed up the timer.

"Banzai!" yelled the officer as Clark turned. The grenade went off in his hand, killing both the officer and Clark instantly.

 _Day 6 Kian POV_

Fukuda bolted upright in his cot when he heard the gunfire coming from just down the hall. As he slowly and painfully got up he heard an explosion, he instantly knew what it was.

 _One of our men has died gloriously for the Emperor_ he thought to himself. Before he could decide what to do next he heard footsteps approaching him. He ducked to cover just as the figure came into view. Fukuda began to sweat profusely as the footsteps became louder and almost screamed when he was grabbed from behind and pulled violently upwards. Before he could scream, a hand covered his mouth.

"Don't scream, then they'll know we're here and I don't want to get in another firefight" Fukuda relaxed as Satou relinquished his grip and let him go.

"What happened?" asked Fukuda.

"Some morons who were supposed to be on watch instead took naps and the OAG snuck in", answered Satou in a disgusted manner.

"So, now what do we do now?" inquired Fukuda.

"We need to leave, get to the airfield and hold there until relieved", he replied.

"At least the exit tunnel is in the field hospital so we don't have to fight our way out" pointed out Fukuda.

"Before we go take your rifle, I've got lots of spare ammunition for it" Satou said and handed Fukuda some energy cells for his blaster. Fukuda picked up his blaster and loaded one of the fresh clips in and pushed the bolt back into place. Suddenly, a group of arines walked in on them and took aim.

Satou and Fukuda fired off two rounds then bolted down the hall. Fukuda reloaded and new round into the chamber of the rifle as he ran. His leg wound burned with such intense pain that Fukuda felt like collapsing but if he did he knew he was a goner.

 _Slippery little bastards_ thought Luke as he ran down the hall, flanked by three other marines, chasing the two Kians down. One was slower than the other; Luke realized that one of them had been injured and that his injury was limiting his movement. He quickly took aim with his rifle and fired and the limping Kian.

Fukuda felt another surge of pain as one of the marines bullets grazed the side of his shoulder, violently tearing away the flesh that covered his shoulder muscle. He staggered again as the new pain merged with his leg pain. His legs felt like dead weights and he fell to the floor, overcome with pain. He felt a sharp tug on his bloodstained left shoulder; he turned his head to see Satou pulling him along down the tunnel.

"Satou, leave me, go on," pleaded Fukuda.

"No, a good soldier never leaves a man behind," argued Satou as he dragged his cargo across the floor. Satou could see that the marines were catching up. Without warning, Fukuda was hoisted up onto Satou's shoulders so they could move faster.

"These Kians are smart as well as fast" commented one marine as the faster Kian lifted the other onto his shoulders and continued running. Luke was down to the second last round in his last clip, he needed to make this shot count. He carefully aimed at the Kian carrying the other one he pulled back the trigger and the shot exploded out of the barrel of the weapon.

Fukuda saw the lead marine fire his shot. A second later Fukuda heard a ripping and felt Satou slow down. Moments later, Fukuda fell to the cold, rocky floor. He turned his head to see Satou staring at him with a blank expression on his face and a steady stream of blood pouring out of his mouth. With a great effort Fukuda turned to face the four Marines and at the head was Satou's killer.

"Do any of you speak Ki?" asked Luke to the others.

"I do sir" piped up a young recruit.

"Talk to him" ordered Luke.

"Yes sir" replied the boy and gave Luke a salute. Slowly and cautiously, he approached the quaking Kian soldier.

Fukuda eyes were wide with fear as one of the Marines came near him. _They're going_ _to kill me_ he thought, fearfully.

"What is your name" asked the marine in perfect Ki.

Fukuda eyes widened, why weren't they trying to kill him.

"My name is Yoshi Fukuda" he told the soldier.

"Where are you from" the man asked him.

"Sapporo, and you?" he responded.

"My name is Jerry Flint, I'm from New Buffalo, Jericho V" he answered in a friendly manner.

The boy stood up and opened his pocket; he took out a small pack of cigarettes. Slowly, he handed one to Fukuda. Fukuda slowly took it as the soldier produced a lighter. The cigarette tasted much better than any of the ones he had had.

"What should we do sir" asked the boy to Luke.

"I think we should kill this Kian before he kills us" replied Luke and aimed his rifle at Fukuda. Fukuda tried to crawl away before Jerry got in the way.

"No, Commander let him go. He can't harm us now" pleaded Jerry.

"Fine let him go" agreed Luke and turned with the other marines and left.

"You're free to go" said Jerry to Fukuda.

Fukuda couldn't believe it, they were letting him go.

"Thank you, thank you" he said repeatedly to Jerry.

"That's all right. Wait here" he said as he turned and ran back. He soon returned with a pair of crutches form the field hospital. As Jerry left Fukuda hobbled down the tunnel.

 _Day 13_

Luke sat in his tent shivering. Luke thought as he recollected that fateful day when they first set foot on the island. He looked around outside and realized that he did not recognize a single face. There was no one else here who had landed on the first day of the invasion. He opened his trunk and pulled out the now gleaming blade that the officer had used to slash Luke's face on the summit of Mt. Suribachi. He placed the sword down and unfolded the Kian flag that he had looted from the Kian command post on the Motoyama Plateau just moments before Clark died. He slowly put them away and silently closed the trunk.

Fukuda placed the cherry blossom under his helmet as his column advanced forward making virtually no sound at all. As they reached the rally point the other remaining regiments stood at attention and waited for their commanding officer. Shortly after General Kuribayashi marched to the head of the group and stood on a rock.

"Gentlemen, tonight we will go into battle one final time. We have lost the battle but we will make such an end so we will be remembered and honored by our ancestors and the Emperor himself," he told the men. He methodically drew out his katana and began to march forward. The entire 300-man force followed behind knowing that they were all that remained of the original garrison of 21,000. They could all see the OAG lines at the far end of the plain. Fukuda attached his bayonet to his rifle, pocketed an extra combat knife and loaded his last energy cell into the blaster rifle. They silently marched out of the bushes and crept ever closer to the sandbags and machine guns that comprised the OAG defensive line. Fukuda silently removed the picture from under his helmet and kissed it before placing it back under his helmet. He adrenaline began pumping through his veins as the word was given.

"Banzai!"

 _Shit,_ thought Luke as he raced out of the tent and manned a AC-4 machine gun. He rotated the gun a full 180 degrees both ways while keeping a firm grasp on the trigger. The constant recoil constantly jabbed at his arm as he gunned down at least ten or fifteen Kian soldiers.

Fukuda pulled back the bolt as he dropped a fourth Marine. Another seemed to be coming closer to him and Fukuda fired again. The man dropped to the ground and began to crawl away. Fukuda walked over and turned the man over; it was Jerry, the American who had saved him in the tunnel. Fukuda could see the blood streaming from his mouth and decided to end his life with a quick thrust with the bayonet on the end of his blaster rifle. As he looked up at the soldier manning the machine gun he saw another familiar face. It was the marine who had killed Satou and had wanted to kill him. Fukuda's rage took over as he charged the position to kill the man named Sparrow.

Luke turned his head just in time to be hit in the face with the butt end of the Kian's rifle. He fell to the ground hard and grabbed his jaw in agony. The Kian aimed his rifle at him and prepared to fire, Luke closed his eyes but instead of the bang all that was heard was an ominous click.

 _Damn, I'm out,_ realized Fukuda as he pulled the trigger and the bolt slammed into the empty chamber of the rifle. _No matter,_ _I can still use it as a spear,_ he thought and he levelled the bayonet with Luke's midsection.

Luke watched as the Jap aimed his bayonet at him and charged. As he approached Luke reached out and grabbed the barrel of the rifle and sent Fukuda and the rifle tumbling to the ground in a sprawl. Fukuda regained his balance and picked up the rifle, this time Luke attacked and grabbed both ends of the rifle. Fukuda grabbed on as well and soon they were competing in a tug of war with the rifle. Luke was slowly forcing Fukuda downwards and unexpectedly let go of the rifle to deliver a hard right punch to Fukuda's face. Fukuda staggered back and drew out the knife that was concealed in his pocket. He charged again at Luke and forced him up against the side of a small wooden command hut. Luke gripped Fukuda's right hand which held the knife and sunk it into the wall of the hut. He followed up by landing another blow to Fukuda's face but this time Fukuda responded in earnest and landed two solid blows to Luke's face and one to his chest. He proceeded to pick Luke up and throw him over his shoulder. As Luke struggled to get up Fukuda pulled the knife out of the wood and walked over to him. He picked up Luke and pinned him against the side of the hut. Luke felt pain so intense that he felt like blacking out as Fukuda plunged the knife into him and began dragging it slowly through his body. Mustering the last of his strength Luke kneed Fukuda the ribs twice and after the second blow heard a loud crack. Fukuda instantly dropped the knife and clutched his ribs. Luke followed up by elbowing Fukuda in the neck which dropped him to the ground instantly. Luke picked up the knife and sat on Fukuda's chest to exact his revenge. Before he could to do anything though Fukuda violently counterattacked by head butting Luke twice before throwing him off. Shortly after the positions were reversed and Fukuda was looking to make his deadly second incision. He planted his arm over Luke's neck and began to choke him. Luke looked around desperately for a way to get free and noticed the corpse of a marine near them. Luke recognized it as Jerry's his eyes wide in horror. He also noticed Jerry's pistol lying on the ground within reach. He grasped his hand around the grip and silently aimed it at Fukuda's chest.

Fukuda saw Luke smile and wondered what he was smiling about when he heard a loud bang. He looked down and saw the pistol aimed at his stomach and the mark that the plasma had left. He slowly fell onto his back as Luke got up. Fukuda raised his hand and gestured to Luke to come over. He stayed put so Fukuda opened his pocket and pulled out his letter to Aika as well as a picture and a flower and gestured to Luke to take them. The remaining Kians had all either died or surrendered and the Marines were back in control of the plain.

"Does anyone speak Japanese?" he asked to the incoming formation.

One solider ran over and came to see Fukuda.

"What is your name?" he asked Fukuda.

"Yoshi Fukuda," he replied.

"Sir his name is Yoshi Fukuda" relayed the private. Luke instantly recognized the name; he was the soldier they had let go in the Motoyama Plateau caves.

"What do you want us to do?" asked the private.

"I want you to take this letter and give it to my love and tell her that I died gloriously for the Emperor and that I gave my life for her" he said.

After hearing what he said Luke took the letter, the flower and the picture and as he looked back at Fukuda he saluted. Fukuda managed a weak salute as well as a smile before he closed his eyes and falling unconscious.

Luke gazed at the dying Kian with the trinkets he now had in his hand. Sighing to himself he walked over to the Kian and placed an arm around the Kians shoulder.

"You gonna stand there or are you going to help me?" He asked to the marine who quickly ran over and began to help Luke carry the Kian to the Field Hospital.

 _Day 14_

"Hold still dammit, I can't stitch up that knife wound with you squirming like that," said the corpsman as he tended to the wounds Luke received during his fight against Fukuda.

"You are damn lucky that you didn't get gangrene from this wound with all the dirt and sand fleas around here," remarked the medic as he finished the last stitch.

Luke got up and walked out of the hospital tent and back into the sweltering heat provided by the midday sun. He walked to the new barracks that had been constructed by the airfield after the old Kian one had been destroyed in the tank charge. Luke heard a loud rumble as the men of the hour arrived. The first flight of giant Super Warbirds touched down on the runway of their newest airbase that was only three-and-a-half-hour jump to Ryloth. Their fighter escorts circled as the VTOLS landed one after another. Luke walked into the barracks and took his trunk which was packed and ready to go. He hoisted it to the truck that was waiting outside and climbed in the back.

"Well it looks like we're finally leaving," commented one of the other marines. They were finally leaving Jima behind; they were loading aboard transports that were to take them back to the _Amestris_ for some well-deserved R and R. Luke rested his head back and looked at the picture that Fukuda had given him, the young woman with him in the picture was a cute little thing and Fukuda's last words echoed in Luke's ears.

"I want you to take this letter and give it to my love and tell her that I died gloriously for the Emperor and that I gave my life for her" those words resounded in Luke's head and he told himself that he would find her and fulfil Fukuda's wish. But that wasn't going to be the case, Luke and the fellow marine had been able to get Fukuda to the field hospital in time to get him stableized and moved to an orbiting Hospital Ship. Fukuda was currently in a coma but would make a full recovery.

"What's that?" asked one of the marines and pointed at the letter.

"It's nothing," replied Luke as he pocketed the letter.

 _Five years later…_

The autumn rain drenched the streets of Sapporo as a civilian speeder pulled up to a small house in a quiet residential neighbourhood. Commander Luke Sparrow stepped out from under the dry canopy and walked to the door of the house. His knuckles rapped on the door as the rain soaked his trench coat and his officer's cap. The door opened slowly and a young woman around twenty-three stepped out.

"Can I help you?" she asked politely.

"Yes I am Commander Luke Sparrow. I'm with the Orion Arm Marines and I fought on Jima five years ago," he informed her. Her eyes widened as he said the word Jima.

"Please come in. Fukuda we have a special guest!" she said and ushered him into the small house. He sat down on a small couch as the woman went into the other room. A small boy of around five ran into the room chasing a cat that was screeching at the top of its lungs. As the woman returned she spoke to her son in Japanese and he left the room. She offered Luke some tea and sat down opposite to him.

"Sparrow, what are you doing here?" Fukuda asked immediately but in a friendly manner.

"I came to visit you of course" Luke, Fukuda and Aiko, Fukuda's wife talked and swapped war stories until it was late. They also introduced their son to Luke who was a ball of energy and would not stop asking questions. But still, Luke and Fukuda both remembered the hell that was Jima.

 _Codex Update - Bengal Class Carrier_

 _The design of the Bengal was authorized by the UEG prior to 2619, to fulfil the need for a heavy space carrier. The assignment to build the Bengals was won by Dunois Corporation Space yards. The pilot vessel of the Bengal-class, UEGS Bengal, entered service in 2619. The first operational Flight IIA Bengal, OAGS Amestris, was commissioned in 2621. Following the launch of the Amestris the Bengal design was modified once again, reducing the overall length to 690 meters and the mass by several tonnes. The OAGS Kipling, launched in 2622, reflected these changes. All of the Bengal classification had a designator of "CVS" for Fleet Strike Carrier. The Bengal-class was a fast, heavily armoured and surprisingly well armed carrier with eighteen launch tubes, two small side-mounted bays and a single forward bay for launch and recovery of spacecraft. Its air wing of 150 fighters was not as large as the later Orion-class, but was well stocked with combat Starfighters of all types, and its launch tubes allow it to sortie all its fighters in twelve minutes. The craft was also capable of flying without escorts, being an all-purpose vessel. This made them ideal for long-term deep space strikes against the Separatists. The Bengal-class carried a crew of 750._

 _Physical Description_

 _Bengal-class ships were roughly seven hundred meters long. The main hull resembled a thin rectangle, with irregular towers jutting up and down from its the midsection. Flat, stubby delta wings grew from the rear of the ship, and two small pods extended from below the vessel. Fighters were launched and recovered from a runway structure atop the bow. This runway opened directly into the hanger bay._

 _Specifications - Bengal Class Carrier_

 _Length: 700 meters_

 _Mass: 80,000 tons_

 _1 Quantum shield core_

 _8x Dual Plasma Turrets_

 _20x Dual Plasma Batteries_

 _2x Shock Cannons_

 _70 Point Defence Plasma Batteries_

 _750 Crew_

 _150 Starfighter_

 _1,500 Marines_


	13. Ryloth

**The First Contact War**

Chapter 13 Ryloth

 _2622 June 4th Earth Standard Calendar, Luke Sparrow onboard the OAG Terra in the Ryloth assault staging grounds with 501st, 212th and 187th Republic armies and 3rd Orion Arm army group and 5th Orion Arm Armored Division, Briefing room._

Luke sat around a round holo-projector with Dommel, Generals Terrance 3rd OAGA group, White 5th OAG armored Division and Jedi Generals Windu, Kenobi and Skywalker.

"General Skywalker will eliminate the orbital defenses before Generals Kenobi and Windu secure a landing zone with help from Delta Force led by Commander Sparrow. After the landing zone is secure the 3rd army and 5th Armored Division will land. The Republic will drive north to the capital while we will drive south to the more open areas were are more numerous armored forces will be most effective, It will end with the assault on Vasel. This is the city of Nabat, our orbital scans have shown it has the least Anti-Air defenses in the region. It is also guarded by a single battalion; this is where the Jedi will land. We will be making our landing via orbital assault" Explained Dommel.

 _"I like this plan, it plays to our strengths"_ Anakin said over the hologram.

"And it keeps you out of sight" Quipped Luke. receiving a hey from Anakin and chuckles from the other Jedi.

"Luke not that I don't enjoy your company but can you and Delta move to Skywalkers ship as I want you to infiltrate the planet before Kenobi arrives and find a suitable landing zone. Oh and take that pet project of yours with you" Said Dommel.

"Yes sir"

" _Yeah I'll take you there when you get on board"_ Said Ahsoka.

 _2622 June 4th Earth Standard Calendar, Luke Sparrow Onboard the Resolute, Resolute's firing range._

Luke walked into the room behind Ahsoka and saw a few clones at the range shooting targets. Luke walked up to a booth and checked his M416. Raising it he loosed some shots at the droid shape targets. Looking at the target they mostly hit the kill zones, catching a clones attention.

"impressive shooting there"

"Thanks Hardcase"

"I see you met our company's crazy and our injury prone friend here. That's Hawk, Splicer and Kix and I'm Jesse"

"And he's Coric, the so called _joker_ of the pack" The one named Kix sarcastically emphasised on the last part, getting a punch on the shoulder by the Coric clone.

"Nice to meet you all, I'm Luke Sparrow"

"So where you from Luke?" The tattooed faced one called Splicer asked him, a question no doubt he'll be getting more and more during his stay.

"I'm from destroyed cloning facility but I currently live in the United Kingdom or Britain on Earth" He tapped on the colours of his homeland, drawing the attention of the clones to the badge.

"What are the other two?"

"The first one is my unit's insignia the 2nd Orion Arm Expeditionary Force and of the other is the Delta Force insignia, it's the special forces unite I'm attached to." He explained to the others, another questions he'll be asked repeatedly, but didn't mind so much.

"Special Forces? have you done any special ops where you're from?" Another clone named Hawk pitched in with a question of his own.

"Perhaps but you'd have to understand I'm not going to entertain you with the details on duty"

"Fair enough. You see we're all from the same legion but some of us are of different branches. Hawk here is a pilot, Kix and Coric are medics and me and Splicer are the lucky troopers that do all the groundwork" Hardcase slapped his hand onto Splicer's shoulder after finishing his statement.

"You forget we're down there with you poodoo for brains. Patching you up every time you rush on a platoon of clankers" The bald headed, scarred clone pointed out, getting a round of laughter from the group.

"And don't forget who has to drop your sorry hides in each battle, with flak hitting you in all directions" Hawk intervened on his defence.

"You sound like the Warbird pilots, however they do have a point." Luke spoke up partially in defence of the pilot.

"Where do you lot come from exactly? You sound like a bunch of Aussies in high tech gear until somebody mentioned you were cloned"

"We're all from the planet Kamnio. We were cloned by the Kaminoans from a Mandalorian bounty hunter called Jango Fett. The long necks breed us, educate and train us for war. We have growth acceleration so it's quicker for us to be throw into combat." The other medic called Kix explained their cloning process. Luke kept his shock to himself at hearing how they were created.

"Wow, sounds like they treat you like crap"

"Most of the long necks see us as nothing more than droids to be wasted. Not everyone treats us with respect though. We're lucky to have the Jedi leading us in this war, especially with the likes of Generals Skywalker and Kenobi who have always treated us fairly and lead by example" Hardcase talked further on, bringing up the names of his interrogators from a few hours before.

"I've got an idea" That got all the clones groaning in response to the hyperactive trooper.

"No Hardcase, whatever it is no!" Jesse shook his head with a look of worry.

"Oh come on and have a competition to blow off some steam" The clone soldier tried coming off as innocent but the looks from all his clone brethren said otherwise.

"You always want to blow off steam you crazy _kriff_ " Coric shook his head with an eye roll.

"Ah don't listen to these boring fools. So what do say?" Jake didn't take long to think over Hardcase's idea

"Yeah why not, sitting in a room all day can really drive you up the wall" The phrase was lost on them for second but Hardcase just shrugged.

"Anyone else?"

"Count me out, I want to make sure that have I least one leg operational" Jesse stood up placing the crutch under his arm

"I've got to finish off the reports from the last battle" Kix came up with his excuse.

"I haven't even started yet" Coric pipped in, his fellow medic shaking his head in disbelief.

"What about you Splicer, Hawk?"

"Nah I'm going to check on with the others down in the hangar bay. Our new friend here did a number on a few of our fighters" Hawk said.

"I'll join" Splicer got up from a bench followed by a cheerful Hardcase and Luke.

The armoury looked no different to the ones back home, the weapons were all neatly stacked up against the wall and came in different types and classes. The most common around the places was the gun he took off the guards in his escape attempt and amongst them were guns that were ridiculously long, reminding him of the old muskets used in the Napoleonic Wars. There was also what he guessed to be rocket launchers and weapons that had close resemblance to a minigun.

"Here Luke take this" He shifted around to see Hardcase holding out one of the common guns in the armoury to him. With his hand still hovering his own weapons, Luke glanced over at Ahsoka and took both the offered gun and his rifle with him as he followed the clones into the shooting range.

"What you are holding my friend is a DC-15S blaster. It can fire 100 shots a cartridge and contains both stun settings and a grappling cable. It's the standard issue blaster of all troops in the Grand Army of the Republic and most favoured. Doesn't pack the punch my Z-6 blaster cannon does but it's reliable." Hardcase finished giving the detailed description of the weapon in Luke's hand. It did sound pretty impressive, also answering why the thing had kept on firing in the skirmish down Christophsis for so long. He though silently regarded the gun, noting its similar appearance to the disused Sterling submachine gun and it's light weight compared to his rifle.

"What's that thing you got there?" Splicer pointed down to his own weapons.

"Oh this? It's a M416 assault rifle. It can fire up to 150 plasma rounds a magazine and fire over 1000 metres. attached to it is an EHD-33 telescopic sight, ergo grip, X2 magnifier and a lazersight. This can really bugger up your day" Luke spoke fondly of the weapon he had been using in various places around the Galaxy.

"It looks like a slug thrower? Pretty ancient piece of hardware" Came a mocking remark from Hardcase.

"It was when it was made but I had it modified" The marine bantered with the pair.

Ahsoka watched from the view window the exchange between Hardcase and the operator over the weapons in their possession. They were still comparing their blasters when she heard the door open behind her, in walking a familiar clone Captain.

"Hey Rex" She greeted him as he stopped beside her in his usual full kit armour.

"Commander, I heard from Jesse that Hardcase had brought Luke to the armoury." Captain Rex informed her, sounding reasonable curious at what he was told most likely from one of the other clones.

"It's fine Rex, I'm keeping an eye on them" She assured the worried clone officer. The pair watch the clone troopers and the marine talk and answer questions about each weapon respectively.

"Alright how about a competition? Twenty credits says you can't take out as many targets as I can in thirty seconds"

"Well I don't have any problem with that" He offered in exchange to the challenge.

"Good, very well everyone at the ready" Hardcase lined up in one of the booths and Luke stood in the one right to the clone, as Splicer stood in the left booth. Forgetting to ask what it was they were shooting at his answer came quickly, an image popping out from the side of the wall of a target. The whine of one of the blasters went off next to him and didn't take long to know it was Hardcase.

"Too slow my friend" He boasted, causing Jake to narrow his eyes a little then switched the M416 to semi auto setting. Keeping his eyes peeled for the next target, the Delta operative eyes scanned the range until another target popped up. Squeezing the trigger and his eyes piercing down the HD-33 optics, the familiar bark of the rifle echoed in his ears as the bullets shot out of the barrel and fired toward the target quicker than any of them could blink. The target went down and in the corner of his eye he could see both Hardcase and Splicer saw the shot hit dead centre, it still had a little bang sound that was louder than any Republic weapon.

"Kriff, that weapon is accurate? also it's going to make you go deaf" Splicer complained rubbing his ear from the loud

"Well that's what a weapon should do mate. Roar, not whine like some spoiled little brat" Luke said in jest, not keeping his eyes off the range. Grumbles from the clones meant that the competition was on a new level, more on pride rather than a money bet. The set clock counted down and different targets showed themselves from different angles and speeds, only to be quickly put down again by laser bolts or plasma rounds. Admittedly, he could see the drawback on his plasma round weapon in terms of rate of fire, its fully automatic mode could fire faster but wasn't as accurate and its semi auto was slower. About thirty targets had popped up. Luke and the clones stated firing away. Lucky for him the klaxon went off, signalling the end of their little competition.

"That was fun what did you get?" Hardcase asked with a grin.

"Seven, you?" Splicer gave his estimate, not sounding too pleased.

"Hah, twelve. So what about you Luke?" The smug look not fading at all from the crazy clone.

"Seventeen" Luke said in a straight face, struggling to suppress the smile that was threatening to break as the stunned clone smugness withered away.

"Oh come on tell the truth, you never got seventeen" Hardcase persisted clearly not wanting to admit defeat.

"One-seven mate" The marine shrugged as he switched on the safety and gripped on to the M416 handle bar, now grinning smugly.

"I don't believe you"

"He is telling the truth Hardcase" A new voice entered in the argument "I counted all to make sure none of you would cheat at the end" Turning to see the voice's owner, Luke saw Rex walk towards them.

"If you say so sir" Hardcase slumped in defeat "I'll pay you when we arrive on Coruscant" He said with little enthusiasm at paying up.

"Hey Jake, do you mind if I try out one of your M416?" Splicer requested.

"I don't see why not, just don't break her"

"Okay" Splicer said picking up the weapon and walking to the booth.

"General Skywalker would like to see you and commander Tano on the bridge"

"Let's not keep him waiting then"

 _Resolute's bridge_

"General Skywalker"

"Commander Sparrow. We'll be arriving at Ryloth shortly and wanted to know what you'll be doing?"

"Simply put, when we arrive Delta and I will be on the _Spectre_ and depart from the starboard hanger. From there we will cloak and proced to head to the planet's surface and scout out the primary landing zone for enemy positions"

"Okay, I will be leading the fleet while Ahsoka commands the fighters and tries to knock out the separatist blockade"

"That'll helpfully keep their attention from us landing as well, if you'll excuse me I need to retrieve my weapon from Splicer and prep my ship and men"

"Understood, Dismissed"

 _15 minutes later in Ryloth space_

"This is the _Spectre_ requesting permission to exit the hanger"

 _"Copy that Spectre, you are clear to leave, have fun out there"_

The YT-1300 light freighter moved out of the hanger into space. Looking to the right Luke could see Ahsoka and a squadron of V-19 Torrent fighters move into attack formation.

"Activating cloaking device" Said Luke's Co-pilot Rick Sanders said. The sound of the cloak activating turning the ship invisible from all modes of detection. Manuvering the ship, the _Spectre_ moved past the dogfights and the separatist's ships that were busy fighting each other to notice the disappearance of the light freighter. The ship entered through the atmosphere towards the city of Nabat.

 _6 hours later, 19BBY Obi wan Kenobi aboard LAAT gunship with Ghost company, moving towards the city of Nabat_

"We need to remember why we're here, we came here to aid the Twi'leks not destroy their home. Cody"

"That means we'll be taking it back the hard way. Minimal destruction with blasters and droid poppers only, no rockets or detonators. Check your aim, keep an eye out for the locals, am I understood"

"Sir yes Sir"

"Uhh, if we're here to free the tail heads, the least they could do is get out of our way" A hologram showing master Windu appeared.

"We can't risk landing the larger transports until you take those guns"

"Pull back, we'll take care of it" The gunships continued on, one being shot down. As they approached the village the gunships doors opened and they began to descend. The two gunships touched down, He and the clones jumped off and ran towards the city outskirts moving in-between the trees. As he and the clones were a hundred metres from the city limits, the droids opened fire. He activated his lightsabre and the clones opened fire. The clones took cover behind trees while he ran forward deflecting the blaster bolts before stopping behind a tree next to Cody.

"That bunker is going to be a problem General"

"Leave the bunker to me, bring in your troopers on my signal" He and two clones set of towards the left flank towards where some large boulders were.

"Let's take them ou-" He was interrupted by a large explosion that completely destroyed the droids and their bunker. He and the clones looked around to see who or what could have done it. Then a voice rang out.

"Is this going to be how we always meet, one saving the other General Kenobi?" called down Luke standing on top of the ridge.

"I was wondering where you had gotten to" He replied standing up walking through the debris followed by the clones.

"I assume you have done some recon of the area?" He asked.

"Yes, about a battalion of droids using four proton cannons, we haven't seen any of the citizens. This is effectively a ghost town"

"Right. Cody"

"What remains of the wall is secure sir, are we moving onto the guns?"

"We need to know what the droids have install for us. Send your best men to scout ahead. I assume Delta will help?"

"Of course"

"Understood sir, Boil, Waxer come with me"

"I guess we're the best" Boil said to Waxer.

 _Time skip_

"Buildings are just buildings, what really makes a city are the people that live in it" Said Cody as He, Waxer, Boil, Willie and Luke walked down the empty street, the buildings cut into the surrounding greyish-brown cliffs looking like ruins.

"So where are they?"

"As I said earlier, we assume that they are being held somewhere near the cannons as living shields"

"The sepi's would do that" replied Boil.

"We'll check the courtyard" Cody said pointing to Willie "you three check the south sector, be back at command by 0620"

"Yes sir" Waxer said as he and Boil walked left down the street.

"Sparrow, can you go with them?"

"Sure thing Cody, and just call me Luke in future. Sparrow is just to formal" Luke said walking away.

"Errr…. Sure thing…Luke?" Cody said sounding confused.

"He sure is strange"

 _Time skip_

"Tell you what this is creepy, why do you think they took them rather than killed them?" Boil said walking down the deserted street.

"Well there no bodies, or blaster marks. If I had to guess, I'd say they were forced from their homes, I don't think they had a-" explained Luke but was interrupted by some noise of falling rocks, as if something had moved them. They all raised their weapons in the direction of the sound.

"don't think they had a what?"

"A choice" With that they continued down the street. After a few minutes of walking down abounded streets that really unsettled the three soldiers. They heard the same noise from earlier.

"I heard that sound come from just down the street on the alley to the right, I say we check it out and see what it is" Spoke up Luke. The two clones nodded and they advanced quickly up the street scanning for any enemy presence. As they reached the entrance of the alley the noise could be heard again. Leaning against the wall Luke signalled for them to move down the alley. In a few short paces they reached the turn in the alley. Guns raised, and they saw. A blue, little Twi'lek hiding behind some crates. She looked afraid.

"Ah it's just a little girl"

"Well what are we going to do with her?"

"whoa, whoa, whoa, why do we have to do anything we've got a mission to finish"

"We should do something"

"I agree; we can't just leave her here"

"I say we take her with us"

"you can't be serious, she… she'll only slow us down" The girl hid behind the crates further.

"Look she's afraid of us"

"Not us, hide!" Luke said as he heard and scout droid come along. They all hid behind the building out of sight until the droid had moved on.

"That was a recon unit, we'd better get move'in"

"we can't leave her here"

"uh, fine we'll take her" Boil said reaching down on one knee and reached out to the girl.

"Be careful"

"don't worry Waxer, I don't think she's armed" but boil got a bit to the finger for his efforts causing Luke and Waxer to chuckle.

"The little tail head bit me"

"Stop, stop, your scaring her. She probably thinks we're droids" Waxer said pulling Boil away and crouching, taking off his helmet.

"It's alright, see I'm flesh and blood. Like you" Luke took off is helmet as well.

"Poor thing looks half starved" Boil said reaching for a Republic MRE, passing it to Waxer.

"err here" The girl cautiously sniffed the MRE before grabbing it and spinning away from them eating it. Boil now took off his helmet as well.

"Mera, Mera, Mera" The girl said pointing at each of them.

"No I'm Waxer, He's Boil and he's Luke"

"Mera, Mera, Mera" Luke could only smile at this interaction, but was confused and the word 'mera'.

"ah look, you made a friend, mission accomplished, now can we get moving" Boil said.

"Come on kid, come on" But the girl was content with just eating the MRE.

"look Waxer she clearly is happy here so let's go"

"See ya kid" Waxer said waving goodbye as Luke did the same walking behind Waxer.

"You know Waxer you would make a good father" Luke said to Waxer causing the clone to laugh.

"Maybe when the war is over I will be"

"Good luck Waxer, you're going to need it" Boil jibbed at his brother receiving a 'hey' in response.

 _Time skip_

"I think our little friend may be following us"

"Yeah, what do you think happened to her family?"

"Captured or dead, take your pick" Luke said noticing the girl run into an alley. Waxer and boil also turned around as well.

"Where did she go?" Asked Luke as he could no longer see her.

"Hay, there you are" said Waxer rubbing her head affectingly.

"How did she get in front of us?"

"Mera, Mera" the girl said enthusiastically.

"I think she wants us to follow her" With that the Girl took off down the street causing them to follow her down streets, around corners and under obstacles in their path.

"Where she going" Panted out Waxer still following her. After running through streets for a while, the girl led them to where she apparently lived, the house looked the same as all the others except it had some heavy duty doors. The girl opened the door revealing a shoddy interior that had seen better days. There was some furniture but not a lot. They all took off their helmets and set them down along with their weapons.

"This must have been her home, poor thing lost everything"

"That's war for you, destroys everything" Luke replied grimly. Waxer noticed the girl had begun to cry and spied a stuffed doll on the floor. Picking it up and dusting it off he handed it to her. She took it still crying and held it close to her.

"Do you think everything will be alright for her after we leave?" Waxer asked. Luke was about to reply when Boils comm went off.

"That's the commander, we were supposed to be back a while ago"

"What are we going to tell Him?"

"How about we ran into some trouble"

"Yeah, if we hurry back he may just buy it"

"And the droids jammed our communications… Yeah"

"Sounds like a plan" But opening the door revealed some very hungry looking armoured creatures. Luke raised his weapon and aimed at them.

"I think I know why she didn't come back"

"Is it me or do these things look hungry" Asked Luke. One opened its mouth and roared causing Luke and the clones to open fire but the bolts had little effect on the creatures, only making them angrier. They quickly headed back towards the building.

"Get back inside" With that they ran inside and quickly closed the doors and using their bodies to keep the door shut despite the creatures trying to get in, Luke's exosuit being very helpful giving him extra strength. The twi'lek girl ran to a tile of the floor and began to lift it with some difficulty until waxer started to help her.

"Quick down here!" Waxer yelled. Luke nodded to Boil who quickly followed Waxer and the girl down into the tunnel. Luke now ran towards the trap door. But one of the creatures jumped just in front of it from a hole in the wall, Luke slide underneath it and into the hole knocking the tile on his way in closing the entrance behind him to the animal's frustration.

"Well looks like we're off the menu" Luke said.

"Come on we need to get back to the HQ" Boil said before walking off down the tunnel. After walking for what seemed like an hour they heard the sound of battle.

"Quickly help me get this manhole cover off" Luke said hearing the sounds of battle die down. The cover was heavier than expected and took all of them a few seconds to get off. Luke pushed the cover to the left and poked his head out. Seeing the clones, he boost jumped out before helping the other three out.

"Waxer, Boil, Luke, where have you been?" Cody demanded.

"We can explain" Luke said.

"We got…." Started Waxer.

"Side-tracked" Finished Boil.

"I think I see what side-tracked you" Obi Wan said, "hello little one"

The girl hid behind Waxer's leg.

"She led us here through the tunnels, she knows pretty well"

"Lu nara qi jon wilo" Obi wan said pointing towards the separatist gun positions.

"Ou yana yana, wan mera, cumi mera" The girl nodded pulling on Waxers hand.

"The girl can lead us through the tunnels to where the prisoners are being held" Obi wan said, "Cody we're going to need a diversion.

"Delta will assist you with that" Luke said.

"About that, I haven't seen delta anywhere" Obi wan said as seventeen men and two women stood up along the cliff edges in full gear.

"Oh"

 _Time Skip_

Obi wan motioned for Luke, Waxer and Boil to stay where they were as he walked out with the girl in his arm. Luke could hear a droid scrubing the floor.

"Yep, this is the worst job in the droid army" As obi wan killed it's two companions and trapped the droid in the cage as they walked past.

"In ben ku nina" The girl said pointing to the exit.

"I'll take care of this, you keep her here" Obi wan said handing the girl to Waxer and leaping up the steps and peering over the edge. He motioned for the three to move up and Waxer motioned for the girl to stay. The four ran out across the courtyard and taking cover next to where the prisoners where. The sound of the clones engaging the droids in the distance could be heard. Obi wan activated his lightsabre and killed two droids while the other three shot the remainder, then set about freeing the Twi'leks. Luke pulled out his Kukri a Ghurkha knife he had been given for saving one's life and cutting the restraints.

"watcha neil, watcha neil" Kenobi said motioning for the Twi'leks to follow them. Luke and the two clones set about covering the fleeing prisoners, Luke targeting two B1 battle droids.

"Waxer, Boil, Luke, cover me" Kenobi said after the last prisoner had gone in where they had infiltrated from.

"We're with you sir" Kenobi ran to one of the droid guns killing its crew and taking the operators place. Waxer and Boil set about loading the gun as Luke fired at any battle droid that aimed at them.

"Ready general" With that Kenobi fired and destroyed the first gun. Kenobi set about targeting the second gun while the two clones loaded a second shell. Firing the shell struck the droid cannon and it toppled over shooting a third. Suddenly a droid AAT tank fired at the cannon they were manning as they fled and destroyed it. Luke and the clones were knocked clear by the blast but the Jedi was blown in front of the tank. The Twi'lek girl ran to obi wan and helped him up.

"Ha, ha, ha, I win general Kenobi" said the command droid pointing the main gun at the Jedi. But was interrupted by the shouts of the angry Twi'leks who swarmed the tank and clambered up it before throwing the poor droid from its perch and viscously tore it apart to its screams of 'does not compute' while Kenobi was unsuccessfully covering the girl's eyes with his hand. He didn't notice an aqua coloured Twi'lek approaching until he was hugged.

"Thank you mera, thank you for freeing us"

"I was just doing… your welcome" Luke said changing what he was about to say, still confused at what 'mera' meant. The roar of engines could be heard as the two Acclamator transport ships flew overhead. After the Twi'leks had stopped thanking them Luke walked over to general Kenobi.

"Sir the people keep calling me 'mera' as the little girl did. What does 'mera' mean" Luke asked knowing the Jedi could speak their language.

"'Mera', it means friend"

 _2622 June 6th Earth Standard Calendar, Luke Sparrow on Ryloth staging grounds._

"Form up!" ordered Hovarth.

They all gathered around him, awaiting further direction. Jackson crouched beside Reiben, Mellish flanking him and Wade behind him. The Captain had yet to return.

"Where's Beasley?" Horvath demanded, and they all groaned.

"Hell if I know," Mellish said, visibly irritated.

Even Luke was rolling his eyes. Beasley was the kid who got on everyone's nerves, in spite of the fact that they know he meant well.

He was the translator, fully fluent in the language the Twi'leks spoke. He had proven useful after they had taken prisoners, and helped some of the bewildered native civilians find safe places to live after the OAG had arrived.

But other than that, they only tolerated him on rare occasions. He was always too cheerful, and had not gained Reiben or Mellish's respect, due to his kind treatment of the Separatist sympathizer prisoners. Luke didn't think too much of that fact, realizing that Wade had helped a few of the teenage Sepi's. At any rate, Beasley did annoy him, and he shared the squad's attitude toward him.

"Beasley!" the Sarge bellowed after spying him, "Get your scrawny ass over here!"

Rail-thin Beasley approached them, looking flushed. His bright red hair contrasted the muted colours of his uniform, and one could see it curling at his temples from under his helmet. Even though they had known him since Basic, the AC-160 rifle looked out of place in his hands. He tripped over a line of barbed wire in his haste to reach them.

"Take a knee. Where the hell have you been?" Mellish commanded, that all-too- familiar frown on his face.

"Probably out with his droid buddies," Reiben muttered to Mellish, who nodded. Both of them stifled laughs.

The Sarge rounded on them.

"What is so funny over here?"  
Mellish shook his head, and Luke turned back to Beasley, who was fumbling for words.

"Uh, they needed more help down at the P.O.W. sector, sir," he stammered.

"I told you so," Reiben whispered.

Luke pursed his lips as the Sarge snapped at them again. They fell into respectful silence. Sergeant Horvath appeared to be satisfied with Beasley's excuse, but he still didn't look happy about it.

"So what's going on, Sarge?" Reiben quizzed him.

"Alright," the Sarge sighed, "I'm not going to sugar-coat anything, so let's get it over with. HQ has verified that there are cannons a few miles out from the beachhead," the squad flinched, obviously not thrilled with what they knew was coming. The sergeant continued. "It's our job to go and take 'em out. This isn't going to be easy, as you all might have guessed, but I'll guarantee you it won't be as bad as taking this goddamn beachhead"

They seemed to agree with him on that. Captain Miller came into view not long after, looking serious as he always did. He surveyed the young men before him, that familiar feeling of responsibility weighing down his shoulders. Beasley was the only one looking remotely horrified with the orders given. Miller gave him a small smile, and that seemed to reassure him.

"Sir, are we doing this by ourselves, or are we actually getting any back up?" asked Caparzo.

"We will be joined by a few squads from Charlie Company and a squad of Rangers from Baker. Hopefully, a few Titans will be there for moral support," Miller answered him.

They laughed at that, pleased with the prospect of having a couple tanks watching their back.

"Have we all been briefed accordingly?"

They nodded as one. Miller looked from each youthful face to the other, detecting an underlying fear of the mission at hand. But they wouldn't balk at the orders; that was what they were here to do. Miller was proud of every one of them.

"You have a half-hour to eat something, gear up- whatever it is you have to do. No more time than that. You're dismissed."

With that, they had all gone their separate ways. The Captain and the Sergeant watched them as they talked amongst each other and laughed and griped.

"Penny for your thoughts, sir?" Luke asked him.

"I don't know, Sparrow," he sighed, "But if this thing goes sour, I'm not sure I can keep doing this."

Luke wasn't sure if Miller was being serious or not. He'd been with the secondary expeditionary force since Teth and still didn't know how the guy worked.

"I have faith in these guys. They've had one hell of a crash course, and I think they'll be ready for whatever else the droids throw at us," he said.

"…I hope you're right, Sparrow; I really do…"

Miller instructed Luke to keep an eye on the squad. Luke sighed.

"Yes sir."

Reiben had cracked open a 'K' ration and was questioningly inspecting the food that was compacted into the small container. Jackson watched on, shoveling a wad of spam into his mouth. He had neglected to use the little spoon that had come with it, fully convinced of its uselessness. He, Reiben and Beasley had all decided to eat something before leaving.

"This isn't food," Reiben declared, dropping the ration into his lap, discouraged, "I don't know if I can eat this without believing I'm going to end up with a horrible sickness."

"Quit your griping. At least we get food, with cigarettes and toilet paper to boot," Luke told him, scraping up what was left of the spam with his fingers.

"You didn't wash your hands, Sparrow!" Reiben said to him with mock surprise.

"Well, you didn't wash out your mouth accordingly," the sharpshooter cracked.

That seemed to shut him up for the time being, but he still went on about the state of his ration. He sat on his helmet, the rifle propped up against the hill beside him.

"I mean, _look_ at this! It's disgraceful. Does this look like a damn biscuit to you?"

The rifleman held up a morsel of light-coloured food as he spoke. Luke shrugged. He was halfway done with his ration by now. Reiben sighed, shaking his head in pity.

"You don't know what real food tastes like, do you?"

"Not true. I just know when to stop bitching and use my time wisely," Luke returned, mixing what was left of the spam with some eggs.

Beasley laughed at that. Reiben scowled at him. The three of them continued eating, watching the beach as they did so. Caparzo was off gathering extra ammunition as he had been told; Mellish was talking with a fellow Ranger, still looking for information in regards to the companies on the cliffs. Wade was restocking his supplies, treating those he could, talking to them gently as he healed their wounds. The Commander appeared, looking around for his helmet. Luke pointed to it, and he took it from the sand, plopping it back on his head. Reiben presented his ration to Luke and asked kindly,

"Would you like a serving of botulism, sir?"

Luke broke into laughter. Even the Commander smiled at that. Reiben was grinning himself, pleased with his work.

"Eat your food, Private Reiben. That is an order," Commander told him awkwardly.

Reiben saluted, continuing to pick at his ration, disheartened.

"Whatever you say, Commander…but I'd really like to see you eating this crap…"

Captain Miller arrived on time- thirty minutes later. Unfortunately, only Sparrow, Beasley and Wade were ready to leave. He had to shout for Caparzo and Mellish to join them. Both had been walking around, trying to scrounge a pack of cigarettes or gum from the other soldiers.

"Where's Reiben?" Miller asked, fearing the answer.

"I believe he's taking a piss, sir," replied Caparzo.

The Captain sighed, searching the faces of the soldiers nearest to him, looking for Reiben's unmistakable mug. He finally spotted him, standing a few feet away by one of the trenches, looking preoccupied.

"Private Reiben!"

The kid wheeled around, startled, recognizing the irritation in that voice. He scurried over to them soon after, heaving the rifle over his shoulder and dropping his helmet over his head.

"Sorry, sir," he panted, "It was a last-minute kinda thing."

Miller peered at the trooper disapprovingly, but decided to let it go. He sighed again, checking his watch.

"Alright. Right now, it's about…0400 hours. We'll be making good time if we get started," Miller pulled out a map and held it in his hands, tracing a line with his fingers. The map looked brand new, with crisp folds. "The guns should be a mile out from here or closer. The Droids are bringing some of them in from the fields to use against us on the Roads. If we don't get them all, then we can kiss this place good-bye."

His men looked amongst themselves, feeling that hesitation and adrenaline began each mission.

"This shouldn't be a walk in the park, but it's nothing we can't handle. We're Delta, remember that. That's why we got this mission."

They didn't need telling twice. They knew what was expected of them. Miller was just going through the motions. He looked from each man to the other, nodding.

"Commander Sparrow and I will take point. Wade-Beasley, you two are in the middle. Jackson, left flank; Reiben right flank; Mellish-Caparzo- take the rear. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir!" they said in unison.

"Alright, then. Let's lock and load"

He trudged through the sand, his men following close behind in the positions they had been assigned. Beasley looked nervous. The Captain's squad finally met up with a couple more from Charlie Company and the promised group from Baker. Together, they all left the safe haven of the beachhead, delving further into Ryloth; further into the danger.

Behind them, the familiar motors of the Titan tanks sounded, and they were somewhat comforted with the knowledge that they would have their support.

Miller's squad was up front, about a yard away from the second squad, led by a Lieutenant named Jones. A Corporal had originally been the head of one squad, due to the fact that all his officers had been killed. It was a disturbing fact that made them realize that death knew no rank.

Private Beasley was pale as he stepped cautiously through the fields of tall grass and poppies. Wade was beside him, though roughly three feet away; Miller had always stressed that they should not bunch up. Beasley was jumping at every noise, even the sound of Allied gunfire. Everything was loud and clear in the chilly air of the morning.

"Hey Beez," came Private Reiben's Brooklyn accent, "You doin' okay?"

Beasley nodded wordlessly, his wide eyes and ragged breathing betraying his statement.

"You've got nothing to worry about, Beez. We'll protect you; keep you safe."

Something about the way he was saying all this convinced Beasley not to believe a word he said. Reiben always sounded sarcastic.

"What are you afraid of anyway?"

The other members of the squad stared at the machine gunner, telling him it was completely obvious. The Sarge shook his head.

"I dunno, Reiben," Beasley stammered caustically, "Maybe it's the _Droids_ I'm afraid of!"

"Ah, the Droids should be afraid of _you_ ," Reiben continued, "I mean, you've got the bangalores for Christ's sake."

Beasley was beginning to look sick. He had seemed to forget about the plastic explosive charges he carried on his back. Aside from being the squad's translator, Beasley had become the squad's makeshift demolitions man. He had learned quickly how to set and arm a C17 charge, but was in no way an expert. In all truth, Beasley didn't look like he wanted anything to do with the explosives.

Charlie Company, however, had at least two more explosives experts who had survived the landing. Private Talbot would be there to assist Miller's squad or anyone else's accordingly.

Talbot was an okay guy, but he got along better with Reiben, unfortunately for the rest of the Company. The only difference was Talbot was a native of the moon Boston Prime. He had dirty blond hair and a wide, toothy smile. A cigarette hung loosely from his lips. He looked no older than twenty-three.

Reiben continued to try and coax Beasley into talking, but the private wouldn't have it. His mouth remained firmly shut, his lips forming a straight line.

Luke had blotted out most of the conversation, staring at the horizon lines, looking for a glimpse of those artillery, straining his ears to hear the cough of mortars. His AC-160 rifle cradled in his hands, ready to do its dirty work.

He had already decided long ago that he hated Ryloth. He didn't want to come back ever again. Too many people had died; too many good people. Some of them he didn't even know, but he had loved them all like brothers. And he hated this place. He didn't like the long grass, or the sandy plains, or the rocky terrain. He didn't like how the bottle green fields reminded him of home, or the way the air was damp and cool. He hated all of it…. but no one would have guessed that looking at him.

Right now he was content with doing what he was used to. He continued to scan the horizon, taking in every detail he could. It was something the others weren't able to do; Jackson could tell what each line in their faces meant and how they looked before they said something. He could tell the nature of a conversation before anyone said anything. Most of the body language he'd learned from the Captain. Each member of his squad had a unique way of revealing themselves to him without a word.

They may have all looked the same in those light brown armour, but Luke could tell how different they were just by looking at the back of their heads. If someone coughed, he knew who it was. This fact tended to give him a 'spooky' quality that the others teased him for, but it was necessary to become as good a sharpshooter as Luke was.

Right then, he could tell that Private Reiben was really nervous, under all that bravado and smart-ass attitude. He could tell from the way his muscles were tensed, and the fact that the veins in his hands showed as he clutched the rifle firmly. Luke smirked knowingly to himself. So the private was human after all…

"Hey Beez, let's be serious. This is a routine mission; after that beach, this'll be a walk in the park," Reiben continued.

The others all sighed, marvelling at the private's inability to shut up.

"Reiben-" Wade began, but surprisingly, Beasley answered.

"I might actually believe that…but we still have Wat-Tambor to worry about"

"Maybe not," Mellish piped up, "I heard that Dooku keeping his ass up at the Capital, waiting for the evacuation to begin"

"No kidding?" Luke asked.

The group members looked amongst each other, somewhat surprised. They continued to march through the terrain, awaiting further comments. As if sensing their eagerness to hear more, Miller commenced talking.

"We've really been talking loud, haven't we?" Mellish laughed.

"Ah, it's a good thing, Fish," Caparzo assured him, "I say, let the Droids know we're coming"

"Yeah, we've really got 'em shaking in their boots," Wade muttered.

Reiben actually smiled at that.

The sky had not gotten any lighter in the time they had been traveling. Crickets were chirping as they marched. Luke diverted his attention back to the horizon after the squad had quieted back down. He watched as the grass bent where he stepped, and could smell the smoke drifting from Caparzo's cigarette. It was then he saw it. His trained eyes caught it before everyone else's. He ran up to Beasley, grabbing the private by the collar of his uniform.

"Captain!" he shouted.

Miller, hearing the alarm in his voice, turned to look at the sky. It was then they all heard the high-pitched screech of the artillery shells.

"Screaming Meemies!" Reiben bellowed.

The soldiers scattered, sprinting through the fields as fast as they could. Luke still had Beasley by the collar. Both were screaming. The shells finally hit the ground, sending chunks of dirt and men flying. Luke and Beasley were forced off their feet, landing face-first in the mud.

"Beasley?!"

"I'm fine!" came a terrified voice.

Luke rolled to his feet and pulled his comrade along with him. All around them men were shouting different orders, scattered in every direction. The air was charged as they waited uncertainly for the next attack. The smell of cordite was thick in his nostrils as the sniper searched for his squad. There was a large crater in the area they'd all been standing in.

"Sparrow!" shouted a familiar voice, "Sparrow?!"

"Over here, Reiben! I'm here!"

The private ran up to him and Beasley, relief flashing in his eyes. His face was smeared with dirt and his assault jacket had been peppered with even more holes.

"This isn't over. They've gotta be at least five miles out."

"How the hell can you know that?!" Reiben snapped.

"Because I was the only one who paid attention in basic," Jackson shot back, "Where's Cap'n Miller?!"

Reiben shook his head. He actually looked vulnerable at that moment, and Jackson suddenly felt a pang of helplessness. If Reiben was going to lose it, then he didn't know what he would do. Beside them, Beasley was beginning to sob.

"We're gonna die…"

Reiben reached over and slapped him.

"Shut up!"

Beasley just stared at him. Luke hardly reacted. The screech came again, and they knew that it would be more accurate this time. Around them the men shouted and scattered. This time it was Reiben who snatched up Beasley and hauled him along. The shell hit only a few feet behind them once again, and they stumbled. Luke and Beasley kept their footing, and the latte running ahead. Reiben fell, crying out. Luke skidded to a halt as Beasley ran on.

"Come on, Reiben!" he shouted as another scream sounded above, "Come On!"

The trooper snatched his comrade's hand, and the sharpshooter heaved him to his feet. Together they ran across the remaining stretch of the field to the tree line, where several men had already collected.

Panting like dogs, they fell into the shrubs as the shell exploded farther out- exactly where they had been standing.

"Where you a sprinter back home, bumpkin?" Reiben gasped, flat on his back.

Luke managed a smile, shaking his head.

"Just born lucky is all," he answered.

Jackson slumped up against a tree, his lungs burning. His trembling fingers found his cross and he said,

"' _Yea, though I should walk through the shadow of the valley of death, I will fear_ _no evil; for thou art with me…_ '"

Jackson kissed the cross.

"Commander!"

Both he and Reiben looked up at the same time to the Sergeant. They breathed sighs of relief.

"Am I glad to see your beautiful face, Sarge," Reiben told him.

"Oh, that's real sweet, Reiben," Horvath sneered, "I need you both to come with me"

Obediently, the two operators followed their sergeant along the line of trees. Reiben was clutching his forearm as they ran. Horvath took notice.

"I need Wade," said the private.

Horvath pursed his lips; he'd lost the medic in all the confusion. He looked back at Reiben's wound, noticing it was a large gash across his arm.

"Are you about to die from the pain, or can you live with it?" he asked.

"I'll be fine for right now."

Reiben glanced at Luke, reading the expression on his face. Something had happened to Wade.

"Sparrow, we need you up ahead, alright?" the private nodded. Sarge continued, "Miller was able to catch a glimpse of the Droid that's been scouting out our position, but he and I both know you'll be able to spot him better than us."

Horvath looked back at them gravely, then.

"We're not safe here."

At his words, they heard the coughing of the mortars in the distance, and a neat row of craters were made inside the trees. There were still men caught in the field, screaming for medics and their commanding officers. The Screaming Meemies went off once again. Reiben swore as they ran.

They came up to a denser part of the wood, where a haggard Captain Miller crouched. Surrounding him were a gaggle of scared and wounded men. Miller had that familiar calm expression on his face, but his eyes told Luke he was worried.

"We have to do something about that scout before we can get out of here," he said, "Sparrow, you're up"

"Go get 'em, bible boy," Reiben told him, smirking. He hit him on the shoulder.

Luke allowed himself a faint smile. He ran up to Miller, who grabbed him by the elbow and steered him away. More explosions sounded in the distance.

"Sir, have you seen the others?"

"…No Commander, I haven't, but I'm sure they're fine."

His voice was stilted, as if he were very irritated. Luke was surprised at how quickly the Captain moved. For an 'old man' he wasn't too slow…

"If I may say so, sir," panted Luke, "This whole thing is 'Fubar.'"

"I'll agree with you on that, private," Miller said with a wry smile.

They moved quickly through the trees, finally reaching a clearing in the branches. A Lieutenant was already there, scoping out the area with Miller's field glasses.

"Out of the way, Jones. I've got the secret weapon right here."

Jones frowned, looking the gangly private up and down. The rifle looked like a toy in his hands.

"Who is _this_?"

"He's the guy that can get us out of this mess," the Captain returned, "But he can do no such thing if you don't move your ass!"

The Lieutenant slid aside to let them look through the branches. Luke lay prone, and Miller flanked him on the left. He held out a hand for the field glasses, and Jones dropped them in his palm. Luke reached for the canister on his back, pulling out the special scope he'd hand-picked himself. He snapped it on the rifle, and peered through the crystal.

"Okay, look straight ahead, then pan slowly to the right," Miller instructed.

Luke did so, pushing his helmet to the top of his head. The Meemies went off again, blowing away more men and finally caught one of mortars that had been set up. The field lit up in a brilliant orange flame. But the Luke ignored it, looking for his target; that was all that mattered right now.

"He should be over by the far off bushes, near a couple of trees."

They both watched as the plasma rounds from their machine guns tore through the dark sky, putting on an eerily beautiful show. Luke was beginning to wonder how the Captain had managed to see the Droid, mainly because it was hard to see in this light. Even he was having a hard time locating the Droid.

Miller watched the sharpshooter work his magic, knowing that Luke would find the bastard.

"I see 'im, sir. He's a smart boy, I'll tell you what. He's all camouflaged. I wouldn't have found him if he hadn't made the wrong move."

"Have you got a shot?"

"Yes, sir."

"Take it."

Luke lined up the shot, starting to take calm, slow breaths. But Jones interrupted, grabbing the lanky boy by the shoulder. Miller swore at the Lieutenant, shoving him away.

"He's gonna lose the idiot! What is it that's so damn important?!" Jones fumbled for words, but Miller didn't give him the time to come up with something, "Get out of here!"

Jones looked bewildered for a moment, then finally caught the drift. He quickly went away and kept as many soldier from Miller and the kid as best he could.

The Captain could tell that Luke was frustrated, but he recovered quickly. The man was trying to drown out all the sounds; the screaming, shouting, explosions…

"O Lord, grant me strength," he whispered, "Many a man is counting on me…"

He exhaled, relaxing his muscles. The head of the droid was right in the crosshairs. Gently, he pulled the trigger. The muzzle flashed. The Droid fell in his sights before the distinctive, hallow sound echoed across the plains.

"Hell of a shot, son," Miller breathed, peering through the binoculars.

"He was a Commando, sir," replied Luke, "I could tell from the dark brown and yellow on the droid"

"You sure?" Miller's face was stern

Luke nodded, bringing the AC-160 closer to him. It was then the Captain felt the anger. Seeing his sniper's youthful face only reminded him of the lives being lost.

"This whole thing is fouled up! The damn Zero's were supposed to take care of all this!" he growled.

Luke had never seen the Captain look so frantic. He could tell from the way he gritted his teeth and the tensing of his muscles. He noticed Miller's hand was shaking again.

"Sir, we have to get out of this forest," Luke told him, and he seemed to snap out of it, "The Droids don't have a scout, but that doesn't mean it won't stop those things from launching."

The kid was right. Miller closed his eyes to gather his bearings. _I can't send these kids up against the commando droids by themselves,_ he thought. It made him so angry that they were doing this. _But they won't be going alone._

"Lieutenant!"

"Sir!"

"Get those soldiers over here, would ya'? I'm going to be taking a group through the field to take out the Meemies."

Jones gaped at him. It was the most insane idea he'd ever heard. But then again, that kid Sparrow was a crack shot…

"Go!" Miller shouted, "What are you waiting for?!"

Jones ran off to gather the required men. Luke was watching the end of the field, making sure no more Droids were running to get the scout. He didn't think they would….

Private Richard Reiben was spouting curses left and right. He was alongside fellow soldiers, helping to drag the wounded out of the field. He had managed to find Beasley, and the two of them were helping as best they could.

It wasn't until they took a weary pause in their task did Reiben realize that the Screaming Meemies had stopped. He laughed to himself, in disbelief over having lived through that. He had thought he'd heard Sparrow's rifle cracking overhead earlier.

His arm was still bleeding, and it stung, but he'd live. He still hadn't found Wade or the others. There had been a very frightening moment when he thought Mellish had gotten killed, but it turned out to be someone else.

The Rangers had suffered a savage beating. But Reiben realized this was only the eye of the storm.

"Private Reiben!" shouted the Sarge's voice, "Beasley!"

The two of them were on their feet, running to where they were needed. Relief washed over the gunner upon seeing Captain Miller, looking livid and ragged, but alive. Sparrow was beside him, and a cluster of Rangers were waiting patiently around him.

"You okay, Beez?" Sparrow asked.

The private nodded silently as Reiben said,

"He's fine, now"

Captain Miller spoke.

"Gentlemen, very soon you will all be crossing that field to get rid of those Meemies-"

"What happened to them Guns, Cap'n?" Reiben questioned him, the trace of a smile on his face.

"Well, I can guarantee they aren't here yet, Private, so we still have some time before they show up," Miller returned. He permitted them a quiet laugh at his dark humor, then continued. "A group from Charlie is going first. The group from Baker will come behind, but attack from the right flank. That means you will be going through the trees and around to the other side"

"With all due respect, Captain," the Lieutenant interjected, "We don't even know where the Tinnies are. They could be miles out- you know how far those shells can reach"

"Can't be too far- those guns were only supposed to be a mile out"

Lieutenant Jones did not look convinced, but he knew Miller was an experienced soldier. The Captain read the expression on his face.

"If we need to know where any of them are, I have CC Sparrow right here to help. This kid is the best, Phil. He could snipe a fly off Dooku's head if he wanted to"

"…I'd rather be aiming at Dooku, sir," Luke said.

The others laughed nervously around them. Lieutenant Jones appeared convinced. Miller addressed the Rangers once again. Now it was serious. No more joking around.

"Due to the fine planning by the Allied command, we still have our primary objective. Therefore, once we eliminate those Meemies, then we get the Cannons. I'll lead my squad through first. Baker circles over to our right flank. I want covering fire if we need it, is that understood?"

A chorus of 'yes sir's sounded around him. Miller nodded. He assembled his men- Reiben, Sparrow, Beasley, Horvath and Talbot. He knew he was still missing Wade, Mellish, and Caparzo, but they would have to do this without them.

Miller led the group quickly into the field, where they maneuverer around the craters as best he could. An odd feeling had gripped him-the knowledge that he was responsible for each young life around him, including his own.

"Captain, sir?"

Miller suppressed a gasp of disbelief. That Brooklyn kid just couldn't shut up for anything.

"What, Private Reiben?" he asked through his teeth as they jogged.

"…Is it too late to apply for a furlough, sir?"

The Captain peered over at Horvath, a motion he was so used to it was almost second-nature. The Sergeant's eyes said the same thing, _the nerve of this guy, huh?_

"I'll set up the papers myself, Reiben," Miller answered him, "At least then you'd be out of my hair"

"You're too kind, Cap'n."

They jogged through the field, tripping over rocks and their own comrades. A few medics had taken advantage of the break in the fighting, and were working as fast as they could to get the wounded up and running again. One of these particular medics had the same baby-face each member of Miller's squad remembered clearly.

"Wade!" Sparrow hissed through the darkness.

A dark figure looked up, and what was left of the moonlight caught his face to reveal the medic they had needed. He looked happy at the sight of his comrades, but quickly hid it. He rose to his feet and addressed the Captain.

"Will you need me, sir?"

Miller took a moment, as if realizing for the first time what he was about to do. He nodded.

"Yes, a little extra help couldn't hurt."

Wade exchanged the news with his fellow aid men, then re-joined the squad, silently contented to have been reunited with them.

"Good to have you back, Doc," Beasley said as they continued.

"Don't suppose you could fix me up?" Reiben added, presenting his arm.

Wade treated him without any complaint.

Luke could tell that the Captain was more at ease now that he'd found where the medic had been, but his eyes gave him away. They were weary of the task at hand. Miller and Horvath still took point, looking over to their right flank every now and then to make sure the Baker squad was following.

Luke held the MR-T5 at the ready, his deep blue eyes set firmly on the horizon once again. He was a bit angry that the few tanks that had travelled with them did not fire on the Droids position, but a man in the Baker squad had a radio that could contact the Tanks if necessary.

They still travelled onward, maybe a half-mile or more away from their position in the woods, when Miller and Sarge stopped them. They all crouched in the grass, rifles at the ready. Luke heard the whine of the motors before anyone else did. At first he thought it was a speeder, but as it came closer, he understood that it was smaller than that. The Sarge practically strained his arm as he waved at Beasley furiously to get down. Luke snatched the private's arm and pulled him to a prone position. The others watched tensely as the vehicle came into view. It was two STAAP- a fast reconnaissance attack vehicle. Luke gulped; Beasley whimpered.

The vehicle roared past the squad and stopped a few feet away. Luke watched as the Captain mouthed a foul curse word. His men peered at him for direction, but he only put a finger to his lips. They nodded as one, watching the Germans like hawks.

They were talking very quickly. To Luke, it seemed as if they were bickering about something. Carefully, he inched his way up beside Beasley.

"What're they saying, Beez?" he whispered.

The private took a moment to listen, then turned back to him.

"They're confused on where we are. One guy says that the scout was killed by a sniper, and another says they sent a squad out this way."

Luke knew that the former was correct.

"They're looking for us," Beasley squeaked in his ear.

Luke watched as the two Droid commandos in the back argued on with the driver. He peered through the scope on his rifle to get a good look at them. The distinctive symbol of the commandos glared at him in the dim light.

He gently took a small pebble in his hand and tossed it so that it struck Miller on the leg. He whipped around to look at him. Luke signalled an 'CD' shape to him twice, and the Captain appeared to understand. He would have signalled something back, but the one of the Droids began sputtering loudly. He sounded agitated.

"He's really angry," Beasley explained under his breath, "He thinks the others are being stupid, because they want to head back and just use the Cannons" Luke felt a drop in his stomach, and his wide eyes met with Miller's. Beasley exclaimed, "Oh, no!"

"What?!"

"…L-look, Sparrow-!"

He did so, frowning. His breath caught in his throat at that moment. One of the Commando Droids had a rocket launcher on his back; an SMG was balanced across the knees of the driver.

"They're going to blow us all up back there," Beasley hissed frantically as the Droids spoke in apathetic tones.

"Sparrow, they'll be shooting any second!"

As he said this, the Droid on the back of the bike raised the barrels of his rocket launcherand took aim. Without even thinking, Luke lifted the Springfield and fired. One soldier slumped over, falling over the side of the MR-T5. The second, having been startled, fired off the shell, but it soared over their heads. A burst of light trailed over them and a deafening boom sounded, tearing a tree on their right flank in half. The squad stood up, firing at the occupants of the vehicle. The LMG-5 was roaring. When the loud _pings_ of the AC-160 sounded, signalling they were out of ammo, silence finally fell over the fields once again. The Droids were dead. Luke was stuck in some kind of strange world, feeling as if he were in neither reality nor dream.

"Sound off if you're hit!"

"Hey…!"

Luke recognized the voice. _Beasley…_ Wade was on duty within a few seconds, in spite of the fact his helmet had fallen off and a clump of grass stuck to his hair.

"Anyone else?" came the Sarge's voice.

No answer. Luke was expecting a snide remark from Reiben, but he said nothing.

"This is getting insane," the Captain snapped, "The commando droids arn't supposed to be here-just those dumbass Cannons!"

Luke pretended not to hear Miller's outburst, walking over to the droid and its dead occupants. He was more interested in the STAAP itself then the people surrounding it. He reached out and grabbed one of the handle bars, inspecting the vehicle with a frown.

"Hey, Li'l Abner, don't go thinking that's yours," Reiben said. The sarcasm had returned to his voice, but he still wasn't back to normal yet.

Luke ignored him, looking ahead at where the motorcycle had come. He was still frowning. By that time, Beasley had been all fixed up; he'd needed a shoulder bandage and a small head bandage, but he'd be alright.

"Dames love scars, Beez," said Reiben.

When Miller realized that the squad was alright, he prepared them to continue toward the outpost. Two more squads had joined them, including Lieutenant Jones' men.

"Is everyone alright?" he asked sternly.

As if to save the Captain from any sort of scrutiny, the Sarge spoke up.

"We're just fine, sir; couple scratches, that's all. We took care of it."

Jones nodded in approval. He gathered up his soldiers and readied them to travel on. Miller was once again at the front. Sparrow was still by the STAAP, deep in thought.

"Let's go, Sparrow," Miller told him.

Almost hesitantly, the Luke complied. The Rangers walked through the long grass, heading for that distant Cannon station. Sparrow made sure he was distanced from the others. A strange emotion reached him. He shuddered.

Reiben was a few feet away, and Talbot was ahead of them, the satchels of Composition B dangling from his shoulders. Luke was beginning to sense that something was wrong. It felt as if a fist had grabbed his stomach and was not about to let go…

"Cap'n?" he asked.

He barely got the word out before it happened. An explosion ripped the field apart, a large flame flashing above them, followed by a plume of greasy smoke. Luke threw himself to the ground. The others panicked as Sergeant Horvath and Jones began to scream for them. More explosions cracked through the air. Luke turned away, the scarlet-orange light illuminating his face. Talbot was laying one or two feet away from where he'd stepped on the mine. It didn't look like he would be getting up.

"STOP!" Miller screamed, "Don't move!"

A weary silence gripped the field. Luke lifted his head, his eyes searching the faces surrounding him for his squad mates. He found Wade bravely attending to Talbot, only to watch him shake his head in frustration. The Sarge saw this as well.

"Get away from there!"

Wade glared at him.

"He still might have a chance, sir!" he shouted back.

"But you won't! Get the hell out of there!"

Luke wasn't sure why the Sarge was being so adamant about this, until he realized the Comp. B was still in the satchels. With horror, he understood. He and the Rangers began shouting. But Wade was determined to save Talbot. Horvath swore.

"Take cover!" he bellowed as he went after Wade.

Jackson barely had enough time to watch as the Sarge seized the medic by the collar of his uniform, yanking him away before he hit the dirt. The Composition B blew apart, hurling pieces of shrapnel and dirt and everything else into the air. Luke buried his face, not wanting to see. A horrid rain could be heard, spattering the Ranger's uniforms and tapping on their helmets. The smell of cordite and smoke was strong in the air as Miller's squad trembled to upright positions Luke could hear Beasley whimpering Talbot was gone.

Miller was in a state of shell-shock, but he knew he had to do something about this. They'd walked right into a minefield. He watched the men in his company, all their faces caked with dirt and splotched with blood. They looked shocked, but still grimly determined. Only Reiben, Luke and Sergeant Horvath were not completely disoriented. Wade was in shock over what had almost happened to him, and the fact that the man he had tried to save was nowhere to be seen. His boots were stained a dark brown from the blood. He clung to Horvath like a scared child, which Miller understood he was. The Captain's eyes met with the Sergeant's, silently agreeing to press onward. He noticed that Luke was coming toward him, no longer appearing like the Happy-go lucky boy he usually was.

"Sir, I know how to get out of this minefield"

"Well, someone ought to know that," the Captain, snarled, "If Allied Command can't tell me, then you might as well!"

Luke paused, peering at his commanding officer with a brief look of sympathy. He could only imagine how absolutely frustrating this was for him. But he also knew they didn't have much time. Those Cannons would be up and running soon, not to mention the Meemies.

"When the STAAP came through, it only came in one direct path. They knew where the mines were placed, and drove through the safe zone."

Miller glanced over at the ruined vehicle of the CIS, heaving a sigh.

"It sounds good, doesn't it?" he said.

"Yes, sir"

Miller locked eyes with his young sniper.

"You had better be right about this, Commander."

"I have no reason to be wrong, Cap'n."

With that, the officer rose to his feet, once again addressing his men. They must have been getting sick of hearing him talk.

"We can get out of this if you all _listen_ to me," he told them, "In a moment, you will be following me, Sergeant Horvath and Commander Sparrow, here. I want four men to go at a time. Hustle up!"

Miller turned to go the way Sparrow had discovered. He stopped when he realized the private was staying behind.

"Sir, I want to stay with Wade and the others…I'll be back here to give you cover if you need it."

The Captain nodded. Horvath smirked.

"I gotta put him up for Corporal…" he muttered.

Miller smiled in agreement.

CC Sparrow joined his comrades back at the STAAP. Wade appeared frightened now that the Sarge had gone. Reiben tapped him on the shoulder reassuringly. He did not come across as scared, either, but he was worried about his commanding officers. He noticed Sparrow and frowned.

"What're you doin' back here, bumpkin?" he questioned.

"Lookin' after the both of you," was the reply, "I'm not about to let you step on one of those things."

"I don't need to be looked after," Reiben assured him.

"Well I'm here none-the-less, city boy."

They stayed by the treaded motorcycle, watching as the others all filed out behind Miller and Horvath. Lieutenant Jones had acquired one of the radiomen, and ordered for a squad of engineers to come by and dispose of the mines.

All of this took roughly a half-hour, and by then, most of the soldiers had made it across the field without stepping on anything deadly. Reiben and Wade were sitting in the back of the STAAP; Luke was sitting in the driver's seat.

"How's come _you_ get to drive?" Reiben complained sarcastically, "They don't have cars where you grew up"

Sparrow overlooked this statement, inspecting the Speeder as he sat on it.

"This has got to be the craziest thing I've ever sat on," Wade declared.

The gangly kid from Tennessee laughed at that. The three of them waited patiently for the men to make it across the path, still watching the sky for traces of artillery.

"I bet I can work this thing," Sparrow mused.

Reiben sputtered.

"It isn't a tractor, buddy. Don't get ahead of yours-"

BOOM.

They froze, exchanging wide-eyed glances. The others had heard it, too. Everyone had stopped. The screaming shell was soon upon them, and the men scattered, screaming. Lieutenant Jones was shouting for them to stay on the pathway, but they were too horrified to listen. The ground burst apart in a great shower of dirt and grass. It rained down on to the three Rangers of Charlie Company, and they shielded their eyes. Wade was screaming every swear he knew.  
"Get this thing moving, Sparrow!" Reiben screamed, "GO! GO!"

The private didn't need telling twice. He searched frantically for the ignition as a second shell hit in front of them, sending dirt and shrapnel all over.

"Where the hell is the damn ignition?!" Sparrow swore.

Reiben was momentarily stunned at this outburst, but ignored it.

"Kick it!" he bellowed.

Sparrow understood, stomping on the Speeder. It roared to life, shaking from side to side.

"We're surrounded!" Wade shrieked.

A third shell slammed the earth to their left. Gritting his teeth, Sparrow heaved the bike to the right, twisting the accelerator. The STAAP lurched forward, sending Reiben and the medic full-tilt into Sparrow. But the he hardly noticed. They tore off down the pass, the Guns still shooting after them.

"Faster!" Reiben hollered.

Sparrow hit the gas again, and the bike shot even further. The cannons were merciless, shells screeching through the air and detonating behind them in a flourish of dirt and shrapnel. Wade screamed at him.

"Watch the mines!"

They swerved, but not before grazing the edge. The mine went off, echoing through the air, but not as horrifying as the Cannons. The STAAP lurched sideways, tilting hard to the left. All three occupants screamed as they drove on one tread. The Speeder came crashing back to the ground, jarring them so badly their teeth rattled. The flak cannons still bombarded the clearing, almost as if they knew every move the bike was going to make. Sparrow was praying hurriedly, through the dirt and the smoke, his voice cracking in fear.

Reiben and Wade were equally surprised at how well the sharpshooter was manoeuvring. They clung to the steel of the Speeder, not daring to let go. They watched helplessly as yet another shell came bombing down on them, sending the vehicle lurching around in a great arc to avoid it. Reiben, who was not a very religious man himself, was silently praying that they would get out of this mess. Beside him, Wade was gasping through this sobs,

"Jesus- Mary- Joseph-!"

Luke's knuckles were white on the handle bars as he rammed the STAAP down and out a crater, sending his comrades flying around like rag dolls. They managed to keep their grip, as he could tell from their hysterical profanities. The vehicle had begun to groan under all the distress, but he took no notice of this fact. He twisted the accelerator again, standing up out of the seat, his eyes glued to the horizon, hunting for that puff of black smoke. When he saw it, he tugged the bike far to the right and it complied. The artillery shell tore up the ground just behind them. Sweat had blurred his vision, but he remained on course, heading for where the Captain and taken the others.

"MINES!"

Luke's eyes widened at Reiben's outburst, and he slammed the brakes, leaving a deep rut in the ground as the Speeder reeled to the right, almost tipping them over. The Suspension field grinded horribly and the gears whined, but still, the vehicle chugged on. Once again, they slammed back down on to the ground. The force was so great, Reiben's knees were shoved into his chest. Wade's grip was like iron on the sides of the speeder, so strong his palms had started to bleed. Luke knew they were almost safe, out of the range of any scouts. He gave the vehicle more gas, pushing it with his legs as if willing it to go faster. One more shell was shrieking toward them; Luke braked hard. The world exploded all around him. He could hear Wade and Reiben screaming in terror, hearing the thud of their bodies somewhere nearby. He hit the ground hard, feeling the air leave his lungs. He gasped. A shower of damp, grainy earth rained down on them, drumming into the steel of their helmets.

Luke, bleary-eyed and disoriented, struggled to his feet. Somehow finding his voice, he yelled for his companions. Faint cries answered him. His ears were ringing, and everything sounded distant. His body ached with pain and fatigue. Stumbling through field, he tore the long grass away from him and ran up to where he'd heard Wade's voice.

The familiar red cross symbol came into view, and he reached for the owner of the helmet, yanking him to his feet. With the medic leaning heavily on his shoulder, Luke screamed for Reiben to follow, hoping that he could. Somewhere through the fog of confusion, a Brooklyn accent returned. That was all Luke needed to hear. He sprinted through the remainder of the field, leaping over craters and tripping over people. He finally reached the haven of the trees, temporarily out of the Droid guns' line of fire. He unhooked Wade's arm from around his shoulders and slumped up against the trunk of a large tree, panting like a dog. Sweat poured down his face and slicked back his blond hair.

The Cannons were still hammering the meadow, as if they were angry now that they couldn't see the soldiers any longer. Great clouds of dirt and smoke drifted through the air, chunks of earth thudding back against the ground. The three Rangers lay in the small area just out the cannons' range, laughing hysterically to themselves.

Wade wiped tears shamefully from his eyes, feeling stupid at the way he had acted in front of his buddies. But neither of them seemed to care too much, due to the fact that they were just as scared as he was.

"I better be getting' _something_ for all this," Reiben gasped, throwing his AC-160 aside, "Otherwise, I'm going to be very pissed."

Luke, who was flat on his back now, still trying to catch his breath, reached over and tapped the New Yorker on the knee.

"Y'all did good," he said between breaths.

The Cannons were still destroying the field before them, as if to make doubly sure they were dead. Luke was the first to roll to his feet, stumbling from the tremors the artillery shells created. From their position, he could see the flak cannons towering over the small cottages and hedgerows like three bad omens. He also saw a crowd of Rangers huddled in front of the hedges, screaming orders amongst themselves. They were trying desperately to get to the cannons.

"Reiben," said Luke, "We have to do something."

"Do _what_ , bumpkin?"

Reiben had appeared at his shoulder, and was watching the chaos.

"What more help could be possibly be to them? Think about it; we're only three more guys."

Luke would have said something, but, amazingly, the Captain's voice sounded, causing them all to jump nearly five feet.

 _"Sparrow! Reiben! REPORT!"_

The two soldires and the medic scrambled over to a fellow comrade, who had already left this world. The radio at his side was crackling with small arms fire and the rattling of submachine guns. Luke snatched up the device and spoke into it.

"Cap'n Miller, sir?! Luke here."

 _"Jesus!"_ Miller exclaimed. His men listened intently as scratching sounded over the line. The captain was addressing someone else. _"They're alive, Mike!"_

Luke could detect a second exclamation before Miller continued.

"Listen, boys, I need you to do something for me!"

"Why am I not surprised, sir?" Reiben cracked.

Luke gave him a warning stare, and the grin vanished from his face.

 _"We need you down here with that rifle"_ the Captain hollered, "Wade too!"

Reiben peered at Luke and Wade with a strange expression. Luke could tell that his heart wasn't in it. Wade looked ready to sprint down there himself. But the Captain was shouting again.

 _"Lock and Load, Reiben! Sparrow, give him and Wade cover fire until you can get your ass down here!"_

"Yes, sir."

Miller would have said more, but he chattering of the weapons overwhelmed him, and nothing more was audible. Behind Luke, Reiben was searching around for his gear, throwing the heavy bandoleer around his shoulders. Wade was already waiting at the edge of the forest, bouncing on his heels, itching to leave. After the rifleman was finally situated, he joined the medic, and they prepared themselves to run. Luke leaned over his MR-T5, eye to the scope, scanning for a target. He noticed the machine gun posts flanking the first hedgerow, and he aimed right for the gunners.

"Go! Now!" he yelled to the others.

They leapt into action. Luke watched them go, silently praying as they went.

' _Watch over them, Lord; let nothing harm them. Let the enemy see me, lest they find my friends first.'_ His eyes set on the machine gun nest. The men were tensed, waiting until the two came within range. Luke pulled the trigger just before they racked the slide on the machine gun. The hollow, foreboding sound of the MR-T5 echoed across the clearing, louder than popping of small-arms fire.

But the Droids had not given up. They dragged their comrade out of the way and grabbed for the machine gun once again Luke raked a second round into the chamber and fired again, the marksman rifle jerking back against him. He fired a third, the spent shells tinkling on to the ground at his feet. By then, the first nest had been cleared. He watched as Wade and Reiben were able to frog-leap their way up to where the Rangers had gathered. Through the scope, Luke could see Miller shouting for Reiben. Wade was already tending to the wounded, even before the Sarge directed him there. Jackson swung the rifle around toward the other position. The Cannon operators didn't appear to be all that worried about the oncoming OAG, fully convinced that their machine gunners would take care of them.

Luke hated staying there; he wanted to be fighting with his squad. He knew that wasn't what a sniper was supposed to do, but he felt the need to be down there just the same. The radio crackled behind him.

 _"Jackson!"_ blared the Captain's garbled voice _, "Pick up!"_

The lanky young man reached for the radio, gripping it tightly in his hands.

"I'm here, sir!"

He could hear the clattering of a second machine gun, followed by the responding volleys of Ranger weaponry. He turned to peer back down at the station, wincing as he watched two men jerk around from the blast of the machine gun.

 _"Thank-you for the previous help,"_ Miller growled back into the radio, _"But those bastards still have a position. We can't find it from here; it's camouflaged. I need you to find it for me, Sparrow. I need that machine gun suppressed so I can send the Baker squad over their right flank"_

As the Captain was saying this, Luke was back at his MR-T5, staring through the scope. He swivelled left and right, his trained eyes hunting for the distinctive barrel of the separatist weapon. Gun fire sounded in its staccato rattle, echoing through the still air. Luke could hear the Rangers screaming and shouting for cover fire. It sounded even more terrifying through the radio.

 _"Sparrow! Do you hear me?!"_ cracked the Captain's voice.

But the Brit chose to ignore the officer's cries, those piercing blue eyes still examining the hedgerows for the machine gun. With another volley of rapid fire, he finally caught it. The nest was carefully placed just behind the Cannons, at the top of a gentle slope made deadly by the German's vantage point. Forcing the cries of the Captain and his comrades from his mind, Luke again took aim. This time, he was not sure exactly where his target was, but he had the exact image in his mind.

"O Lord, I ask for your guidance once again…"

Captain John Miller had given up trying to contact his sharpshooter via radio. He pressed himself back against the small stretch of concrete that had once been the fence to a farmer's pasture. The flak cannons still boomed above him, the Earth trembling violently. It was so bad that a few of his men had fallen to their knees. The Sarge was across the way, readying the Baker squad to charge the right flank. Miller was waiting to gear himself up before sending the next batch of young men up the slope. His eyes fell to Reiben and Beasley, the latter looking badly frightened. He didn't want to send them…

"You four! Next up!" he shouted.

The group included Beasley and Reiben. Across the way, Baker squad was ready. Horvath nodded to Miller. Reiben clenched the rifle firmly in his palms, whispering something. Beasley appeared near tears. The long pole charge was still on his back; Miller hoped that he would soon use it.

"On my signal!" he shouted, "Covering fire!"

The others all began to shoot, creating another horrid racket that was synonymous with death. Miller hardly noticed it anymore, and he readied himself as well. Suddenly, the familiar cracking of a MR-T5 rifle sounded above. The Captain held the men, exchanging a look of surprise with Sergeant Horvath. The machine gun silenced ahead of them. The flak cannons boomed, reminding them that they still had to be taken care of.

"It was Sparrow," Reiben declared, managing a wry smile, "The bastard's a crack shot."

The others appeared relieved. Miller sent the small group over, and this time he went with them. As they trudged up the incline, something was coming toward them. They tensed, pointing their weapons. Miller squinted curiously. Reiben was the first to notice what it was. He whistled admirably, directing his statement to the distant woods.

"One _hell_ of shot that Sparrow-boy is! 'Jack of all trades!' Watch out, Dooku, Commander Sparrow's out to get ya!"

Reiben whooped, traveling onward. The men around him all let out small smiles. Miller nodded in agreement. At his feet was a lone droid head. A Plasma-Bullet hole was clearly visible, straight through the Blue and white CIS symbol. A classic 'Sparrow' shot.

MR-T5

From his perch amidst the weeds, the sniper from England watched his comrades moving up the hill. He was not sure if he'd hit the droids as he'd meant to, and he remained tensed, half-expecting to hear that awful staccato chattering once more. But they made it up the slope unscathed. The Captain was first, followed by Reiben (who was unmistakable even at this distance) and Beasley.

As if to prove his handiwork, Sergeant Horvath's voice buzzed through the radio.

 _"Nice shootin,' son!"_

Luke allowed himself a smile.

"I heard that, Sarge. Orders?"

 _"Get down here now! We could do good with that MR-T5."_

Luke didn't need telling twice. He sprang to his feet, sprinting through the grass. He quickened his pace as the Cannons echoed yet again, this time flinging their shells toward the beachhead. _We have to get rid of those damn things…_

Luke reached Horvath's position within a few more seconds. The Sarge peered at him as if he was looking at something out of the ordinary. But he shouted to the kid as he did all of them.

"I'm holding this Baker squad until Miller gets up all the way an' clears the area. You're coming with me, understood?"

Luke nodded his reply, adjusting the helmet over his head. Wade appeared at his shoulder, his fingers damp from tending to wounds.

"We're finished here, sir. I'll be going where ever you are"

"Alright," the Sarge agreed, "Jackson, you watch him"

"Gotcha, Sarge"

Horvath glanced over the lip of the concrete barrier, the bang of the Flack cannons resounding through the pasture. The popping of gun fire sounded above, but the cannons still crashed. A faint cry sounded.

"Clear Up!"

Horvath stood, then, Baker squad mimicking him. He waved his arm, shouting,

"Move out!"

The Orion soldiers jogged up the hill, the ground trembling beneath their boots. If he squinted through the screen of trees, Luke could see the barrels of the flak guns towering over them.

"Must be dug in pretty good," he mused.

He met eyes with Wade, whose face had whitened. The medic managed a tiny, weary grin. Sarge was taking point, encouraging them to run faster, but they were already set on their objective. They rendezvoused with Captain Miller and the remnants of the Charlie Company squads after a few minutes.

"What's the situation, sir?" questioned Sarge.

"I don't know for sure, but I think we've got 'em by surprise." As the two commanders talked, the others stood gazing at the Guns' with a growing sense of doom. Luke noticed Beasley looked about ready to throw up. His eyes left him and landed on Reiben, who noticed. He grinned and laughed quietly, nodding. Luke smirked knowingly; _Nice shot, bumpkin…_

"Baker is still going over to the right," Miller's voice sounded, "the first one is on the left; it's the closest. I'll split up what's left of Charlie and send 'em to the other two."

Reiben couldn't resist the opportunity to put in his opinion.

"Let's not get too hasty, sir. Let a couple of fly boys take out those damn things."

The others seemed to agree. Luke found himself nodding as well.

"As much as I would love to do that, Reiben, I can't, seeing as how it's an J-1's _job_ to shoot planes out of the sky!" the Captain retorted.

A collective wave of snickering rippled throughout the group. Miller shook his head, as if in disbelief. Horvath was frowning in thought.

"What about them Titan boys?" Luke piped up, referring to the tanks they'd left behind, "Get them off their butts and up here"

"In any other situation, I'd do that, but Command neglected to tell me that two possible minefields turned out to be a single giant one!"

Luke sighed.

"Jus' thinkin' aloud is all…sir," he muttered.

It was apparent that Captain Miller was nearing his wit's end. Nothing had gone right the whole time they'd been on Ryloth.

"He might have something there, Captain," Horvath said. The cannons boomed yet again, and the forest shook from the concussion. "We can radio the tanks to shoot up here."

"They can't, Mike. They're stuck back behind minefield, outta range. They're no doubt sunning themselves by now."

There was a brief moment of silence as the soldiers all ran possible solutions through their heads. The shrieking of the Screaming Meemies blended with the sharp bang of the flak cannons. Miller seemed to have had something. He spoke.

"Those droids up there obviously don't realize that we're all alive and well. Being the arrogant bastards they are, I wouldn't expect them to send anyone down here to make sure." Miller paused, studying the faces of his Rangers. They were all grim-faced; determined. He continued. "We can do this thing-we'll just have to trick 'em. We'll split up as usual. The riflemen that we have are staying here with me. I'll bring in that LMG-5 and use it against them. That should be enough to get their attention, don't you think?"

The others weren't on board with this plan just yet, but Horvath was nodding his head.

"That'll be the distraction, then," he concluded, "I can take a group to the first J-1; you'll be here to distract the squad that's guarding the one on the right-"

"-And we'll sneak in a group to circle around the one in the middle, through the forest. We could use the Meemies too, if we can get if for ourselves," Miller was grinning, now, knowing that this could actually work. "Someone get me that damn LMG-5"

Beasley and Reiben jogged off to do so. Miller caught Luke's eye as Horvath began to split the Baker squad in two.

"What can I do ya for, Cap'n?" Luke inquired.

"See that tree over there- _waaaay_ back there?" the officer pointed.

Jackson spotted the said tree and nodded. Miller clapped him on the shoulder.

"Think you can make that home for a while? Give us what protection you can?"

The sharpshooter grinned. It was just crazy enough to work.

"I can manage that, sir."

"Good. I'll be sending you with the group taking the rear. They'll be in front of you once you're in the tree- just do your best."

"Shucks, Cap. No need to state the obvious…"

Miller actually smiled at that.

Reiben and Beasley had hauled the machine gun up the hill, and were setting it up as Luke passed them.

"Where you off to?" Reiben demanded.

"To see the Wizard," Luke answered him.

He even skipped a little. Reiben laughed, and Beasley did too.

"You're getting better at that crap," the Brooklyn kid told him, "Maybe I'm a bad influence on you."

Luke raised his eye brows. "Yeah, maybe."

"…Watch out up there, Sparrow," Beasley said.

"I will, Beez. You take care, yourself."

The sharpshooter just looked at Reiben, who still had that stupid grin on his face.

"You all be careful now, you all hear me now?" he sputtered in a fake Southern British accent.

Luke shook his head.

"Needs more work. You're getting there"

Reiben reluctantly agreed. Miller called for Luke, and he began to walk toward the waiting group.

"Good luck, Sparrow," Reiben said.

The sniper nodded. Miller had nothing to really say to them, except things they already knew.  
"Keep it simple. Nobody plays hero. Just get in, do your job. A sniper will be backing you up; Runners get all the grenades. We'll be distracting them with the rapid fire here, and a flame unit will be coming within a matter seconds." One of the J-1s ripped through the sky above, reminding them of the task at hand. But Miller spoke over it. "Good luck, lock and load."

He tapped a few of them on their backs. The Southern sharpshooter passed by him, and he clapped him on the helmet, watching as the group of Rangers trudged through the woods and out of sight.

Luke was at the front of the group, checking the horizon for any more surprises. They eased past the third J-1s as the Droids scrambled around for another shell, tilting the massive cannon up ever so slightly. The guarding squad of Commando droids stood impressively at the corners of the small bunker that was underneath the J-1. Luke and the others moved silently past them, hardly making a sound. They didn't look back twice at the station, just visible through the screen of foliage. They travelled on for a while longer, then stopped, crouching in the bushes. Luke went farther on, to the tree Miller had pointed out for him. The others watched as he climbed the branches, distant memories of home flashing through their minds.

Luke climbed as high as he dared, then was able position himself comfortably. He reached for the MR-T5, setting the crosshairs on the distant J-1 station. The shells boomed again, only now he could hear the large, spent canisters clanging against the concrete. He gently rested the end of the rifle on a branch, then sucked in a breath and waited.

Captain John Miller was waiting as well. Reiben and a second rifle trooper were tensed, preparing for orders. Wade was behind Horvath, crouched and out of sight as Miller had instructed. Binoculars in hand, the Captain scoped out the area.

"On my mark…"

Reiben and the second rifleman, Private Williams, tensed in anticipation. The others at the machine gun did so as well. Captain Miller leveled his AC-30; the Sarge kept his Carbine raised, his finger hovering over the trigger.

"Now!"

The LMG-5 roared, tearing the bushes apart in front of them. The droids began to shout hurriedly, trying to take a defensive position. Miller screamed over the din of the weapons,

"Group one, left flank!"

Sarge left the machine gun outpost, taking the first squad with him. Miller watched them go over his shoulder. They made it all the way up to the first station, and the volley of gun-fire that sounded from there was drowned out by the deafening chatter of the machine gun.

"So far so good, sir," Reiben shouted, firing the AC-160 "They're taking the bait."

Miller fired the carbine again in short bursts, watching as the droids scrambled around through the forest. _So far so good…_

Sergeant Horvath and his group had finished clearing out the first J-1 nest, but the bunker beneath it was still a thorn in their side. Leaving the safety of the small crater he'd lead the men into, he ran in a crouch over to the wall, where two privates and corporal had taken cover. laser thudded into the concrete as Horvath slammed his back to the wall, just ahead of the droids.

"Bastards know what they're doing," he panted.

"You were expecting what, Sarge?"

Half-supposing Reiben to have said that, Horvath was remotely surprised to find it had been Beasley with the barbed sentence. But he chose not to react. He shouted down the line to the Corporal.

"Fox! Get the Reaper over here!"

Corporal Fox nodded, bullets still cracking into the wall behind them. He had to duck, waiting for the gunfire to pass before shouting for the man named 'Reaper' to reach them. Horvath watched, shouting,

"Cover fire! Cover fire!"

His men responded without complaint; the private with a flamethrower slung over his shoulders darted up to them through the death zone. He clanked himself against the wall. Hot lead above pounded into the concrete, sending a fine dust floating down on them. Private Beasley turned to look at this man called Reaper, having never seen him before.

The Sarge had to look up at this guy, which meant that the private was well over six feet tall. He had dark eyes and a scraggly beard, making him stand out from the baby-faces of the other Rangers. He held the flamethrower loosely in his hands, and wore black leather gloves. A black bandanna was around his head, just visible from underneath his scarred helmet. Painted on the back of the flame unit was a small image of a pissed-off Mickey Mouse, appropriately giving the finger.

"Reaper," said Sarge, "I need you to-"

"I know what I've gotta do," he replied in a gravelly voice, "I need a man with a carbine and whoever is going to be blowing up that damn thing."

He jerked his head above them toward the looming J-1.

Beasley noticed a skull and cross bones had also been painted on the back of his helmet. He gulped; this guy was hardcore. His steely gaze fell to Beasley.

"You. You're coming."

Beasley wondered with growing horror why, until he remembered he was still carrying the C-17 on his back. He looked over at the Sarge, as if for approval. He nodded. Sarge ordered Corporal Fox to go as well. The three Rangers crouched at the corner of the concrete barrier, waiting for their cover fire. Fallon went first, then Reaper, with Beasley bringing up the rear. Horvath watched them, hoping they would make it up there…

Beasley was no longer scared. Right then, he was in a state of numbness, his training having taken over all thought process. The droids came at them, but not before they were mowed down by the carbine and Beasley's rifle. He aimed up at the J-1 operators, who were presently pulling out their pistols. Beasley fired on them until he heard the _ping_ , signalling he was out of ammo. Fox stood in the center of the station, awaiting possible reinforcements; Beasley hurriedly reloaded as the Corporal shouted,

"Torch it!"

Reaper didn't need telling twice. He marched in front of the entrance, an indifferent expression across his face. Beasley watched him as the black barrel belched flame, the light playing on his face as if he were watching fireworks. The droids remaining inside the bunker screamed in agony, flailing around. A few of them leaned out of the mouth of the bunker, falling within sight of Horvath and the others, watching on intently. All Beasley could do was stare. It was Corporal Fox who snapped him out of a daze.

"Get up there, Beasley! Blow that sonovabitch to Timbuktu!"

The private leaped into action, charging up the small staircase that lead up to the flak cannon. Tripping over bodies, he managed to catch hold of the gun, still hot from firing the shells. He climbed on to it like a monkey, arming the C-17 that had been strapped around him for so long. He shoved the charge down the J-1's mouth, then slid off of it. His boots thudded against the dirt and he ran like hell for cover. The cannon finally exploded, behind him, steel bending as if it were rubber.

Sergeant Horvath and the others had all seen this, and they smiled in relief. Horvath was especially proud of the Beasley kid, thankful for having him finally snap out of his wimpy state.

Private Stephen Beasley was crumpled at his comrade's feet, panting as if he'd run three miles. Fox and Reaper stood to judge his work, the former whistling.

"Nice job, Beez."

The private struggled to his feet, brushing damp red bangs from his eyes.

"Was nuthin'," he replied breathlessly.

Beasley glanced over at the guy known only as Reaper. He was nodding appreciatively.

"Not bad for a first-timer," said Reaper, "But I think you can do better, kid."

They began walking back to where the Sarge waited. He sent some of the men back to Miller, still directing the distracting fire.

"Just wait 'til the next one," Beasley told them, excited now, "We'll kick some serious ass, then!"

Private Daniel Jackson watched from the corner of his eye as Private Beasley set the charge on the first cannon. The explosion resonated through the forest. The thick tree that served as his perch trembled from the sound waves. A few leaves floated down gently in front of him. _Got one; two to go…_

Captain Miller, Reiben and a few others were still directing fire toward the center, but the droids knew what had happened. Jackson watched intently through the scope as half the Baker squad and a group of Company A men made their way over to the second J-1, still thundering above. The Screaming Meemie, the simple cannon that had caused so much trouble, was now out of commission, the six barrels still smoking. The men Luke had travelled with were waiting patiently for their attack. They needed his signal.

The sharpshooter could tell that the droids were angry as they scurried around in his sights like grey, metal ants. The men at the cannon closest to him were hurrying to get off as many shots as they could before the LMG-5 came closer. Luke knew that every one of those shells was either directed at those still stuck by the minefield or on the beaches. He also knew how damn good the clankers were with those things; they would put a shell in your pocket if they could.

His attention was directed to the left J-1, which the Rangers were now over-whelming. The droids had begun to attack that position from all fronts, so this had to be quick. Luke had already picked out a man in his crosshairs- a tall Droid, who appeared to be an officer of some sort. He knew where the rangers were and was relaying the information to his comrades. Luke's grip tightened on the rifle, and he exhaled to calm himself.

"Grant me strength, Lord; let me not be ashamed…"

Private Richard Reiben heard that unmistakable sound, and flashed a quick look over at Wade. Their eyes met. _I heard it, too._

"Cap'n," Reiben shouted, "We should be moving up. We have to give them as much help as we can- they're moving on to the third cannon!"

Miller, still firing his carbine at the attacking droids, agreed.

"Alright, let's move it on up!"

He assigned two privates to carry the red-hot machine gun up the pass as he and Reiben gave them suppressing fire. They set up within a few seconds and resumed firing. The MR-T5 cracked above once again. Miller watched as the second bunker went up in flames, and he knew they could do this. _Come on, boys; just one more left…_

Luke had sent the droids into a frenzy. They scrambled around, looking for where the shots had come from, trying to set up a defensive perimeter. The Rangers had poured in after Luke had fired the first shot, and they were swarming over the J-1 site. Three of the droids had managed to get a hold of a machine gun, but were subdued by Luke's plasma bullet.

Not too far away, the right bunker went up in a ball of scarlet and orange flame, signalling Reaper had done his job. Luke continued to give his comrades back up, shooting the Droids that they'd missed, simultaneously saving the lives of two people.

He watched through the scope as the other Rangers began to make their way toward the J-1. He fired on the droids that were blocking their way, saving yet more lives. When the group arrived at the station, Luke relaxed, an eerie calm falling over the woods. He made sure that there were no more enemies coming, then slung the MR-T5 over his back and slid down from the tree. **Original text**

Private Beasley and Corporal Fox stepped uneasily into the J-1 outpost, careful not to tread on the dead CIS soldiers. This had been no easy task, but had taken merely ten minutes. The Rangers from Able Company and a few from Baker were waiting for them to arrive, showing no expression to speak of. Beasley felt his stomach turn at the sight of a German officer who had been shot in the back of the head. But Captain Miller's voice sounded, almost a relief.

"Clear Down!"

"Clear Up!" his men answered together.

Miller appeared through the smoke, Privates Reiben and Williams in tow, along with a few others. Wade ran ahead of him, immediately tending to the men severely wounded.

The man called Reaper appeared, and his eyes met with the Captain's.

"Clear it out, soldier," Miller said.

Beasley's wide eyes watched as the private with the flamethrower stepped before the bunker, readying himself to burn it. His eyes were dark as ever, his lips formed in a straight line. The Mickey Mouse came into view. Beasley smiled faintly, but he caught himself. Reaper reached back and clicked a valve on; a small hissing sound was audible, signaling that more fuel had been let into the tube. Beasley took a few steps back, and Corporal Fox mimicked him.

Before them, the bunker was painted with flames, reducing whatever was inside to ashes. Beasley and a few other watched on, the former with the same silent awe he'd displayed previously. Captain Miller had turned away from this spectacle, having already seen it countless times. He looked over at Sergeant Horvath, saying,

"Mike…I'll see if I can reach the Titans from here"

"Captain Miller to Titans; please respond."

The radio hissed for a few seconds before a nasal, mid-western voice answered.

 _"Sorry Cap'n, sir, but I can't do much back here. Our cannons can't reach that far"_

"My men and I just finished taking out the damn J-1s!" Miller snapped.

Luke had appeared at the edge of the clearing, just catching the end of his Captain's distressed sentence. He looked up at him and the Sarge, frowning.

 _"I'm sorry, sir,"_ the tank operator's voice fizzed, _"We're pretty much stuck back here"_

"Well, you better find a way around it, because if Droid reinforcements end up coming this way, you'll be responsible for the death of Charlie Company! We cannot continue on like this unsupported!"

Luke winced. He watched as Wade moved to a second soldier who had fallen at the base of a great oak tree. A layer of grey smoke had descended around them, bringing a ghostly look to the once peaceful forest. Luke peered over at Beasley, who noticed him, flashing the 'thumb's up' sign. The sniper understood, returning the gesture.

"I want at least one of those damn tanks through that field within the next fifteen minutes, do you understand?!" Miller was saying, not really shouting, but still angry.

Reiben was walking around in a lazy circle, waiting impatiently for orders. He hugged the rifle in his arms like a father comforting his child.

Luke was watching the flames licking the sides of the bunker, picking twigs and leaves from his helmet. He made sure that the MR-T5 had a bullet in the chamber, assuming they would be moving out shortly. Pursing his lips, he slung the rifle back over his shoulder and waited.

The man named Reaper was also watching the bunker smoulder and blacken before him, frowning as the Captain still spoke into the radio irritably. He shook his head.

"Just talk to him like you talk to us, Cap'n," sugguested Reaper as Miller's radio picked up a batch of static.

"If I did _that_ , Reaper, I'd be relieved of command."

The soldier grunted a non-laugh, turning around to glance back at the others in the forest.

"That's the problem with the rest of this Army…a lot of 'em are a bunch of-"

What the rest of the Army was, nobody would ever know. Reaper pitched forward, the cracking of a firearm breaking the silence. Beasley cried out, and everyone spun around at his voice. But Reaper was already staggering forward, his eyes to the sky, as if he knew exactly where he was destined.

Wade was already running toward the wounded Ranger, but Reiben latched on to his arm, his eyes having caught the spark. The flame unit on Reaper's back burst into a plume of yellow and crimson, catching Beasley and two other privates in its deadly grasp.

The rest of the soldiers all covered their faces from the flames, Miller shouting at them to back away as quickly as they could.

Private Jackson just stared, smelling the horrible odor of burnt flesh and gasoline. He peered over at his commanding officers, not surprised at the troubled expressions on their faces. Miller's eyes met with the sharpshooter's, as if asking if it were an enemy sniper. Jackson shook his head; the Captain understood. That was no sniper rifle.

"Everybody get the hell away from there!" he shouted, "Let the flames die down!"

"Cap'n!"

The tortured voice belonged to Wade, obviously desperate to help those who had been badly burned. But his cries went unanswered; Miller was keeping him right where he could see him. They all watched the flames spiral around the bunker in grim silence. Miller felt his stomach twist into a knot. His eyes had found the remaining 88 ammunition.

"Sergeant Horvath-"

"Yes, sir?"

A strange look had appeared across the Captain's face. This troubled the Sarge; he'd seen that look at Anzio, just before…

Both Miller and Horvath screamed at their men,

"Get out! Move! GET OUTTA THERE!"

The Rangers scrambled, but it was too late. The greedy flames had spread to the 88 shells and a fuel drum behind the sandbags. With an odd spark, the ammunition went up in flames. The entire hillside exploded, hurling chunks of dirt, concrete and steel into the air. More than half of the Rangers near the hill had been caught in the blast, shredded by the shrapnel and consumed by the flames. Those who had survived were flung backwards into the mud, as if some invisible force had snatched them up and threw them rudely aside.

Private Jackson could feel the wind in his hair as he watched his boots leave the ground, the explosion crashing all around him. He felt the intense heat as he finally came back to the earth, falling heavily on his side. Needles of pain shot up the length of his body, and he screamed. A strange torrent of dirt, shrapnel and shreds of clothing fell on him and the forest, darkening his uniform with disturbing splotches. The coppery taste of blood was in his mouth, but he wasn't sure if it was his or someone else's. Jackson just lay there for a brief moment, and, for the second time in two days, found himself resentful of his military service.

Captain Miller led the survivors away from the flames, skidding to a halt at the edge of the wood. Reiben spoke up between gasps for air.

"I hate to be the one to speak out of line, sir, but why the hell did you stop?!"

Miller looked back at his rifleman, noticing his face had been blackened from the soot and mud. His uniform was similarly caked with grime, concealing his military markings and the 'Brooklyn, N.Y.C.' scrawled on the back of his jacket.

For that brief moment, the Captain felt his age, almost believing he'd been playing soldier for too long. Another twenty or so men had just lost their lives- under his command. His green eyes, darkened with fatigue and emotion, scanned the flaming hillside as he made his next decision. The confused cries of the Rangers surrounded him, covered from head to foot in filth and blood.

Private Reiben, obviously not patient enough to wait around for what his Captain had to say, looked around wildly. He only focused on the spreading fire briefly, his mind firmly set on his friends. He shouted,

"Wade! Where's Wade?!"

The fact that no one answered scared him. Reiben left Miller's side, searching around for the medic.

"Wade! Wade!"

"Here!" a pained voice answered him. Reiben hustled over to the big oak tree the medic had been near prior to the blast. It turned out he'd been thrown roughly eight feet, his helmet at Reiben's boots. The comrade he'd been tending to laid a stone's throw away, his eyes glazed. Reiben appeared at Wade's side within seconds, but the medic stopped him, batting his helping hand away.

"My shoulder- it's dislocated…" he groaned between breaths, "I can tell; hurts like no tomorrow-" Reiben moved to lay a hand on it, but the medic yelped, "DON'T!"

"Well how the hell am I supposed to help you?!" the rifleman snapped, scowling.

Wade reached for him with his good hand, and Reiben pulled him to a standing position. The medic whimpered, grimacing in pain. His face was pale, and sweat had beaded on his forehead. His grip was strong on Reiben's shoulder as they walked hurriedly back to where the Captain was standing.

"Wade-?" he began, but the medic shook his head.

"I'll be fine, sir," Wade answered feebly.

His arm hung heavily, and he was leaning on Reiben's shoulder. Captain Miller did not look convinced.

"I'll be fine, sir," he repeated, this time with more force.

"Are we gonna get the hell out of here or what?" demanded Reiben, all military formality aside.

Miller could feel the irritation in the private's voice, but he also knew the rest had no reason to doubt him. He spoke loudly, due to the fact that his ears -and everyone else's- were ringing.

"We're going back through the minefield- the safe route. We'll have to get a dozer down here and clear all this crap out," his next statement was directed at Sergeant Horvath, "Keep them at the edge of the wood, but hidden. I have a feeling if any more Droids are coming, they'll be going around that fire and into the fields. I'll go out first, just in case; Reiben- you're coming with me."

The gunner complied, leaving Wade in the care of the Sarge. As he fell into step beside his Captain, Reiben uttered only one word.

" _Fubar_ …"

Miller just smirked.

Luke turned to wade "Next stop, Vasel"


	14. Assault on Vasel

**The First Contact War**

Chapter 14 Assault on Vasel

 _2622 June 30th Earth Standard Calendar, Luke Sparrow with elements of the 3_ _rd_ _armored Division, Squad 7 preparing to assault the city, outskirts of Vasel, 11:00 am._

The OAG campaign of shock and awe had been methodical and ruthless after the breakout from the beachhead. The droid's lines were overwhelmed before they could be set up. With the new SA10c-Thunderbolt ground attack aircraft, the Droids never stood a chance. The SA10c-Thunderbolt was every grunts new best friend, it had 30mm plasma Vulcan minigun and could hold everything from missiles to smart-bombs. With it Luke and Kilo squad were now outside the 2nd largest city on Ryloth. Welkin Gunther, the leader of Kilo squad was a tactical genius if a bit nature lover and kind hearted, His sister Isara Gunther was and amazing mechanic who operated a tank called the _Edelweiss,_ a homemade tank that had the best amour Luke ever encountered. Alicia Melchoitt, the 2nd in command seemed all right in his opinion, while the rest of the squad was a bit hostile towards him for being a 'foreigner', the squad having come from a moon called Mistral, known for its Xenophobia. It also didn't help that the Company Commander was from the same moon and was a complete fucking idiot who couldn't plan a decent attack.

"This is their plan?" muttered Luke in disbelief.

He and the rest of the Squad had gathered next to the _Edelweiss_ and had just heard Welkin relay to them what the Army's plan was for retaking Vasel. Jack and Alicia were facing them, trying to help dissuade their worries while Welkin was looking at a large map being held in his hands. The squad heard what the plan was and to say that it was crazy would be a gross, understatement.

From what the Intelligence Division of the army found out, the town was being defended by elements of the CIS 3rd Infantry Division. They're numbers in the city totalled about one and a half thousand battle droids. They had situated five hundred troops on the Western portion of Vasel and placed the remaining thousand across the river to defend the Eastern portion of the city. The droids were being supported by about twenty tanks and a handful of other vehicles. They also had with them heavy machine guns, mortars, anti-tank cannons, mines, and tank traps.

The plan called for the OAG forces to attack the droids by entering through the main road into the city. There they would break the CIS defences and move on to the town hall. The town hall was where the enemy had set up their command post on the western side of Vasel. It stood right next to the town square which was right across from the drawbridge connecting the two halves of the city across the river. They would then cross the river and take the Western half before the droids could recover. Though the plan sounded solid on paper, the reality was much different.

From what their Intelligence Service also found out, the droids had entrenched themselves well within the city. They had expected the OAG to make their assault from the main road. So they placed most of their forces in the western half on that road. This would ensure that the OAG would be utterly destroyed or at the very least severely crippled should they attack. And if by some chance the OAG managed to make it past them, they had several surprises waiting for them. They made use of the streets to create kill zones in multiple key locations. Several main streets inside the city had been barricaded off to lure the OAG into their trap. And if the droid's position was lost they could simply raise the drawbridge, denying the enemy access to the other side of the city.

The combined Army and Marine soldiers totalled about one thousand men and women. They also had about two dozen Titan tanks. They're numbers were supposed to be slightly larger. But the loss of so many of Lieutenant Read's soldiers caused their forces to be somewhat undermanned. This only added to their already major problem regarding the defences.

And as to make matters worse, they would receive no support whatsoever from the OAG Navy Air Arm, this was because the CIS had started a bombing campaign of every Twi'lek settlement that diverted all Republic and OAG fighters to stopping the attacks. Other than that, the only other problem that the soldires had was with the plan that their superiors had drawn up.

"This isn't a plan. It's a suicide run!" bellowed Vyse.

"Are they trying to get us all killed?" questioned Aika.

Alicia could see how upset the squad members were. She could see exactly why. The plan that Company Commander Damon came up with was more likely to get everyone killed than allow them to retake Vasel from the CIS. If they were going to win this battle, then they would have to find an alternate way into the city. One that wouldn't lead them into a hailstorm of death.

"I understand that you guys are upset-" spoke Alicia before she was interrupted by Edy.

"Upset? Darling, _upset_ doesn't even begin to cover it," yelled Edy.

"I'm inclined to agree with her," noted Luke "We had suicide missions in the Special forces that had better odds than this. Fighting insurgents was one thing. But fighting the CIS is a whole different level of tough"

Luke had done similar missions during his service Mimban. During the war, the CIS outnumbered the Marines 3 to 1, just like how the CIS outnumbered them right now. Luke and his men would often have to go on missions against overwhelming odds in order to defend a recently liberated town or taking a heavily fortified position. Though the odds were always against them, Luke always found a way around it and managed to lead his men to victory. But there were differences between then and now.

"There has to be a way into Vasel without getting ourselves killed in the process," suggested Coby. Just after he said that, Welkin took his eyes off the map and announced "And I think I just found our way in." Everyone looked at him with surprise. They wanted to know how exactly he managed to find a way around the droid's formidable defences.

Welkin laid the map on a large wooden crate in front of them for all to see. The map showed the entire Western half of Vasel. It included all of the major buildings, the surrounding terrain, and all the possible routes into the city. The map was marked with a black pencil where the droids had built defences. As their Intel reported, it seemed that most of the droids were situated on the Western entrance into Vasel. There were also smaller little defensive redoubts deeper inside with the largest redoubt placed around the town hall. Even on paper the droid defences seemed scary. Welkin pointed to an area set at the southern outskirts and then began about explaining his plan.

"This is an old map of the city. It shows that there is a small side road that leads into the city from the south. The road is still there, however there is a large and tall line of thick hedgerows covering the road and extending eastward straight to the river, and westward towards the small forest. If we break through the hedgerow, we can enter the city, bypass the enemy, and head straight for their command centre. All of this while coming from the one place they won't expect us to enter," he explained thoroughly.

Karl looked at him puzzled. She asked him while scratching her head "Breaking through the hedgerow? Is that even possible?"

"Not likely," explained Nadine "Hedgerows here are thick and pretty strong. And our tanks don't have the strength to break through."

"The Army's tanks no. But it's possible with the _Edelweiss_ ," corrected Isara.

"She's right. I've heard about what this tank did at Bruhl. If anything can break through that hunk of shrubs, it's that thing," supported Salinas. Salinas always had a thing for tanks. And the _Edelweiss_ was by far the best tank he had ever seen. And he was just itching to see this thing again.

"And the one thing that the clankers have right is this. Your Generals are total idiots. They know the exact area where we'll attack. But the one thing they don't expect is being attacked from the one place that they think is unlikely. And that gives us an advantage," added Luke.

After Luke finished his comment, Rosie let out a light scoff. Welkin noticed her and asked "Is there a problem here Rosie?"

Rosie raised her eyebrow upon noticing that her called her by name instead of using her rank. "What? Not going to call me Corporal Stark?" she asked.

"I prefer being informal with my squad mates. Helps bring down the barriers," he explained.

Rosie was left momentarily stunned. She hadn't expected the kid to be so informal. He certainly wasn't what she expected from someone who came from a military family. Nether less, she ignored how stunned she was and set about explaining what was on her mind.

"Well let me just say this. This whole plan: I don't like it. How do you know this is going to work? What happens if your little toy gets stuck in the hedgerows? Or what happens if the clankers have defences set up on the other side? Explain that then," she asked with some anger in her voice.

Welkin said nothing for a short while. Instead he surveyed the members of his squad for a few second before finally breaking his silence and pointing out "I know this is going to work. And I know this for several reasons. One: I studied Natural Science at the university. I know plants and animals better than anyone here. The second reason is because this is one thing our enemy won't expect"

The squad now looked at him, getting intrigued by what he was telling them. They didn't know where this was heading, but for some mysterious reason they wanted to continue listening.

"Our enemy is strong, stronger than any enemy we have ever faced before. But for all their strength they have the same amount of arrogance. They think that they've won this battle. That we can't fight back. But they are wrong. They know where we'll attack, but they don't expect us to have any sense as to hit them from the flank. Furthermore, they wouldn't expect us to do anything as audacious as what I've explained to you. This is why we'll succeed. This is why we will win today," said Welkin with a sense of fire and passion within his voice He took another good look at his troops and asked them one final question. "So what do you think, will we win?"

His answer was given when the whole squad shouted unanimously "Yes sir!"

And with that, Kilo Squad hurried to gather the gear they would need in order to execute Welkin's plan.

 _Outskirts of Vasel_

 _1130 hours (11:30 am)_

The OAG forces were hidden at the edge of the forest, just within 200 meters from the town itself. They waited silently, hiding behind the bushes, trees, and rocks as they awaited word to start the attack. Faldio hid behind a bush next to Lieutenant Read as both of them surveyed the area before them. The land was mostly flat grassland with some scattered cover consisting of large rocks, trees, bushes, small ridges, and the remains of a low stone wall. Finally, there was the paved road that ran straight into the city.

The droids were situated right where the road first connects to the city. There were about five AATs spread out across the line. The droids dug a long trench line that seemed to stretch along the entire perimeter of the town. The trenches were filled with droids, weapons pointed straight at the forest as they waited for the OAG to start their attack. Some of the houses also appeared to have machine gun teams set up inside on the top levels. This would give them extra protection as well as a good vantage point in order to mow down the enemy attackers. And where there are machine gun teams, there will undoubtedly be snipers as well. Finally, the droids had placed tank traps behind their tanks, blocking the Titan tanks from access to Vasel. So before they could bring in their armor, their Engineers would have to remove these infernal contraptions.

Knowing that the time for the charge was drawing near, Read took a look around her to see if all of their men were in position. Each of them were exactly where they were supposed to be. But just as she finished sizing up their forces, she noticed something was missing. She felt like she knew exactly what it was, but for some reason she couldn't put her finger on it. _Something's wrong here, but what?_ she thought. Then it suddenly hit her like a ton of bricks. Welkin and Kilo Squad were nowhere to be found.

To find some answers she nudged Faldio and asked "Hey, where's Gunther?"

Faldio look around and realized what she was asking him. But before he could respond, he could hear Captain Varrot shouting from behind them. "Everyone get ready, the operation is about to begin," she announced. The air was now filled with cocking of weapons and the loading of magazines as the Marine and Army forces made their last minute preparations. While they were doing that, Varrot put a hand to her helmet to her helmet comm. Once all of the noise had finally stopped.

" _commence operation!"_

The OAG emerged from their positions in the forest. With a loud and defiant battle cry, they charged at the droid lines with all their might and as fast as their legs could run. Several of their tanks soon emerged after them. They adjusted their speed so that they wouldn't outrun the infantry but could still keep up with them. From the droid lines, they watched as the humans drew closer, waiting for the right moment to open fire. When the men had already advanced fifty meters towards their positions, the AAT's fired their cannons with a series of resounding booms. Two of their shells missed and exploded harmlessly upon impact with the ground. Another two shells struck the ground as well, with several servicemen killed from the shockwave of the blast the shell exploded. The final shell, made contact with one of the tanks. It struck the tank's turret but ricochets off.

As the Marines drew closer, one of their men stepped on a small metallic device sticking out of the ground. The moment that he took his foot off, the device shot up into the air revealing itself to be a small cylindrical canister. Once that canister was five feet into the air, it detonated, sending waves of shrapnel into anyone close enough to the explosion. This continued for several seconds as over two dozen more of these devices were unknowingly launched into the air by an unsuspecting boot tread.

These were S-Mines, more commonly known as 'Bouncing Betties' to the OAG. These were the standard CIS anti-personnel mine in service. These were one of the more feared weapons that the CIS created. They were designed to be launched into the air once they were triggered. And once the mine reached a height of five feet, it would detonate, and send its payload of shrapnel against any enemy infantry near it. And these mines caused a great toll on the OAG forces.

The shrapnel cut into their bodies, carving themselves deep into their flesh and destroying their insides. Some were lucky as they died instantly due to their close proximity from the blast. Others were not so lucky. Those that were farther from the blast were not killed, but the shrapnel caused grave wounds, the shrapnel entering through the joints of the armour. They fell to the ground, screaming and crying in agony as they writhed on the ground from the unbearable pain. Marines that were passing right next to them grabbed them by their fabric hand hold on the back of the armour and pulled them to cover behind the ridges for their safety. The then ran back towards the droids while the medics stayed behind with the wounded to ease their suffering and heal their wounds.

Despite these obstacles, the Marines continued to charge. Undaunted by the fire from the CIS tanks, they only stopped their charged when the cannon fire was joined by the rattling of machine guns and the loud bangs from their rifles. The Marines broke their charge and ran for the nearest cover that they could find. They had managed to reach within 50 meters from the droid lines, and were now engaging the enemy with small arms fire. The droids fired on them from both the trenches and from the houses through the windows and door frames while the Marines fired from behind tree trunks, stone walls, and ridges.

The CIS tanks continued to fire at the OAG tanks, keeping them pinned down behind the ridges. Whenever the chance would present itself, the OAG tanks would peak out of cover and fire a shot at the enemy and quickly fall back. They had to fire quickly before the droids could reload, their shots tended to miss the intended target. Two shots managed to pierce the frontal armour causing two fireballs to engulf the two AATs.

Faldio and Read took cover behind one of these ridges along with several Marines and fired upon any enemy foolish enough to stick their heads out of cover. Faldio took aim with his AC-160 rifle at a droid armed with a blaster rifle in the trenches and fired twice. The first shot missed, striking the ground while the second shot buried itself inside the droid's head as he fell backwards, disappearing back into the trench. Read used her AC-30 carbine gun and fired on a droid hiding in a doorway armed with a blaster rifle, emptying her entire magazine as she riddled its body with plasma.

As they both ducked back into cover to reload, Read reminded Faldio "Where the hell is Gunther? We could use his tank right about now"

"I don't know. But I know he can't be far," he answered. Suddenly a tank shell hit the ground directly in front of their cover, sending dirt and debris high into the air, some of them falling down upon them. On instinct they ducked their heads and covered them with their hands. As the last of the dirt settled down, they saw Captain Varrot accompanied by two soldiers running towards their position. When Varrot approached them she knelt down as to use the ridge to protect herself from the enemy fire.

"Lieutenant Read, status report," ordered Varrot.

"Looks like Intel was right. These bastards were definitely ready for us. I don't know if we'll be able to so much step foot in Vasel," she reported back. Right now, the offensive had halted just outside the city. And without any kind of support, it seemed unlikely that they would be able to advance any further without their entire force getting annihilated. Varrot suspected that this might happen. She knew that this plan was doomed to failure from the moment she read it. However, they still had Lieutenant Welkin and the _Edelweiss_. With them they still had a chance to win.

"Lieutenant Faldio. Get Lieutenant Gunther and his squad up at the front. Use their armor to take out the tanks," she suggested, in an attempt to turn the tide of the battle.

Faldio and Read looked at each other with a look like something was wrong, which there was. Varrot noticed it and asked sternly "Is there something I should know?"

The two of them looked back at Varrot with the same look on their face. A few seconds later Read admitted shyly "Um, we can't find him."

"What do you mean 'you can't find him'?" she asked Read with a mixture of surprise and anger in her voice. She didn't think that Gunther would be the type to suddenly disappear under her watch.

Faldio clarified "What she means is that we don't know where he or his squad is right now"

Varrot looked over to Faldio's left to see a Regular Engineer behind their cover carrying a large radio on his back. "You private, what's your name?" she asked him. The soldier turned to Varrot upon hearing her call out for him and answered her "Private Michael Stark, First Company,"

After his response she ordered him "Get on that radio and contact Lieutenant Gunther. I want to know where the hell he is right now."

 _Southern Outskirts of Vasel_

Kilo Squad had gathered right next to the hedgerow that blocked their southern entrance into Vasel. They were prepped and ready for the fight, with their weapons loaded and their gear at hand and ready to go. Welkin and Isara were inside the _Edelweiss_ , backing it up so that they could take out the hedgerow with one fast blow. Welkin had ordered the squad to rush through the opening in the hedgerow immediately after the Edelweiss had passed through. As the _Edelweiss_ was preparing to burst through the hedgerow, Luke nudged Alicia's arm and said "I bet you twenty bucks that this plan actually works"

Alicia looked at him bewildered and questioned "We're about to start an operation and you want to make a bet with me?"

Luke just simply shrugged his shoulders and replied "I got nothing better to do"

Alicia simply let out a sigh and rolled her eyes before giving in and saying "Alright, twenty bucks if this goes well"

They then turned their heads looking towards the _Edelweiss_. Welkin and Isara had moved the tank fifty meters away from the hedgerow. This is to make sure that the Edelweiss had a good chance to build the necessary momentum in order to reach its top speed that would enable it to successfully breach through the hedgerow and create a pathway for the rest of the squad to pass through. Once that was done they would move on to the enemy command centre and enact the next stage of Welkin's plan.

Inside the _Edelweiss_ Welkin sat inside the turret eyeing the hedgerow through the main cannons sights. The squad were lined up along the hedgerow on both sides with them leaving a space between them large enough for the tank to pass through. Welkin smiled a little bit seeing how well everything was going so far. Now he was simply hoping that nothing unexpected would happen and jeopardize the safety of his squad.

Isara was checking the dials and switches to see that everything was in place and that there were no problems, not that she was expecting any. Ever since she was old enough to handle a wrench she had taken a great deal of time and hard work into keeping the _Edelweiss_ in ready condition. She was very meticulous with her work. Every socket, every dial, every square inch of the _Edelweiss_ she poured her heart and soul into maintaining it. This tank was her pride and joy, and she would always take great care of it. Once she was finished she took a few moments to stare at her handy work.

She was brought back to reality at the sound of her brother's voice. "We ready to go Is?" he asked her.

She looked up to him and replied back "Roger. The _Edelweiss_ is ready to go"

Welkin gave her a slight nod and said "Alright then. Full speed ahead Is. We got a battle to win"

Isara immediately took the wheel of the _Edelweiss_ and hit the gas pedal as hard as she could. The tank lunged forward, gaining speed with every few seconds. Isara perfectly aimed the vehicle within the gap between the squad members. About a dozen meters from the impact point, the _Edelweiss_ had managed to reach its top speed of 60 kilometers an hour. When the vehicle hit the hedgerow, the shrubs and branches that made it cracked and gave way instantly, allowing the _Edelweiss_ to pass through the hedgerow perfectly unhindered. It rolled forward for a little bit until it came to a grinding halt, Vasel, and a road that led directly into it, just a few feet in front of them. The rest of Kilo Squad took advantage of the opening that Welkin created and flooded through, taking up positions around the _Edelweiss_ and behind some of the buildings in front of them.

Once the squad had regrouped on the other side of the hedgerow, Welkin opened the turret hatch and stood through it in order to command his squad directly. Now that they had cleared the hedgerow, they now had a clear shot towards the town hall. But just as Welkin was about to order his squad to move forward, one of his Engineers, Karl Landzaat, stopped and informed him "Lieutenant, Captain Varrot's contacting us. She wants to talk to you."

 _That's probably because she knows that we're gone,_ he thought. When Welkin took his squad to execute the plan, he kind of left the Captain out of the loop. Mostly because he didn't think that she would approve of it. So when the time came to do the plan, they moved southward while the rest of the main force wasn't looking. He had hoped that she wouldn't notice, but Karl's words just shattered that hope. Welkin knew that he couldn't just ignore her trying to contact them, so he had no choice but to accept the call and try to convince her that this would work. He signalled Karl to hand over the radio, which he did. Welkin then grabbed the phone handle attached to it and answered "This is Lieutenant Gunther of Kilo Squad . Is there a problem Captain?"

 _"Lieutenant, 'a problem' would be putting it lightly,"_ said a very irritated Varrot. " _Where are you and what are you doing? We need you here to help breach the line,"_ she informed him.

"Ma'am, we're south of your position. About to enter Vasel from the south and make towards the enemy command center," he reported in the most straightforward way he could.

There was a moment of silence before Varrot asked _"South? How did you manage to get past the Droids?"_

"Ma'am, I don't think now's the time to discuss this. My squad is in position to hit the heart of the enemy. We can bring this battle to an end right now. Please, let us do this," he pleaded, trying to get her to allow their plan.

There was another moment of silence that lasted a bit longer than before. It seemed to go on forever as Welkin waited for a response, hoping that it wasn't a no. Then on the other end he heard Varrot's voice speak once more " _Alright then, do what you have to do. We'll keep the enemy distracted so that you can proceed. Take out the command center and push them back. But remember, you and me are going to have a talk when this is over"_

Relieved that they had been given permission to carry out their plan, Welkin ended the call saying "Roger that Captain. And good luck out there" After he handed back the radio beck to Karl, he turned to his men and ordered "The enemy is ahead. Take out their center of operations, and this fight is won. Kilo Squad , move out!" He then signaled with his hand to move forward and everyone followed the _Edelweiss_ as it led them through the streets of Vasel.

Kilo Squad moves swiftly through the streets of Vasel. Advancing cautiously to avoid being ambushed. So far they hadn't come upon any CIS forces within the city. Even when they would pass by the redoubts the droids had set up if they needed to fall back. Some of the older members of the squad began to think that they were walking right into a trap, while the others just couldn't believe how good their luck was. They continued to advance through the city until they reached a line of buildings that separated them from the town hall. In order to see what they would be up against, Welkin set several Scouts into one of the buildings to see what the droids had defending the town hall.

When they returned they laid out the situation before them. Past the houses, there was a large courtyard between them and the front of the town hall. There was also another courtyard behind the building that separated it from the bridge. In the courtyard in front of them, the droids had a single platoon of thirty men along with a few spider droids. They had set up sandbags along various points in the courtyard for cover and the spider droids were all stationed in a single line. They had no heavy weapons with them, at least none that they could see. They couldn't tell what was inside the town hall or in the courtyard behind it, but it was most likely that there were some kind of enemy force in both of them.

"I don't get it. Normally, the droids would have a bigger force defending their HQ. How come there's only a platoon here?" wondered Largo, putting his knowledge of droid tactics from previous battles to use.

"Maybe what Welkin said was true. They're overconfident," suggested Luke as he pointed to Welkin, who was still standing through the _Edelweiss's_ turret hatch, and was looking at the map of Vasel to figure out a strategy on how to take the town hall.

"Maybe. But I wouldn't count on what the 'Lieutenant' says very much," stated Largo, saying the word _Lieutenant_ with a hint of distaste.

Luke looked up at Largo and asked "You don't think much of him do you?"

Largo just stood there, not even turning to look at Luke. He then said "Kid, I went through four years of hell fighting the Insurrectionists in the War. My friends and I crawled through dirt, mud, and sand to kick them out of Tempest Sector. Now here I am almost twenty years, doing the exact same thing, but now taking orders from some other kid who knows nothing about what we went through"

Seeing that Largo seemed a little upset by his question. Luke just looked away from him and replied "Okay, never mind. Just forget I asked"

After he had said that, the two of them looked at Welkin who was ready to give them their orders. He yelled loud enough for everyone to hear but not loud enough so that the droids couldn't hear them. "Alright, here's what we'll do. We'll split into two groups and attack the enemy from the two entryways into the square. I'll lead one group with the _Edelweiss_ while Sparrow here leads the other group. We'll attack simultaneously, as to catch the droids off guard. Expect the enemy to reinforce their position with their forces from the town hall and in the other square. If we work together, stay in cover, and keep our heads down, we can succeed here," he said.

"Those spiders are going to be a problem. If we don't take them out quickly, they'll tear us apart," noted Wavy.

"That's why we're here," explained Hector "We'll take out those tin cans in one shot."

"Exactly" supported Welkin "We'll have Snipers and engineers set up inside the buildings here. Snipers, target the enemy officers while the engineers will help take out the armour along with their defences if they get the chance. When I give you the signal. You fire on the enemy and the rest of us will begin out assault. After we begin our attack you can exit the building and join us on the ground"

"No offense, but I prefer to stay away from the front," mentioned Cezary.

"Well I'd prefer to be back home in the UK thousand lightyears from here instead of fighting a war but here I am so shut up and do your job jackass," said Luke in a clever comeback which some of the squad member laughed at.

"Just out of curiosity, what is the signal anyway?" asked Elysee.

Welkin simply smiled and answered with "You'll know when you see it." He then turned to his men and finished with a final order. "Alright then, Snipers and engineers take up positions. Everyone else split up into two groups and follow either me and Sparrow onto our designated points. Alright everybody, let's move!"

Kilo Squad was now in position to attack the droids. Largo along with the engineers and Snipers had taken up positions in the buildings near the windows. They were hiding from the as to keep themselves from being spotted too early and ruin the attack. Meanwhile, the rest of the squad had split into two groups in order to attack the droids from the two opposing sides of the courtyard. Welkin's group was situated near the left entrance into the square while Luke's was positioned at the right entrance. They too were hiding behind the buildings to avoid being spotted. The two of them had divided up the marines to help form their strike forces. The two of them would lead their strike groups down opposing sides of the courtyard with the exception of the _Edelweiss_ taking the lead from the centre.

The people that made up Luke's unit had Aika Thompson, Freesia York, Ted Ustinov, Melville Young, Montley Leonard, Susie Evans, Ramona Linton, Rosie, Vyse Inglebard, Salinas Milton, Jane Turner, Edy Nelson, Wendy Cheslock, and Hannes Salinger, Nadine, Homer Peron, Herbert Nielson, and Karl Landzaat. Welkin would be leading his group from the _Edelweiss_.

Before he could begin the attack, Welkin took a last quick peek at the droid forces that he was up against. The droid soldiers seemed calm, in fact they were relaxing. They didn't think that they were going to be attacked since they battle was being waged far from here on the outskirts of the city. They probably thought that they were simply just going to relax here for the rest of the battle. And probably for the rest of the war as well.

He then turned his gaze towards the right entrance. And from behind one of the buildings he could faintly see Sparrow signalling to him that he and his men were in position. He put on his radio headset to talk to the rest of his forces and see if everyone else was ready.

"Alright here's what's going to happen. When Sparrow's men give the signal, the engineers will take out their armour and defences while the Snipers eliminate a few of their officers. Our two groups will attack simultaneously to ensure we use this surprise attack to our fullest. Everyone, take out as many soldiers as you can before they can organize a defence," he informed them.

From the static in his headphones he could hear Rosie's voice speak into it from the radio. _"Leave the offense to us,"_ she reminded Welkin.

Welkin confirmed with "Alright then. Thanks for the reminder. Once the droids recover they'll likely bring in reinforcements from nearby. Be ready for anything, including tanks"

Once again his headset crackled to life with Largo's voice coming out of it this time. _"How long do you think I've been an anti-tank man?"_ he asked him _"A couple of AATs ain't no sweat,"_ he added.

"That's the spirit Largo," encouraged Welkin with a grin on his face. "Now get ready to fire. Be ready to attack the moment Sparrow's group gives the signal," he notified.

From inside the houses overlooking the courtyard, the engineers and Snipers began readying themselves for the attack. The Engineers primed their SMAWs while hiding near the windows on the ground floor, ready to attack once the signal was given. These would no doubt come in handy during the fighting ahead.

The Snipers took position in the building directly opposite from the front of the town hall. They positioned themselves on the top floor, giving them a clear vantage point over the courtyard, enabling them to spot multiple targets. They placed themselves on opposite ends of the buildings in groups of two, as it was customary for snipers to travel in pairs, though Marina quite loathed the idea due to the fact that she preferred to work alone. She and Cezary took one side while Oscar and Catherine took the other end. They were already crouching at the windows, staying in the shadows to avoid being spotted. Their rifles barely stuck out of the windows as they looked through the scopes of their rifles, scanning the courtyard for officers and other lucrative potential targets.

Meanwhile Luke's men were finally ready to begin. After Luke finished loading a fresh magazine into his M416, he turned to Aika and asked her "Are ya ready?"

She nodded in affirmation as she showed him her rifle. She had attached a grenade launcher underneath her rifle near the muzzle. The grenade being used was the same grenade that their infantry was carrying, being inserted into a small hollow tube handle first. The device was linked to the trigger of her rifle so it allowed her to fire the grenade without firing a bullet at the same time.

Luke turned to the courtyard and pointed at a lonely parked truck.

"See that truck over there? Blast it to pieces," he ordered Aika.

Aika then took a few steps forward ahead of the group before kneeling in the middle of the road, the truck squarely in her sights. She took her rifle and raised it into the air in a steep acute angle. She waited a few moments before firing, steadying her breathing to avoid missing her target by a few mere inches because her aiming was off a few degrees. She applied slight pressure to the trigger, readying herself to launch her deadly package into the air.

Without a moment's hesitation, she pulled the trigger, launching the grenade into the air once she was one hundred percent sure that she had it right on target. The grenade flew through the air, spinning as it was glided through the air. It began its descent once it reached its maximum height. As it continued to fall to the ground, it's path for descent got it closer and closer to the truck. It landed a few feet from the truck, it's forward momentum forcing it to continue forward. It clattered forward along the stone courtyard, only stopping when it was under the truck, directly underneath where the truck's engine was located.

It laid there, completely silent, until it triggered the explosive charge inside the casing. The grenade exploded violently, causing a chain reaction with the truck. Some of the red hot shrapnel released when the grenade exploded forced itself upwards, cutting its way through the metal parts of the engine. The damage the shrapnel caused would have just made the engine useless if not for one of them carving its way into the container that carried the gas for the truck. The red hot shrapnel, combined with the gas and fumes in the tank, created a violent result. The gas ignited, resulting a violent explosion that came out of the truck. It engulfed the truck in a ball of red fire and black smoke that caused the German soldiers in the courtyard to either run for cover or turn their head to the sound of the explosion while ducking on instinct at the same time. Others that were near the truck when it was destroyed were killed instantly in the shock wave from the blast and were thrown like rag dolls across the courtyard.

Realizing that the explosion was the signal, Largo and the engineers sprung into action. They stepped into view from the windows and fired their warheads at the confused and bewildered droid forces. Largo along with Jann, Nils, and Hector fired at a line of deactivated spider droids all nicely in a row. The droids did this to help protect against anyone tampering with them. It also made them easy targets for enemy forces. They fired their warheads, each one flying through the air so fast the naked eye couldn't catch them. They hit their targets, slicing through their thin armour like a hot knife cutting through butter. Each of the Spider droids were knocked out of action as they became engulfed in a large explosion. The remaining engineers fired the warheads into the courtyard itself, hoping to knock out any defences or droids caught in the blast. Two of the warheads missed completely, exploding harmlessly in the courtyard. The others struck hard, some obliterating lines of sandbags as the rest killed groups of droids stumbling around, trying to figure out what was going on.

Then the Snipers came into play. During the initial carnage caused by the grenade fired by Aika and the devastation created by the engineers, they had been keeping tabs on where the enemy officers were as events were playing out. They never left their sight as the crosshairs of their sniper rifles continued to keep a calm and steady bead on their heads. After the explosions had subsided, the four snipers fired their weapons in harmonious sync, knocking out four droid commanders simultaneously with a single, fatal shot to the head. They fell to the ground, slumped over the pavement, dead as door nails.

Now that there was just enough carnage and confusion going on, the time had come to launch the full force of the attack. Welkin climbed back into the turret and quickly readied the main cannon for battle. Then he yelled into his radio headset as loud and clear as he could "Kilo Squad. move out!" And with that the Edelweiss moved forward at full speed followed closely behind by Alicia and the other Squad 7 members. Seeing them move out, Luke's group followed suit and moved out towards the droid defences.

For the Droids in the courtyard, they stood around, still trying to figure out what had just happened. Their light vehicles had just been destroyed along with several of their defences and killing almost two dozen of their people. Had they just been attacked? It was most likely, but by what? OAG soldiers? No, the OAG were all on the outskirts trying to desperately break through their lines. Could it have been enemy artillery? That was more likely, but how? The hits were seemingly all too accurate to be artillery. They would have needed a spotter in order to convey the coordinates for where the artillery should strike. And that would of been more improbable due to the fact that the droids had complete control of Vasel. What the hell had just happened?

As they stumbled around, licking their wounds and scratching their heads, a single droid closest to the two entrances into the courtyard began hearing a strange noise coming from one of those entrances. He quickly grabbed its rifle and began slowly walking towards the entrance to investigate. As it drew closer, he could hear the strange noise grow louder and louder. It was as if whatever contraption was causing it was drawing closer and closer to the courtyard at an amazingly fast speed. The sound was vaguely familiar to the soldier, as he had remembered hearing something like that somewhere. it suddenly hit him as he remembered what it was. That was the sound of a tank. Maybe it was one of their AAT coming back to help investigate what had happened.

Its thoughts soon turned to shock and fear as he saw the tank coming around the corner. It wasn't one of their tanks. The color scheme was that of OAG tanks and the design was similar to their tanks but it wasn't a model he had ever seen before. When he saw soldiers dressed in armour with the same colour following behind the tank as well as from the other entrance into the courtyard he suddenly realized what was going on. They were being attacked by the OAG marines.

In complete panic he ran to his comrades as fast as he could, screaming at the top of his lungs and arms flailing wildly in the air. Trying to warn his comrades he yelled as loud as he could "They've broken through! The OAG are here!" Its fellow soldiers turned towards him to see what all the commotion was about. Only after a second after laying eyes on him did they notice the Marines charging behind him. The rest of them immediately fell into panic as they wildly raced around to try and organize some kind of a response to what was happening. Most ran towards the town hall to take position behind the sandbags. A few stayed behind and fired their weapons at the _Edelweiss_ in a vain attempt to try and hold them.

The lasers ricocheted off the _Edelweiss's_ hull like rocks thrown upon a building. It's coaxial plasma machine gun unleashing a long burst at the droids. The plasma buzzed all around them due to the _Edelweiss's_ aim being off a little due to it charging forward. But little by little they were all struck down by the machine guns withering fire.

Kilo Squad continued their advance up until they reached the wrecks of the truck and the spider droids, still smoking from the recent bombardment. The _Edelweiss_ stood between the wrecks, angling itself into a wall to protect the squad from enemy shots. The squad took cover behind the _Edelweiss_ along with finding cover behind the wrecks and a few lines of sandbags situated in front of them. By this time the droids had gotten their bearings together and had establish a small defensive line. The remaining droids in the courtyard had taken positions behind the few sandbags that were directly in front of the town hall. And the droids that were already inside the town hall had broken the windows with their weapons and were now taking pot shots at Kilo Squad from the windows on all five floors. Kilo Squad responded in the same manner, firing at any droids crazy enough to stick their heads up.

Things were that way for a while until the droids set up a machine gun on a second-story window just above the front entrance to the town hall. They had set it up on a bipod and fired upon the marines from above. It currently had set its sights on Alicia, Rosie, and Largo who were being pinned behind a wall of sandbags. Using it as a shield to protect themselves from the immense amount of laser that the weapon was firing at them.

"Goddammit! How did the droids get this much firepower?" yelled Rosie as she tried to wrap her head around what was going on.

Alicia looked at Largo and asked him "Was it like this during the War?" After she said that, a few lasers hit the sandbags near her head, causing her to flinch and squeal a little in surprise. Largo managed to answer her question with "Yeah. Though they seemed to have improved their arsenal since then"

"One thing you can trust about the droids," announced Luke who was firing his M416 from cover behind one of the wrecked spider droids. The trio looked towards him as he fired another burst from his gun at one of the droids firing from the windows. He then ducked back into cover before finishing with "They're really good at designing things to kill people with"

"Well, we're going to need to figure out a way to deal with them so we can take the building," informed Largo taking into account their current situation.

"Leave that to me," shouted Welkin. Now they all looked to see him out of the turret hatch. He was manning the plasma machine gun mounted on the turret to try and give suppressive fire for his troops. His plasma either pierced the thin walls travelling into the interior of the building or striking the bodies of droids firing from the windows or from behind the sandbags. He had managed to kill about ten with this method so far, but he had an idea as to how to end this much quicker. Letting go of the heavy machine gun, he climbed back into the _Edelweiss_ and closed the hatch leading into the tank.

For a few second the four of them wondered what the hell he was going to do next. Suddenly, the _Edelweiss_ began to aim it's cannon straight at the front door of the town hall. A few seconds after pinpointing where the shell would hit, the _Edelweiss_ fired its main gun, the shell striking right in the middle of the door. The explosion from the shot was so massive that it created a massive hole in the front of the building. Almost the entire front portion of the town hall had disintegrated into thousands of pieces of rubble that flew all around them through the air. The droids that were on the street were pummelled from sheer force of the rubble colliding with their bodies. The members of Kilo Squad however managed to avoid it by quickly using their covered to shield themselves from the blast. When the dust from the explosion settled and the rubble stopped falling, they peaked their heads back out and saw the devastation the shell created.

Rubble littered throughout the ground in front of them, with heaps of it surrounding the building. The droids in the courtyard laid dead upon the ground, their bodies bruised and bloody from the blunt force trauma given to them by the rubble. Flying gently through the air were hundreds of shreds of burnt paper. These must have come from documents littered all over the building. They then saw that at ground zero of where the shell hit, the inside of the town hall was so demolished that only a few of the supports along with the rear wall remained standing. It was also safe to assume that most of the Germans hiding inside the building were killed, wounded, or dazed from the impact.

"High-explosive Plasma shells," noted Luke "Always good for demolishing buildings"

"Tee hee hee. Kaboom," mumbled Cheslock who was standing beside Luke, staring at awe at the devastation the shell created with a large grin on her face.

Alicia peaked her head from cover to survey the damage. She judged that from the scale and impact, that it was probably safe to try and see if the building was secure. She looked to Sparrow and ordered "Gather some men and follow me. We're going to see if anyone survived that"

Luke nodded in agreement before looking at the solder next to him and yelled "You buggers heard the lady. Get moving!"

Alicia vaulted over the sandbags followed closely by Luke along with several other Squad members. The rest of the squad stayed behind, watching as their comrades moved forward to confirm whether the building was clear. They advanced steadily and cautiously over the rubble and slain bodies of their enemies. They had their weapons drawn and ready, scanning the remains of the building for any droids who survived.

Just as they were about to enter what remained of the building, one of them spotted a hand sticking out from behind the ruins of a wall holding a torn piece of white cloth. They immediately froze where they stood as the figure came out from hiding, revealing itself as a female Twi'lek soldier. She appeared to be the same age as Alicia, except slightly taller. Her clothes were covered with dust and torn in several different places. She appeared to have a large cut on her leg and blood was very slowly coming out from it. Her face held the expression of a person defeated and without hope. She slowly limped towards kilo Squad hands raised in the air, still holding that white cloth.

She didn't make two steps before Jane took aim with her sub-machine gun and fired a quick burst before Noce grabbed her gun by the barrel and diverted its aim away from the soldier before she could continue to fire. The burst she fired missed the soldier who has instinctively dropped to the ground to avoid being shot. The soldier then laid on the ground, quivering like a scared child while shielding her head with her arms.

Noce and Jane were still wrestling each other for her the gun before Luke got in the middle of them. He wrenched the gun from their hands and pushed the two of them away from each other. "Enough, both of you!" he shouted to the both of them. Before he could say anything more, he looked to see Welkin strolling towards them with an angry look on his face. He stopped in front of Jane and demanded "Would you like to tell me what the hell that was all about?"

Jane answered him with nothing but silence and the same angry look that she had on her face from day one. After a few seconds of nothing Welkin looked towards luke and Alicia and signaled for both of them to follow him. The three left the group and walked over to the CIS sympathizer still quivering on the ground. She looked up to see the three of them standing in front of her. Slowly she got back up on her feet, seemingly shook up from Jane trying to kill her.

Seeing how scared she was Welkin put his hands in view to show her he wasn't going to hurt her. He then stated calmly and in a soft voice "It's alright. You're going to be alright now" His words seemed to have a calming effect on her as she seemed to become a little less tense. Wanting to keep the conversation going he nudged Luke in the shoulder and told him "Ask her if she speaks any English."

Luke then relayed the question to the woman whom responded modestly with a stutter "Um...little bit." Her accent didn't sound southern-like exactly. More likely that she came from a region in Eastern Ryloth.

"Is there anyone else inside?" asked Alicia.

"Yes...yes," the Twi'lek mumbled.

"Can you tell them to come out?" she asked.

"You...not shoot? Right?" she questioned in English as best as she could. She was still a little worried that someone like Jane would shoot at them again as they exited the building.

"We won't shoot. You have my word," Welkin assured her.

The woman looked at Welkin not sure whether to believe him or not. She thought it over a few times before coming to a conclusion. From his looks and how he spoke, the young man seemed almost genuine. Maybe he meant what he was saying. With a deep sigh she turned towards the building and shouted _"Eti kella. Etum a nepas de tu"_ Then out from the wall walked out about a dozen Twi'leks soldiers. They looked like they were in the exact same condition as she did, all with their hands raised. They calmly walked out and formed a small line beside the woman.

When they were all finished lining up. Welkin look over back to the main group of Kilo Squad and ordered "Largo, Rosie. Take a few people and have these people situated. And keep Jane away from them, their prisoners of war now"

The two of them nodded and went on to gather a group to lead their new friends away. Welkin then turned over to Alicia and Luke to give them their orders. "Alicia, take Noce and Jane somewhere away from all of this. I'll deal with them later. Sparrow, take what's left of the group and search the building. I'll go and inform the Captain that we've taken the town hall via radio" They nodded in agreement and set out to follow their orders.

Welkin then left them and approached Homer and Ramsey who had just finished setting up the radio. He told them to make contact with Varrot and inform her that Kilo Squad had succeeded.

 _2622 July 1st Earth Standard Calendar, Luke Sparrow with elements of the 3_ _rd_ _armored Division, Kilo Squad Western half of Vasel, 10:30 am._

 _Boom!_ An AAT tank fired another shot at the Marines defending the Western bridgehead. The shell let out a kind of shriek as it blazed through the air. The shell was intended for one of the _Edelweiss_ but the droid gunner was probably off his aim just a little bit because the shell instead struck the ground mere inches from the tank's treads. The force of the explosion caused the tank to rock a bit, probably shaking up the crew inside a little bit too. It fired back at the droids, but it had the same result as the last one. The shell struck the sloped frontal armour, deflecting the shot upward in the air with its impact causing very little damage to the tank itself.

The battle over the bridge itself had become somewhat of a stalemate early on. The Marines and took cover behind the piles of rubble and some of the tank ruins that were scattered across the bridge. Leftovers from the initial Droid conquest of Vasel. The _Edelweiss_ was behind them, taking pot shots at the advancing droid forces and then retreating back into cover before they would have a chance to return fire. The pathway across the bridge was very wide, about the width of four city roads lined up side by side. The droids placed four AAT tanks in a line to act as the spearhead of their big push. They acted as a shield for the infantry advancing behind them, who continually peaked out of cover to fire on the OAG infantry. Their tanks were advancing at a snail's pace.

Luke fired a burst from his M416 at the droids. From this distance Luke had to set up the M416 on its bipod that came out of its grip, allowing him to steady my aim. Everything seems to be going to hell. he knew he'd been in worst situations but he couldn't see a way to beat this. If the droids kept this up, they'll be rolling over out corpses within half an hour. He looked again down the sights of his weapon and line up on a lone droid that's been firing from the side of the AAT tank on the far left. Slowing my breathing, I line up the sights directly with his head. With a simple tug on the trigger, the M416 empties the last of its ammo on the droid. He appears to stumble a bit before finally falling hard upon the ground.

A soft smile appeared on his face. Suddenly he saw one of the droid tanks begin to line up another shot. And from the direction it was traversing and the angle of the gun, it looks like it was going to be aiming right for him. Instinctively, he rolled over and crouch behind the pile of bricks, dust, and other debris that he was using for cover. He didn't think that this will offer much protection against a tank shell, but it was better than standing out in the open with a target painted on his chest. For some reason he got an idea, he peaked his head out to see the tank fire it's salvo. he waited for the blast, knowing it was aimed for him. But instead, the shot flies over his head, so close that he could feel the air ripples through over his helmet and the whistling as it flew by.

He looked back behind him to see a group of Marines from Bravo Squad and the rubble they were using from cover destroyed in the hit from the tank shell. It must have been a high explosive shot because the size of the blast was immense. Rubble flew everywhere with much of it being shot upwards into the air. He tucked my head in to his chest and clenched his helmet to his head as the rubble came crashing back towards the ground. A few of them hit him on their way down, but it didn't do much to wound him. Just pound him up a little bit.

Once the falling rubble had subsided, he raised his head to take a look at the position that was hit. He could only gaze on emotionlessly at what he was seeing. Their cover had been completely torn apart. Whatever soldiers that were there were either vaporized by the blast or laid across the battlefield. A few were already dead, with some of their limbs separated completely from their bodies and strewn across the ground as if they were rag dolls. Some were covered in blood, crying in agony as they writhed on the pavement like babies. Their cries silenced as machine gun laser ripped into their flesh. The cries were replaced by utter silence, and they laid upon where they died, their faces frozen with pain.

"Sir!? Sir! What do we do Sir? Sir!" these words brought Luke back to reality from his thoughts. He searched around and found himself being shaken by Private Oscar Bielert, one of their snipers. He had taken cover behind the same cover that Luke was using and noticed that he was dazing out. When he was asking him what they should do, he got nothing but a blank stare from him. Out of ideas, he grabbed him by his duster and began violently shaking him, hoping to knock him back into reality.

"Okay, okay, you can let go of me now Private," ordered Luke, now having regained control of his senses. Oscar, realizing that he was still clutching Luke's duster, let go of him and grabbed his sniper rifle that was still slung over his shoulder. "So what do we do now?" he asks, keeping his head down to avoid the incoming machine gun fire coming from the droids.

Luke looked at him puzzled with his request. "Why are you asking me? Your Lieutenant's over there," he questioned pointing at the _Edelweiss_ which had just finished firing another shot at the enemy before retreating back to cover.

"I'm not running all the way over there, dodging all these lasers flying all around me," explained Oscar. Luke took a few moments to ponder what he just said before understanding what he saying. If he tried to get to Welkin by running he would have most likely gunned down by the advancing droids. He surveyed the area around him and saw Largo and Rosie taking cover behind a large pile of rubble on the other side of the bridge. Rosie was firing a AC-160 she had managed to get her hands on while Largo had a rifle instead of the AC-30 he usually carried.

Luke knew that he had to reach them so that they could at least come up with a plan together. But he still had a small problem. The AATs that were slowly advancing towards them were still blasting away at them with cannons and machine gun fire. Now the commanders of each of those tanks were standing through the top turret hatch. Luke wasn't worried about the lasers coming from the hull and machine guns. But those guys firing away at him from on top of the turrets could hit him more accurately and were more likely to kill him.

But he had Oscar with him, and that helped give him a plan. He looked over to Oscar and told him "Use your rifle and take out one of those gunners. Once you take out one of them I'll run as fast as I can towards the next piece of cover. We keep doing this until I get to Largo and Rosie. Got it?" Oscar nodded in acknowledgment as he took his rifle and loaded a fresh clip of plasma into the magazine. He then placed the butt of his rifle against his shoulder as he looked through the scope to line up a target. From the magnifying lens he was looking through, he was lining up the crosshairs upon the machine gunner on the far left of the line of tanks. Oscar calmly steadied his breathing as to not throw off his aim, and with a slight pressure on the trigger the rifle fired a single shot that landed squarely between the gunner's eyes. The force of the impact sent him backwards before he slumped forward, disappearing behind the tank.

"Go sir, now!" yelled Oscar as he loaded the rifle for another shot. Without a moment to lose he got to his feet and dashed forward towards the first piece of cover he could see. He charged as fast as he could, trying his best to not get hit by the droid lasers whizzing by his head as the droids simply fired at what they saw as a Marine who had leaped blindly out of cover. As Luke was rushing he kept hoping that that he would be lucky enough to not be killed by his plan which seemed crazy now that he was actually doing it. When he was within a few feet of the piece of cover he instinctively leaped forward, landing on his side right behind it. He then slowly got back up, kneeling behind the pile of rubble. Luke peaked his head up and managed to catch a glimpse of Oscar sniping another gunner in the line along with a second one a few seconds later.

Once again, Luke got back on his feet and ran towards the next piece of cover, this time it was the next one that Largo and Rosie were behind. He had managed to make within a few yards of them before an explosion directly behind him sent him flying forward, landing only directly behind the two. In his mad rush towards the two, he failed to notice one of the AAT taking aim at him with its main cannon. The turret of the tank slowly traversed as it tried to keep up with the running Brit. Thankfully it fired a second too late, landing directly behind Luke. The blast managed to daze him and give him a few cuts and bruises, but not kill him. If The tank had managed to fire at the right moment, Luke would have been most likely killed in the ensuing blast.

As for Luke himself, he was slowly getting back on his feet due to being knocked down from the sudden explosion.

"Hey, Kid. You still breathing?" came the gruff voice of Largo Potter as he helped the dazed Luke back onto his feet. He then guided him towards their cover and laid him down beside it, just between the two of them, making sure he was out of the way of enemy fire. He and Rosie may not like him that much but he was still their squad mate so they were at least worried about his wellbeing. Sure enough, Luke managed to let out with a groan "I've been hit worse than that. And will you stop calling me 'Kid'? I have a name"

"Hah. I think we can take that as a yes," laughed Rosie with a slight smile forming on her lips. She handed Luke his weapon which he accepted. She then popped out of cover to fire another burst of plasma but immediately ducked back down when a few droids opened up on her with their blaster Rifles. As she got back down she mumbled to Largo "Shit. We can't stop these guys. There's too many of them"

"We have to hold out," bellowed Largo "We can't let these bastards reach the other side of the river. Keep fighting."

"Easy for you to say," mentioned Luke as the three of them simultaneously popped out of cover and fired their weapons at the advancing Droids.

 _Welkin's POV_

I fired another shot from the _Edelweiss's_ main cannon and Isara moved the tank back into cover. The same thing that we had been doing for the past half hour. So far we had managed to take out a few of their infantry, but their tanks were still operational. The constant stream of fire coming from their cannons were keeping us pined behind the two large stone pillars at the mouth of our bridgehead. Blast it! If we don't do something soon, we're going to be overrun. The _Edelweiss's_ armor is strong, but I doubt that it's tough enough to withstand continuous firepower from four AAT. Looks like I'll have to get out in the field for this one.

Without a second thought, I ripped off my radio headset. I looked to Isara and said "I'm going out there. Keep the _Edelweiss_ out of harm's way until I come back"

She responded back to me with "You got it Welks"

I grabbed my holster with the pistol still inside along with some ammunition for it before attaching it to my belt. I opened the tank hatch leading outside, climbed out of the tank and leaped off of it. I began to run towards the front lines where my squad was fighting. I charged through the hail of lasers, moving from cover to cover as I tried to keep myself alive long enough to get to my men. After moving through several lines of Marine squads, I managed to see that my Squad was at the front of the line along with Bravo Squad, both bearing the brunt of the droid onslaught. Faldio and Alicia were firing from behind the pile of rubble in the middle while Sparrow, Rosie, and Largo were doing the same from the right.

I was hiding behind a piece of cover behind them. I needed to get their attention so I shouted to Faldio "Hey guys!"

Faldio managed to hear me and looked back at the sound of my voice. Once he saw me, he signalled with his hand for me to advance forward. I did as he instructed and found myself crouched next to him behind the pile of rubble with my pistol in hand.

"Looks like their throwing everything they have at us," I commented.

"Yeah, no kidding. We have to think of a way to turn them around or we'll lose the bridgehead," added Faldio, peaking his head slightly out of cover to survey the German forces pressing in on them.

Faldio was right. We had to do some quick thinking if we were going to turn the tide of this battle. Following Faldio's example, I took a look at the enemy forces without peaking my head out to much as to draw their attention. Or their bullets. The four AATs were still in a line formation, pretty much blocking the entire pathway across the bridge. They were still firing away at them with their cannons and side mounted guns. They had been firing at us for half an hour with those things non-stop. It left me wondering how many rounds those things carried. And now some of the infantry were marching in front of them, right in the open, weapons drawn. The laser coming from the AATs guns were keeping us pinned down while a small squad of droids, maybe about twenty of them, were moving in front of them at the same pace. They would probably kill the Marines they would come across as they were hiding behind their cover. They would be able to eliminate the Marines defending the bridgehead, then move on to hit the main camp.

I then began thinking of a way to beat these guys. We couldn't take them in a head on charge, that'd be suicide. Mainly because we'd be mowed down before we ever got close to them. We could try and fall back to the actual entrance into the bridge and try to create a kind of killing field. No, that wouldn't work either. The sheer force of the droid assault would just simply plow through us. Ugh, how were we suppose to win? It's not like we could simply hit...them...from...behind.

Suddenly, a thought just popped into my head. I remembered hearing that the Vasel bridge has steel walkways on the sides large enough for a small car to drive through. If we could get a few soldiers onto them. They might be able to sneak past the tanks and hit them from the rear. The closer they were to their rear, the farther they would be from harm. It's the last thing the droids would expect.

I turned over to the others on my right and yelled as loud as I could over the sounds of battle "Largo! Rosie! Take a few soldiers and try to flank them! Use the walkways on the sides of bridge! See if you can get them to lay off their attack a little bit!"

"Are you crazy?! What if they see us?" shot back Rosie.

"You got a better plan Stark? If so, why don't you enlighten us? Because how can it possibly be any worse than what we're doing right now?!" mocked Luke, letting loose another burst with his M416. This only seemed to infuriate Rosie as she turned to look at him with a disgruntled look on her face. "Why don't you shut your face Brit?! And would you stop calling me Stark?!" she yelled back.

"Start calling me Sparrow, and I might consider it," he countered.

Largo, who had to listen to the whole thing decided that he had heard enough and stepped in to break up the squabble. "Alright you two! Break it up! Save some of that anger for the droids! Let's just get this job over with," he shouted.

The two of them stopped bickering for they both knew that Largo was right. So they decided to go along with the plan. Then continue their previous conversation later. Rosie and Largo looked at me and nodded, showing that they understood my orders. Before they could proceed with the plan Sparrow looked at me and asked "While they're hitting these guys from behind, what are the rest of us going to do?"

"We'll give them some suppressing fire. We keep the droids distracted on us while they work behind them. That work for you," I said. Sparrow just simply shrugged his shoulders and responded "Well I've done worse things in Delta. This can't be anything different"

"Alright then. Once we get them suppressed you two gather the group and make for the walkways on either side," I explained. The two of them once again nodded in understanding.

Wasting no time, I immediately gave the order "EVERYONE! I WANT SUPPRESIVE FIRE ON THOSE DROIDS NOW!" I shouted. Suddenly all the Marines on the bridge popped out of cover and began firing away at the droids. The droids who were standing in front of the tank were immediately cut down while the stragglers managed to make a break for it to the rear of the tanks. Now all of their attention was on us. It was exactly what we needed if Largo and Rosie were going to be successful.

 _Welkin's POV End_

Largo and Rosie, along with their small handpicked team were slowly and quietly making their way to the droid's flank via the walkways. They had taken along Karl, Oscar, Cherry, Ted, Wendy, Kevin, Theold, Yoko, and Catherine as their group to take down the droid rear. The walkway was elevated a few feet below the bridge so they made use of it by crouching down and keep their heads down so that they wouldn't be discovered early, only peaking them up slightly to see how close they were getting to the enemy lines.

When they took another peak, they saw that they were right next to the side of the AAT on the droid's left flank. At point blank range, their SMAWs would have the hitting power to pierce right through that armour like the blade of a hot knife cutting butter. Unfortunately, they realized that behind the AAT was a full company of droid infantry ready to attack at a moment's notice. Luckily they hadn't noticed them yet so they still had a chance to inflict some damage on the enemy armour before they could realize something was going on.

Luke looked behind him to the group and whispered "Alright, Roise and everyone with a gun in front. Theold and Yoko stay behind and knock out this tank" Theold and Yoko readied their SMAWs while everyone else crawled forward, leaning against the side of the bridge for cover, creating a kind of firing line. Meanwhile Theold and Yoko had finished arming their SMAWs were now aiming them at the tanks' side armour at point blank range.

"I'm sure this'll make me a hero yet," said Theold happily. Yoko simply shook her head in disbelief and scolded "Blowing up one tank doesn't make you a hero. You could take out a dozen tanks and I still wouldn't call you a hero"

"Aw, just shut it 'Granny Smith'," replied an annoyed Theold. And without another word both of them fired their SMAWs near simultaneously, both slicing through the armoured plating. The shells moved through the armour, leaving two circular holes red hot from the heat of the penetration. There were a few second where nothing happened. In fact, nothing happened after the shells went inside. Theold began to scratch his head as he wondered why nothing was happening. Finally, after a few moments of scratching and wondering he admitted "Well. That was anti-climactic"

And as if on cue, the shells explode within the tank. Smoke and fire shoot out from the hatch as well as the two holes where the shells had entered. Theold and Yoko had to duck down to avoid the fiery heat and smoke billowing from the tank. The Droids in the rear were so caught off by the explosion that many of them dived to the ground for cover, not knowing what the hell had just happened.

"Okay, I spoke too soon," commented Theold as he poked his head back up. He looked to Largo and asked him "Do you think they noticed that?". Largo just shook his head at the thought that he had just been asked a stupid question. Before he could answer, a droid who had dived to the ground caught a glimpse of him and exposed his position. He quickly got back on his feet and fired a few shots at him with his rifle. The first bullet missed which helped warn Largo to the imminent danger. He ducked behind cover as the droid kept firing. Soon, his comrades caught on to the Gallians as well and followed suit, firing their weapons at them as well.

"There's your answer jackass!" shouted Kevin before firing a burst blindly at the droids with the others following suit a few seconds later. By now the droid tanks had become aware as to what was going on. One of the AAT began to back up to deal with Rosie and Largo's group while the other two moved forward by themselves to continue annihilating the Marines. The tank that was backing up began to turn hard to the right to bring it's thick frontal armor as well as it's machine guns and the main cannon upon the small Militia group.

"Like, how are we supposed to deal with them now Rosie?" exclaimed Cherry. Ideas began to run through her mind as Rosie tried to think of ways to deal with this when a thought began to pop in her head. She turned her head and yelled "Wendy! Get Bielert and Landzaat!" She then pulled out a stick grenade from her belt. Rosie finished with "We're gonna take that oversized tin can out!" Cheslock simply pulled a smile on her face and gathered the two other Kilo Squad members for Rosie's plan. The two of them along with Wendy had managed to grab a grenade as well.

When she saw that they were all ready to commence she announced "On the count of three, we move. One. Two. Three!" And with that the four of them jumped onto the bridge and charged towards the tank as it was turning. As they were running, the droid troops were now taking pot-shots at them while Largo and the others were trying to keep their attention focused on them. They were mostly successful but there were still a few droids firing at Rosie's men. One of the droids took aim with his rifle and fired. The shot struck Oscar in his right leg, just above the knee. He fell to the ground, face first, clutching his wound as he screamed in pain. Karl, who had noticed Oscar's wound, stopped running and instead pulled up Oscar and began to drag him back to cover. With Oscar's arm over his shoulder, they hopped back to Largo's group while Karl pulled out his pistol and fired a few pot-shots at the droids himself. Just as they had managed to reach the safety of the group, another bullet struck Karl in the side which caused him to let go of Oscar as the both of them fell in front of the others. Ted and Cherry dragged the both of them the few more feet to cover and began to try and cool the burn marks.

Wendy and Rosie continued charging at the AAT which was now facing directly at them, side mounted guns blazing. They advanced from cover to cover as they reloaded, inching ever closer to the tank. Often they would have to fire a burst from their weapons at the droid soldiers firing at them. Even taking a few of them down along the way. But as they got closer, intensity of the fire got larger. One of them would have to take out the tank while the other would keep the droids occupied. Before Rosie could decide who would be that person, Wendy immediately jumped out and began to climb the side of the tank, grenade and AC-30 gun in hands. Lasers being fired from the droids either whizzed by her head or pinged off the tank's hull, missing her by mere inches.

As she neared the turret hatch, one of the tank's crewmen came out and pulled out his pistol in an attempt to stop her. He pulled the pistol a few seconds too late however as Wendy squeezed the trigger on her carbine and riddled the torso of the crewman with bullets. Dead, he slumped back down into the turret hatch, leaving some blood behind on the turret. Once he was gone, Wendy took out her grenade, pulled out the safety pin, and hurled it into the tank before jumping off and landing back on the ground. A few moments later, the grenade exploded inside the tank, killing the crew.

Rosie let out a smirk as she heard the boom coming from inside the AAT. They had managed to knock out half of the enemy armour, one more than she had expected. They had little time to celebrate however. There were still two AATs left along with about a hundred Droid soldiers. They would have to regroup with the others and get Oscar and Karl a safe distance away from the fighting.

From the safety of the OAG camp, the Army soldiers listened to the sounds of battle coming from the bridge as the Marines were struggling to hold the line. Mary Read stood among her soldiers as they could only imagine what was going on. Judging by the series of explosions, the screaming, and the amount of gunfire, they could only conclude that the Marines were being wiped out. Some of the Regulars muttered in disbelief at what was going on.

"God, they're getting massacred"

"Poor bastards"

"What the hell are the droids throwing at them Lieutenant?"

Read seemed to ignore the soldier's question. She appeared to be lost in her own thoughts. Her men should be helping Lieutenant Gunther and his men hold the line at the bridge, not hide like cowards back at their own base. Her men are soldiers in the Army, it was their job to defend their systems from foreign powers like the CIS. Turning on her heel, she looked to Carter and announced "Sergeant. Ready what's left of our company and prepare to sortie. We're going toward the bridgehead" Carter, as well as her men had a look of surprise on their faces as they heard her orders. Wanting to make sure that they were all on the same page, he asked "Are you thinking what I think you're thinking ma'am?"

Mary simply nodded her head as a response, a smile forming on her face. With this new information, Carter stared at the man and yelled "Well, you heard the lady lads! Get to your vehicles. We go to war!"

The Marines had now fallen back to the very end of the bridge. Aside from Kilo Squad, most of the other squads were now severely depleted from the fighting. They were running dangerously low on ammunition, and the droids were quickly closing in on their positions. Everything seemed like the battle would be lost, and only a miracle could save them now.

"I am officially starting to regret my decision to volunteer for the Marines," whined Cezary.

"I'm beginning to agree with you," added Ramona.

"If those tanks don't wipe us out that infantry will," informed Luke as he let out a salvo of shots from his M1911 pistol as he had run out of ammo for his M416. He knew that their position was hopeless. Their engineers had run out of rockets and the _Edelweiss_ had no more shells left as well. And he highly doubted that they could try what Rosie and Wendy did with their grenades a second time. Without any anti-armour weapons, they were officially screwed. Just when things seemed like they couldn't get any stranger, Alicia noticed Marina step out of cover, exposing herself completely towards the advancing Germans. "Marina, get down! You're going to get yourself killed!" shouted Alicia. But Marina simply remained silent like she always was, raised her rifle, and took aim through the telescopic sight.

Through her sight she surveyed the enemy as they advanced towards them. She paid no attention to the droids whose lasers simply whistled past her head. Instead she took aim at one of the remaining AAT, more specifically, the one on her right. She knew that her .50 Plasma bullets would have no effect at all on the tank. Its armour was simply way too thick to be beaten by a lone sniper. But from all her experience in hunting she knew one thing: everything has a weak spot. And for the tank, that was the viewing port for the driver. The driver had a small view port on the sloped hull in front of him so that he could use it to more effectively drive the tank. It was covered with bulletproof glass but do to the fighting, it was mostly cracked and on the verge of breaking. One well-placed shot would probably be enough to shatter the glass completely and kill the driver. And one shot was all that Marina needed.

Once she had the shot lined up, she pulled the trigger on her rifle. The bullet exited the barrel with the sound of the gunshot piercing through the air. In her mind Marina could see the bullet flying through the air in slow motion. Watch, as it glided past the incoming lasers, shells, and incoming droids. And finally, she saw the glass view port shatter into many pieces as the bullet finally hit home and struck the driver in the head, killing him instantly. The tank began to swerve left and right before turning completely to its right and ramming the side of the last AAT. It began to push the tank along its side, screeching along the bridge as it made its way closer to the edge of the bridge. Soon the tank collided with the steel bars on the bridge and busted through them, leaving the tanks to simply run off the edge of the bridge into the river below.

 _"After that day, I had a whole new level of respect for Marina. She managed to take down two AATs with a single shot from a sniper rifle. Before that day, I didn't even think that such a feat was possible let alone thought that there was anyone alive crazy enough to try it. But she managed to convince me otherwise. From that day forward, I began to think of her as perhaps the best sniper in all of the OAG, and if so, Galaxy itself." -Luke Sparrow_

Everyone one stood in awe at what Marina had just accomplished. They simply stared for a few seconds with their mouths agape before returning back to reality and returning fire back at the droids. The droids, now without any armour support, decided to simply charge the weakened Marine line, and charge they did. But just when they were about to reach them. Three massive explosions struck the troops at the head of the charge. Killing about twenty or more in the blasts. The Marines looked behind them to see Read's company along with three tanks coming to support them. With their new reinforcements, the marine's vigor was renewed with both Army and Marines now charging straight at the droids.

The Droids retreated towards their side of the bridge, their forces steadily being dropped by the plasma and shells coming from the OAG. They chased the droids for so long they became completely oblivious, not even realizing that they were nearing the droid side of the river. They realized it only when they were greeted by shells from droid J-1 cannons and machine gun fire. The machine gun's cut down several servicemen while their J-1's knocked out one of the army tanks. The fire became so intense that explosions and ricochets began to surround them. Ultimately the OAG withdrew their forces and retreated back to their side of Vasel, bringing the droid counterattack to an end.

 _Western Vasel 1530 hours (3:30pm)_

By the skin of their teeth the OAG had managed to hold their ground against the CIS counterattack. But their losses were very severe. They had lost a lot of manpower in the attack. Though High Command managed to send them some reinforcements from their Battalion along with a few other Marine squads, it was clear that they wouldn't manage to survive another attack if the Droids managed to mobilize another force against them. They would simply have to wait and hold out until the Army could send in the entire Battalion to help relieve them. As distasteful as that seemed for any of them.

The Marines were tending to the defences if the droids would attack again. It was mostly placing the sandbags or reloading their weapons and tanks. Due to them being short on ammunition, they took the weapons and ammo from the dead on both sides and distributed them among their soldiers. Soon the OAG forces in Vasel were equipped with both OAG and CIS weapons. They had also scavenged whatever useful equipment that could be found from the wrecks of the AATs. Meanwhile, Captain Varrot was discussing with several of her officers as to their current situation and their next move.

Near the edge of the river, Welkin and Mary were walking alongside the edge of the river side by side, discussing the events of the previous battle. "I have to admit, I didn't expect you to come and help us," noted Welkin.

Mary shrugged her shoulders before admitting "You did the same for me back at the farm. I figured that this was just me returning the favour"

"Either way, I wanted to thank you," said Welkin. Read was caught off guard by Welkin's sudden kindness. Her cheeks began to blush and she ran her hand through her hair. She looked away from Welkin a little bit before stuttering the words out of her mouth "Um, yo-your wel-welcome, Lieutenant Gunther"

"You can just call me Welkin you know," he clarified to her. She looked at him with a happy yet innocent look and replied "Alright. You got it...Welkin" She stared at him for a few seconds before stuttering out once more "Um, I um, need to get going. Sorry" The next instance she bolted off without saying another word. As she left, her face had a mixture of happiness and embarrassment.

Welkin watched her walk away, confused by her sudden change in behaviour. Suddenly, he felt someone bump his arm, and looked to see Sparrow, seemingly enjoying himself. The fact that Sparrow found something amusing didn't normally bother Welkin. As long as it didn't have to involve with him that is. Though for right now, he couldn't help but wonder what was so funny. "What?" asked Welkin inquisitively.

"Oh you know. I just never figured you being one to get the ladies to like you so much if you know what I mean," said Luke, almost like he was singing it to a tune. Welkin simply stood there confused as he was a few minutes ago. He had no idea what Luke was even talking about. "Um, what exactly do you mean?" he asked, hoping that Sparrow could at least clarify what he was saying.

When he said that however, Luke's expression vanished as soon as it appeared. "Seriously? Did you not see how Lieutenant 'Ice Queen' made a complete 180 in her personality when it came to you? You didn't see how her frozen heart simply melted by your words?" he questioned.

"Did you just call Mary the 'Ice Queen'?" asked Welkin, noticing Sparrow's choice of words.

"Yeah. I heard it from her Sergeant. According to him, when she was a cadet at Lanseal Academy, she had no shortage of guys trying to score a date with her. And from what he told me, that list was _long_. Every time one tried to ask her out, she turned them down, and harshly. Hence the title, 'Ice Queen'," he explained.

Welkin pondered that information for a bit. _So they call her that because any guy that tries to approach her gets shot down. But when she talked to me she seemed different. Not the cold demeanour she had when they first set off from Amaranthine but, more like an innocent schoolgirl. A schoolgirl who has her first crush. Wait, a crush? Is he saying that Mary has a crush on...?_ Welkin immediately realized what Sparrow was talking about. Upon realization, he began to wave his hands back and forth before frantically saying "Wait, wait, wait! I-It's not like that. T-This is completely unrelated"

Sparrow however, wasn't buying any of it. "Right. So her blushing face and running off without saying a word was just a spur of the moment thing?" he interpreted.

Welkin tried to form a response but the words just couldn't come out of his mouth. No matter what he tried, he just couldn't find the right words to say. It wasn't that he didn't think of Mary as a woman, he just didn't think of her that way. Of course when you took into account her brains and beauty, he could see why any guy would fall for her. But he didn't see why they expected he would as well. Finally, he gave up trying to make up an excuse and gave a weary sigh. "Is there a reason you came here to see me other than to just annoy me?" he asked, hoping that there was an answer that would get him out of this.

"Actually yes. Varrot wants to see you. I think she's going to tell you guys about the next stage of the operation," said Luke. Welkin let out a sigh of relief as he began to walk away towards Varrot's command tent. He was just thankful that the Captain had wanted to see him. It saved him from any further embarrassment at the hands of Sparrow.

Once he knew that Welkin was no longer within earshot of him, Luke said to himself "I gotta tell Faldio and the others about this," before running of in order to get to them before Welkin did.

It took Welkin a little longer than expected to find the main camp. Due to the counterattack they had to move the camp further away from the bridge, so it was a little harder to find than Welkin originally thought it would. Thankfully, after a few misplaced turns he managed to find it after all. Though he was glad to be away from Sparrow and his questions about him and Mary's supposed 'crush' on him. If there even was a crush being discussed here. Sometimes Welkin wondered if Sparrow just did this simply because he enjoyed seeing Welkin irritated.

As he walked through the camp he was met by cheers and congrats from many of the Marines and Regulars he passed by. It seems that Kilo Squad's actions at the bridgehead didn't go unnoticed. All the way to Varrot's tent people looked to him and said 'Hey, Gunther. Great job' or 'You saved our skins here Lieutenant'. A few of them reached out to him and shook his hand as they said it or gave him a friendly pat on the back. Welkin simply replied back with a 'Thank You' along with a few 'Your Welcomes'. He had to admit that it was nice to be recognized for something, though he wasn't sure that he would be able to handle all the attention that things like this would give him.

He was making the last leg of his trip to the command tent before he was stopped by a pair of soldiers from the Regulars, a man and a woman both seventeen years old. from the look on their faces they seemed eager to tell him something. Before Welkin could say anything, the man asked him "Are you by any chance Lieutenant Welkin Gunther, Kilo Squad?"

Welkin straightened his posture before responding back "That's correct. I'm Lieutenant Welkin Gunther"

Upon hearing this news, their faces lit up with surprise and happiness. The two of them gave Welkin a quick salute before the woman introduced them. "Sir, my name is Private Katy Borin and this is Corporal Samuel Hastings. Our fathers served together under your father General Belgen Gunther during the Insurrectionist War," she explained.

"At ease, it's nice to meet the both of you," greeted Welkin. The three of them then began to talking about their fathers along with how they knew each other and the adventures their fathers had during the war. This went on for several minutes before they were interrupted by a man in a large brown trench coat and fedora, holding a flash camera in his hands. When he got closer, Welkin got a better look at him. He was a man of about twenty-seven years old, with short brown hair and green eyes. He approached them and introduced himself "Excuse me, Lieutenant Gunther? I'm Alistair Koller, a reporter with the Republic Times. Would you mind if I took a picture or two of you for the paper?"

"The Republic Times? That's an Republic newspaper. What are you doing here?" asked Welkin, noting the name of the newspaper. If he remembered correctly, Sparrow once told him that the Republic Times is 'the most popular and well read newspaper in all of the Republic and the 'Outer Rim'.

"The OAG is an ally of the Galactic Republic. One that we give a lot of support for. Plus, I'm a war reporter. It's kind of my job. I was hoping I could get a picture or two of the OAG forces here in Vasel for the Times," he explained.

"Alright then, I suppose I can work something out with Captain Varrot. I'll help you get your audience with her"

A smile then appeared on Kollers face as he replied happily "Fantastic! You are not going to regret this Mr. Gunther. Soon your squad will be on the front page of every newspaper in the Republic from Coruscant to Tatooine. Oh, that reminds me, how about a picture or two now?"

"I don't see the harm there. Can the two of them be in it?" asked Welkin, gesturing to Hastings and Borin. "Sure, the more the merrier. I'll also give them a few copies of the photo before it shows on the paper," accepted Koller. Welkin, Hastings, and Borin soon got together and posed for the shot as Alistair began taking a few photos with his camera. The light flashing brightly with each shot the camera took.

From a safe distance away, Rosie and Largo watched the scene unfolding with their disgust easily visible upon their faces. Here was their supposed commander, the young son of a war hero, a squad leader for barely a day, and was now talking to a reporter and posing for pictures. How obnoxious could one guy be? Is the fame already getting to his head?

"Ugh, now he's giving interviews? Who does he think he is?" questioned Rosie in disgust. She then sarcastically spouted out "Ooh, look at him, son of some big hero. Please, he's still a schoolboy"

"No kidding," said Largo, before lighting a cigarette and taking a puff from it. After taking it out of his mouth he added "A few little wins and suddenly he becomes the new Grand Duke. Ugh, I hate kids. Oh well, he'll learn soon enough. Only one thing matters out here in the field and that's experience"

"Yeah well, we better get going. The 'Commander' said that we're supposed to help build defences by the riverbanks," noted Rosie, emphasizing the word 'Commander' with disdain.

Kilo Squad was finishing their fortifications on their section of the river. While the others were building walls of sandbags, Luke was helping Isara with tending to the _Edelweiss_. Right now he was helping her load tank shells through the turret hatch. He'd grab the shells from outside and lower them down through the hatch to Isara who would place them upon the shell rack. Soon Luke grabbed the last shell and lowered it down to her. "Last one left," he said.

"Okay, got it," replied Isara as she slowly grabbed the shell and placed it upon the rack. Despite her small build, she was still strong enough to carry these shells for a certain amount of time. She then took a count of how many shells they had total, and found out that they were now fully stocked. The _Edelweiss_ could normally carry about fifty-five SABOT shells, another twenty-five high-explosive shells, as well as having an extra rack that can carry another ten shells in case they would need to, bringing the total to about seventy shells in total. They also had four cases of plasma ammo, each one holding 2000 rounds, for each of their three machine guns. So they had a total of 24000 machine gun plasma rounds for their machine guns. Most tanks couldn't hold even half of that ammo cause you would have no more room left. But the _Edelweiss_ had an enlarged interior that helped maximize space and efficiency, so that helped on the matter. This made the _Edelweiss_ more heavily armed than any other tank on the battlefield.

"Hey Sparrow, could you pull me up?" asked Isara, raising her hands into the air. Luke simply reached down to her, grabber her wrists, and began to hoist her out of the tank. Once she had finally gotten herself out, they both jumped off the tank chassis back onto the ground. Luke began to walk away, but noticed that Isara wasn't following. He turned around to see her simply gazing at the tank, her hand gently placed upon its armoured skirts. As Luke walked back towards her, he noticed that she was too entranced with the _Edelweiss_ to be aware of him. luke could see a small smile on Isara's face, which caused him to give a slight chuckle. That was enough to bring Isara back to reality as she jumped a little bit by the unexpected gesture. When Luke stopped chuckling her managed to ask her "You really love to take care of this thing don't you?"

"I do, yes," replied Isara with a small expression of sorrow upon her face "This is the all that I have left of my father"

"Your father? You mean Theimer?" asked Luke inquisitively.

She began to look down a bit and answered "I never really knew my father. He died when I was just a baby. Other than the pictures I have of him; I don't really have any memories of him. Or my mother for that matter. The _Edelweiss_ is really all that I have to remember them by. That's why I take such good care of it. Welks and General Gunther are like family to me. But it would have been nice if I could have actually known my parents" As she said the final sentences, small tears began to fall from her cheeks and her voice sounded as if her emotions were somehow broken. Luke could see this and figured out that he had probably upset her.

Moved to try and calm her down, he slowly wrapped Isara with his arms and brought her in for a small hug. Isara grabbed hold of his shirt and began to cry more. Her tears causing the shirt to become wet and her cries muffled by the shirt as well. Look didn't have much experience dealing with feelings and emotions, especially comforting others, he just hugged Isara awkwardly. Luke simply patted her on the back and whispered softly "It's okay. Let it out" After a few minutes of comforting the poor girl, Isara broke the hug and wiped the tears from her eyes. When she seemed to regain her composure she upwards to luke.

"I'm sorry. I sort of lost myself for a moment there," apologized Isara.

"You don't have to apologize to me kiddo. If anything I should be the one apologizing. I'm the one who brought up bad memories," assured Luke. "I actually have a great deal of respect for your father," he noted.

Isara's face lit up with surprise. "You do? Why?" she asked. Luke turned his gaze to the tank as he explained to her "That man was a damn good engineer. We used a lot of his designs in the Marines. His designs have become the basis of our infantry weapons, tanks, planes, even our warships. I owe my life to a few of the things we built because of him. When I look at you and see how much you put into your work, I think I see your father in you." This caused Isara's eyes to brighten at the sound of his words.

"Seeing all that you do. It makes me know that if your father could see you now, I know that he'd be immensely proud of you no matter what," he finished as he patted Isara on the head.

"Thanks Sparrow. It's nice for someone other than my brother to treat me as an equal," mentioned Isara.

Luke let out a light chuckle at her remark before saying "I'm an Earthling, it's how we are. It doesn't matter who you are, where you came from, or your social standing. Darcsen or not, everyone's equal in our eyes"

"In other words, Earth is a land full of Darcsens and Darcsen-lovers," said another voice. Luke and Isara turned their heads to see Rosie standing a few feet away from them, arms crossed, with a scornful look across her face. He took a look behind her and saw that Largo was standing behind her. Luke's expression soon turned serious as hee asked Rosie very sternly "You have a problem with me don't you, also it was your people who forced them to leave your moon remember?"

"You're damn right I do!" yells Rosie as she stomps towards the two of them, closing the distance quite rapidly before stopping right in front of Luke, their faces about a foot apart. Her face had become tomato red from the anger that had been building up inside her and was now on the verge of coming out. "I want to know how you got let into the Marines anyway!" exclaimed Rosie.

"Oh it was quite simple actually. I just walked up to the recruiter and said 'Hello my name is Luke Sparrow. I'm from the United Kingdom and I'd like to enlist with the Marines. Though having previous combat experience tended to help a little bit too," mocked Luke.

"I can't believe they even let you guys in considering how you guys abandoned everyone during the Mistral-Calth War," commented Largo.

Luke seemed a little insulted by that and shot back "So it's our problem to get involved every time you once independent entities start to bloody each other's noses? We didn't become a superpower so that we would have to babysit you people"

"That's easy for you to say. Do you have any idea how many people died in that war? All because the UEG decided to sit on the side-lines and do nothing? Your people didn't suffer as we did so you don't get to talk like that!" criticized Largo.

Isara decided to try and step into the conversation. "You can't blame Sparrow or his people for what happened," she spoke.

"Who the hell asked you dark-hair?! You stay out of this!" yelled Rosie, now turning her anger over to Isara. Luke soon stepped between the two of them. "Another thing I just can't stand with. What the hell is with you people hating Darcsens anyway?"

"Read a history book! Their kind has a bad reputation and your kind defends them," yelled Rosie pointing her index finger at the both of them. Luke knew exactly what she was talking about. Though he didn't buy any bit of it. According to popular belief, three hundred years ago the Darcsens ravaged Mistral in what was called the Darcsen Calamity. They pillaged, burned, and massacred as they destroyed everything they touched. Only with the arrival of the Valkyrur family brought the Calamity to a grinding halt. As punishment, the Darcsen people were stripped of their last names, right to own property, and have for twenty years been the subject of racism, persecution, segregation, and hate crimes even since the UEG had intervened and annexed Mistral, as the hate crimes started to become genocide. The jobs they were allowed to have were that working in factories and the Ragnite mines, sometimes under gruelling conditions. In an attempt to try and clear their names, their people adopted a policy of non-violence. 'Darcsens do not retaliate' was the line they constantly taught their children. To take the blows given to them and not retaliate back. However, even though there was a large decrease of people who discriminated them, the persecution they had long endured still continued to this day.

Many of the Darcsens decided to flee from their persecution by traveling to the UEG. There they were given rights that had been denied to them for thousands of years. In the UEG they could own property, speak their minds, own their own business, and so much more. But what made them happy the most was how in UEG, it's people treated them as equals. The people accepted them regardless of their so called 'past'. That was due to the fact that although people in Mistral believed that the Calamity happened, there has been no proof whatsoever to support the fact that it happened. And OAG tended to believe in facts when it came to history instead of popular belief. So it stemmed to reason that Luke as well didn't believe in that either. And he was sure as hell that he wasn't going to take any of this from someone like Rosie or Largo.

"Oh, don't bring up that 'Darcsen Calamity' bullshit with me," complained Luke "There's not a shred of proof that it even happened. Even if there was, it doesn't change anything"

"Even if there was proof, how wouldn't that make a difference?" accused Rosie.

"Let me put it like this. Even if what they did three hundred years ago was true, THAT WAS OVER THREE HUNDRED YEARS AGO! There's not a soul alive who's been affected because of it," explained Luke. "It happened a long time ago. Can't you guys just let it go and move on?" he questioned.

"No we can't. And we also won't fight with them either," pointed out Largo, taking a puff from his cigarette. Luke then turned over to Largo and began with "Okay now look here..."

As the fight was unravelling, Alicia was passing through the area when she noticed it. She could easily see that it was slowly escalating with each exchange of words and she began to be afraid that it would soon turn violent if she didn't do anything. She instinctively began to run towards the command tent to try and find Welkin. Hoping that he would be able to talk some sense into these people and get them to get along.

Inside the tent Varrot had gathered the remaining squad commanders from the Marines and the Regulars. She was going to inform them on the plan General Damon had given them in order to retake the Eastern side of Vasel. But before that she began to congratulate three of them on their performance during the Droid counterattack.

"Thanks to the efforts of Lieutenants Gunther, Faldio, and Read, we managed to drive back the CIS. The three of you should be proud of what your men and women have accomplished," she said.

The three officers gave her a quick salute before Faldio responded back "Thank you ma'am, we're just doing our jobs" Varrot simply gave them a smile before explaining "It's hard for anyone, let alone a few young Lieutenants to defeat a CIS counterattack. You three should consider yourselves lucky that your squads are still intact" Her expression turned more sombre as she explained next "Unfortunately, that may not be the case after the next phase of the operation."

The expression on Read's face soon turned out exactly the same as Varrot's. Reluctantly, she asked "This is going to upset me isn't it?" Varrot turned her head side by side slightly before informing them "The plan calls for the Marines to attack the enemy bridgehead via crossing the Great Vasel Bridge. The Regulars led by Lieutenant Read will join the attack after the Marines has finished their attack"

The three of them opened their jaws in utter surprise and dismay. Faldio and Welkin couldn't believe it mainly due to the fact that the Marines was once again being thrown into the fire as cannon fodder and as shields for the Regular's. Read couldn't believe it for two reasons. One was that her men were being left out of the fight, and the second was because of how the higher ups were so willing to throw away the lives of their soldiers.

"So what, their just handing us over to the CIS on a silver platter? How is that going to help us?" cried Faldio.

"I know how this seems. I felt the same way when I was a Marine. But sometimes being a soldier means taking on tough missions, even dangerous ones," said Varrot. Things between the Marines and the Regulars now were exactly the same as they were during the Great War. Nobody in Mistral High Command thought of the Marines as anything more than expendable soldiers. Sometimes she wondered if things would ever truly change. "I won't lie to you Lieutenant. Just breaching through the CIS defences alone is going to be difficult, if not impossible," she said disparagingly.

Before anyone could continue this conversation, Alicia burst into the tent. She instantly started panting as well as wiping the sweat from her brow, indicating that she had running here. When she had finally caught her breath she managed to blurt out "Welkin!"

"Sergeant Melchiott? What is it?" asked Varrot, curious as to what was so important. Alicia looked up to see herself surrounded by squad commanders along with Captain Varrot. She quickly summarized that she was interrupting something pretty important. She soon straightened her posture and apologized "Sorry ma'am. I didn't mean to interrupt"

"It's alright, we just finished. Now calm down and explain," assured Varrot.

"It's Kilo Squad. They...they're at each other's throats. I need Lieutenant Gunther to come with me and stop them. They're almost about to come to blows," she explained somewhat frantically.

"You want me to break it up? I don't know, maybe we should just let them have it out," explained Welkin, scratching the back of his head slightly. Alicia's mouth dropped before muttering out "What? You can't just ignore them." Welkin was the squad leader. It was his job to keep the members of their unit together. She just couldn't understand why he was going to just do nothing about it.

"I'm not ignoring them. I think that it's important for them to say what they're thinking. Butting heads over differing opinions can be one way to bring people closer together," reasoned Welkin, putting one of his hands on Alicia's shoulder to help calm her down.

This however did little to calm her down. She was still a little upset and annoyed by Welkin's insistence to do anything. She yelled at him "Look you can't just sit here while your squad is tearing itself apart. It's not right. Now come on!" She then grabbed him by the arm and ran outside the tent, dragging him right behind her.

After they had all left, one of the Regular officers commented "Looks like he has his hands full as it is" Varrot followed that comment with "It's all part of growing together as a team."

Welkin followed Alicia, trying to keep up with her as she ran through the streets of Vasel leading him to the rest of the squad. And after a view twists and turns they managed to catch sight of them up ahead. On the way, Alicia told Welkin that the fight was between Sparrow, Largo, Rosie, and Isara. But what they saw was nothing like what she had described it. It seems now that the whole squad was there, and a few of them were now involved in this. On one side was Rosie, Largo, Cezary, Rosina, and Theold. The other group was slightly larger with it consisting of Luke, Isara, Karl, Nadine, Wavy, Juno, Vyse, Aika, and lastly Marina, though why she was involved in this was a complete mystery. The rest of the squad surrounded them, watching as the fight unfolded between the two groups. So far the fight was simply them yelling and shouting back at forth with each other. And as Alicia and he drew closer, the louder it seemed to get.

Welkin immediately began to try and figure out a way to break up the fight. At first he tried to shout in order to get their attention, but it proved futile as their shouting simply drowned out his voice. He sighed a little bit along with shaking his head in failure. He would have to resort to desperate measures in order to get their attention. Without another word, he quietly pulled out his AC-9 pistol, pointed it upward into the air towards the enemy side of the river, and fired a burst of three bullets in rapid succession.

The sound of the gunshots seemed to work. They instantly stopped their arguing and looked turned their heads to face Welkin and Alicia. They parted a bit to show that Rosie had a grip on Sparrows brown armour. When she noticed the Lieutenant she reluctantly let go of him. Now that Welkin had gotten a hold of their attention, he became more serious. As he holstered pistol and began to walk towards the two opposing sides he yelled in frustration "Alright, now can somebody tell me what the hell is going on here!?"

"You really have to ask Lieutenant? It's either us or them pal," exclaimed Rosie. For a proper explanation, Welkin looked at Sparrow. Luke took a deep breath and explained "Corporal Stark and several others seem to have complaints about certain members of the squad"

"It's mostly about the Darcsens and foreigners in the squad," added Isara before Rosie grabbed her by her shawl.

"Will you shut up?! Who the hell asked for your opinion?!" she asked. Welkin soon grabbed her arm and got her to let go of Isara. He then stood between the two of them, looked at Rosie in the face before scolding her with "Keep your hands off of my little sister!"

The mention of 'sister' caused the squad members around them to gasp slightly and whisper among themselves. Largo and Rosie's group seemed baffled by what they had just heard. This little Darcsen girl was related to their Lieutenant. It was certainly a surprise to them that's for sure.

"Wait just a sec. This dark-hair here is your little sister?" asked Theold, still a little shocked by the revelation.

"How the hell is she your sister?!" questioned Rosie. Welkin then set about explaining how Isara was adopted by his family after her parents were killed.

"Sister or not, I'm not fighting alongside any of them," mentioned Rosina.

"I didn't take you for a Darcsen hater Seldon. What's your beef with them?" asked a curious Luke. She answered back honestly "Nothing personal. I just think their kind needs to toughen up a bit. Grow some muscle, you know"

"We can fight just fine without your 'muscle' thank you. And what makes you say we can't fight? Were fighting the CIS too," defended Nadine with Wavy standing right beside her.

"And Aika and I are here to help you guys same as Sparrow. What does it matter where we come from if we help with the fighting?" questioned Vyse. Cezery shot back at him with "Because this is the 'Gallian' Marines branch, and you guys aren't Gallian"

Rosie than pointed at Isara and the rest of the Darcsens and complained "And cause your kind has a bad reputation, and everyone knows it. How don't we know that you guys aren't planning to stab us all in the back?"

"Are you suggesting they'd give us up to the CIS. Ha," scoffed Juno "The droids subjugate their own people. The droids would more likely kill them as soon as they looked at them"

"Or worse. They could be sent to the camps," added Marina, finally breaking her silence.

"Look the point is that we're on the same side here. Our enemy is on the other bank, not in our ranks," clarified Isara. "And I don't care what you say about me. I'm a human being, same as you. Besides, there's no proof to substantiate what you call the 'Darcsen Calamity'. It's a myth," she stated.

As soon as she finished, Rosie looked to her very sternly and proclaimed "Excuse me!? So what you're calling me stupid now?"

Welkin had however had enough and pushed the two of them aside. "That's enough. Both of you," he said.

"Okay boss-man. We won't fight alongside no foreigners or Darcsens. What part of that can't you understand," questioned Largo, as he took the cigarette out of his mouth, flicked it to the ground and crushed it with his boot. "Another thing we ain't doing, is taking orders from some hotshot greenhorn," he added with disgust in his voice.

Welkin took a few moments for those words to sink in. It was clear now that nobody in the squad was going to accept him willingly. They probably think he's too young or inexperienced for this job. So be it. If they won't accept him willingly than he'll make them respect him. And he had the perfect idea as to how.

"Alright fine. Now all of you listen and listen good. I'll have the eastern bank of Vasel back in OAG hands in 48 hours," he proclaimed. Largo along with the rest of the squad gasped in surprise and their eyes widened. "Now if my plan fails, which I doubt, I'll resign. Kilo Squad will be all yours Largo. But if my plan works, you'll take my orders and like it. Understood?" he finished

48 hours? How was that possible? There was over a thousand droids on the other side of the river. The combined Marine and Regular forces totalled only a few hundred. How was he going to take back the bridge with those numbers? If you compared the two sides, the droids had all the advantages over them. But Largo simply burst into laughter along with the rest of the squad. They couldn't believe that he would be so stupid as to make that bet. When they had all calmed down, Largo asked him "Your funeral boss-man. You sure about this?"

Welkin nodded his head and affirmed himself with a 'yes'. Largo was silent for a few seconds before saying "Alright, challenge accepted. I can't wait to see you hand the Captain your resignation. Let's go everyone." He signalled for the rest of the squad to followed which they did, slowly abandoning leaving along with him. Soon only Welkin, Alicia, Luke and Isara. Once they were all alone, Alicia grabbed Welkin by his tunic and yelled "What the hell is wrong with you? You just made a bet we can't win"

"Look Welkin, I get you want to earn these people's respect but this is just crazy," added Luke, showing concern for his comrade's choice.

Welkin managed to get Alicia to release him. As he straightened out his uniform, Isara began to apologize "I'm sorry Welkin. Sparrow and I were just trying to defend ourselves. We didn't mean for things to get out of hand"

"It's not your fault Is. This is war. Everyone's on edge. And this mission isn't helping either. It's little wonder the troops are all upset," comforted Welkin as he patted Isara on the head a little bit.

"But still, how are you going to take that bridge back in 48 hours?" asked Alicia, desperate to find out if he had an answer.

Welkin began to fidget a little bit as he nervously admitted "Well I don't know. I just have to figure out a way too..." he was just about to finish until all of a sudden his face lit up as if he had an epiphany. Luke looked at him and suddenly began to worry a little bit. He had seen that look before. And whenever Welkin ever had that look, that meant that he had come up with a crazy plan. "He's got the look. God help us he has the look" he wailed. Suddenly Welkin took off like a madman, ignoring the calls coming from Alicia telling him to come back.

"And, he's gone. This had better be good," mumbled Alicia.

Back at the command tent, Varrot was discussing with Koller about his offer to be attached to Kilo Squad as their reporter. He had aid out his case for it in front of her. He told her about how what he wrote could put pressure on the Republic Government to send more support to their forces, maybe even help them send the might of the countless systems from the Republic to help in several major offensives the OAG and Republic coalition were launching. In return he would write about Kilo Squad's accomplishments, and help bring publicity to the OAG Marines. Varrot took a few moments to consider the offer. It was true that the OAG would need more help in this war, they and the Republic clones would not be able to bear the burden alone. And the thought of other troops here sounded like a good idea. However, there was one small problem with the offer that she wanted to address.

"It seems like a good offer. However, I'm a little concerned about what you'll write. One wrong operation could reflect badly upon Lieutenant Gunther's Squad and by extension the entire Marines if you write about it," explained a concerned Varrot.

"Don't worry. One thing that we Republicians know a lot about is how war works. We know that not everything goes according to plan. They aren't going to go against you because of one bad battle. I promise you Captain, this won't happen," assured Koller, trying to calm her down a little bit.

Varrot took a deep sigh before saying "Alright then. It appears that we have a deal" Before Koller could say anything to reply, Welkin came into the tent shouting frantically "Captain Varrot! Ma'am, I need to speak with you!" Koller figured out that Welkin had something important to tell her, and since he had managed to get his deal, he figured that this was his time to make an exit. Once he had left the tent, Welkin got down to explaining.

"Captain, you told me if I ever had a plan I should run it by you first before acting on it?" he mentioned.

"Yes, but what is it?" asked Varrot, unsure as to where this was going.

"Because I have a plan. One that'll drive the Droids out of Vasel completely," he said.

 _A couple hours later_

Welkin had asked Alicia to gather the squad together for them to hear about his plan that he had come up with to take back Vasel. They were brought by the river bank with the _Edelweiss_ facing them by the side and covered by a large cloth. Some came immediately to the meeting, while the others they had to drag to this meeting, literally. They were about to start the meeting when Jack came dragging the last two people, Cezary and Herbert, with him by their collars. When they finally arrived, Jack lunged them both forward into the crowd before taking his place within the meeting. Once they had all gathered, Largo decided to get off his chest and asked Welkin "All right, let's hear this brilliant plan. And it's too late to back out. You got that? So let's hear it!"

"We're going to strike the enemy encampment on the East bank," said Welkin plainly.

"Whoa hold it. You're asking us to die for you!?" exclaimed Rosie, in complete shock by what she just heard. "One squad ain't breaching that bridgehead, buddy boy. That would be suicide," she claimed.

"We're not taking on the bridgehead," corrected Welkin. "We're taking on this," he said, pointing to the river next to them. "We'll use the morning fog as cover as we cross the river, then launch a surprise attack on the enemy garrison," he further explained.

"Aww c'mon, is this some game to you boyo? We're less than sixty soldiers here. The Droids have over a thousand troops on the other side. Swimming a couple of foot soldiers ain't going to do much if we don't have any tanks," criticized Largo.

"Don't worry, I have that covered. Is?" assured Welkin while looking to Isara as if giving her a signal. With a quick swipe, she pulled the cloth off the _Edelweiss_ to show that it had some modifications placed upon it. There seemed to be metal coverings around the muzzle of the barrel, the turret hatch, and even covering the large Ragnite radiator in the rear of the tank. They could also see that she had placed a light projector on the side of the tank with a shutter. Along with a few other places, it seemed that she had somehow managed to place these on in a short amount of time.

"I've fitted the _Edelweiss_ with water-resistant measures to allow for submersion. It'll only hold for a few minutes, but it should be enough to cross the river," explained Isara.

"And that is how we'll do it," added Welkin with great amusement.

"Hold on a sec. Ships pass through here. It's gotta be too deep for a tank," mentioned Largo.

"I have that covered. See that over there?" he asked, pointing at the reeds sticking out of the water.

"What is that, grass?" wondered Walter. Welkin nodded his head before replying "Nope. It's Mistle-reed. A tall aquatic plant found in the estuaries in some rivers. I noticed it earlier. This stretch of the river runs shallow. Shallow enough for a tank to drive across."

Largo opened his mouth to say something but all that came out was "Well...I, um...you see." Coby stopped him short implying "Forget it. One look at you and we can tell you've got nothing to say." He then turned over to Welkin and asked him "So what's the rest of this plan you got cooked up?"

Welkin gave a slight smile at Coby's question. It seemed like they were now beginning to respect him. All he had to do now was execute his plan and then he'd have them. "First, Isara and I will cross over with the Edelweiss and clear the shore of any droid patrols. Then I'll send a signal with the projector, telling the rest of you to come ashore in boats. Then we launch our attack on the enemy positions on the bank. Any questions?" he explained.

There was no sound coming from his squad for a minute before Luke raised his hand. Welkin noticed it and asked "What is it?"

"So this is your plan? Cross the river, land ashore, hope the clankers don't spot us, and simply walk right inside the city," he asked, hoping he got everything right.

Knowing that there was more to his question, Welkin responded with "Yes, what about it?" Luke soon set about explaining his case "Well it's like Largo said. There is over a thousand Separatist soldiers on the other bank. How is a platoon of less than sixty guys and one tank going to stop them? You're not some group of commandos here, no offense. How do you plan on getting past those odds?"

"I told you, I've thought this through. You don't need to worry," he assured him. Welkin than looked to his squad, looked therm dead in the eyes, and spoke plainly before them in a speech "Look. I know that none of you think much of me. You don't think I'm old enough or have the experience to lead you. But know this, I'm here for the same reason as you: to protect our homes. We've already beaten the droids three times already. Though these victories seem small, each one is a building block for a greater victory in the making. And hey, look at us. We aren't doing too badly for a band of misfits." Some of the squad members let out a light laugh at the remark. It's true that none of them were real soldiers, nor would they ever be. But their squad has managed to survive against all the odds placed against them. That had to count for something.

Wanting to keep up the momentum. Welkin walked over to the Edelweiss and climbed up on top of the turret. He looked over to see his squad mates looking at him to see where he was going next. They were already intrigued by his words. Now they were wondering what he was exactly going to say next. Welkin continued his speech with "We're going to fight. And we're going to keep fighting because that's all that we can do now. None of us had much of a choice. We didn't ask for this war, to be involved. It was our duty to defend others. Forced by a man who would see all of the galaxy under his rule if he could. But what they don't know is that when you're fighting in your own backyard, when you're fighting for families. The actual fighting hurts a little less. And it all makes a little more sense. Because for them, this is just some place. A piece of land they can conquer and claim as their own. But for us, this is different. For us, this is a home. It's where they were born, where they grew up, and where they'll raise their families. Our enemy would take that all away from them. Take away everything they and we hold dear."

Now he was getting somewhere. He had all their attention focused upon them. Luke could only look at his CO and smirk what he was saying. _He makes a damn good speech_ he thought. Luke thought back to when he first met him. He heard Welkin was a carefree college student studying nature, now here was a commander over an entire platoon ready to lead them in a charge against the enemy. Most people would have that stretch out over a couple of years. But here he was, giving an inspirational speech in front of his men.

"The enemy we fight isn't one nation, one nationality, or one person. Our enemy is an ideology. One that millions of people across the galaxy, even from around the world have embraced. One where the strong stand tall and prosper while everyone left is oppressed or butchered. And I know that none of you will want to live underneath people like them. Our families, along with all of the galaxy are watching us now. And not just them, every planet back home and Ryloth is watching us as well. What do you suppose they'll see? A tiny group of systems struggling to fight the larger CIS? No. What they'll see are free men and woman, standing side by side against a tyrant. And what our enemy will see is the flash of our guns. They will hear our battle cries and they will see what Orioners can do. We will remind this planet and the galaxy that the CIS is not invincible. That they can be defied. That there are those who would rather die on their feet than live on their knees. There is a fire that burns in everyone of us. And I see that fire alive and well in each one of you. Every second that fire burns, is a message that freedom won't die easily. Here in Vasal we'll make our stand. Here we will show our enemy true defiance. And here, as we fight our enemy, we will yell in their faces "This is Twi'lek land. And if you want it, you'll have to pay for it with blood!"he finished. Once he had finished, most of the squad excluding Largo and Rosie, shot their fists into the air and let out a mighty roar. When they died down he climbed down from the tank and asked them one last question, "So what do you say? Are you in, or out?"

There was silence for a moment. Welkin thought for a moment that he had lost them. That was before Largo stepped forward and said "I'm in." Alicia followed along with Isara, and soon, one by one, the entire squad was signing on. When they all finished, they looked at Luk and Rosie, who were the only ones who answered. After a few moments of waiting for their answer Rosie finally broke her silence by begrudgingly saying "Fine, I'm in." Largo was silent for a few moments longer before saying "Certainty of death, small chance of success… What are we waiting for"

Now with the entire squad backing his plan, Welkin finished the meeting by informing them, "Alright, now get some rest. The operation commences tomorrow at dawn. Dismissed"

From not too far away, Captain Varrot and Koller watched the meeting while making sure that they weren't seen by the squad. Koller had a large box-shaped device on the ground with a pair of headphones attached to his head and a microphone in his hand, keeping it pointed towards the meeting. Once it was finished he flipped a switch turning the machine off. Varrot looked at him and asked "You got all that?"

"Yep. All I have to do now is edit it out and ship it back to the Republic. Maybe send a copy to OAG radio," confirmed Koller as he started putting away his equipment.

Varrot then returned her gaze over to Lieutenant Gunther, who was now talking with Alicia and Isara. Quietly she whispered to herself "There's a lot of his father in him. I wonder how much more there is? And where it'll lead him"

 _2622 July 2nd Earth Standard Calendar, Luke Sparrow with elements of the 3_ _rd_ _armored Division, Kilo Squad, Eastern half of Vasel, 0500 hours (5:00 am)_

All was quiet on the droid side of Vasel. Many of their men were sleeping soundly in their bunks with a select few keeping their eyes trained on the bridge. Keeping an eye just in case of a OAG counterattack, though that seemed highly unlikely. With their small numbers combined with this morning fog it would be impossible for them to coordinate any successful attack on them. Right now they were simply waiting for their commanders to issue the order for them to cross the bridge again.

Patrolling right by the entrance to the bridge was a lonely droid. The morning fog that had arrived had managed to cover the entire area. It was so thick at the water and around the bridge that the droid could barely see anything about twenty feet in front of him. If the Marines did come across the bridge, his eyes would be useless by means of spotting them because once he did it would be too late. He would have to rely upon his sense of hearing to pick up the marching of boots or the roar of tank engines that would come across the bridge. Of course though, he wouldn't have too right now. When nightfall approached, the Droids used the bridge controls to raise massive drawbridge, denying the Marines a chance to counterattack. Since there was no immediate danger, he wondered why his commanding officer told him to keep watch over the area. That is if he could keep himself from powering down.

Ultimately, he reasoned that since it was unlikely that the Marines would attack, he decided that it wouldn't hurt if he took a quick power nap. He walked over to a small building next to the bridge. The building housed the controls and the generators which controlled when the bridge would come up if a ship came by. Thankfully for the Droids, this building was on their side of Vasel, out of enemy hands. The Droid strolled up right next to the door to the building, leaned against the wall, and quietly slid down until he was siting. He then took off the rifle in his hands and placed it by his side before going into power saver mode.

This meant that he was unable to hear the sounds coming from the banks on their side of the river. There were bubbles that were beginning to surface near the water's edge. Soon the bubbles began to grow in number and appeared more ferociously. Suddenly, the _Edelweiss_ came out and made its way onto shore. Once it had completely settled on dry land, Welkin opened up the turret hatch and began to remove the waterproof modifications while keeping the projector on. As he was removing them he surveyed the area around him and saw that there were no droid forces in the immediate area. That could have only meant two things. Either they were completely unaware of their presence, or they were hiding somewhere in the dense fog. Welkin figured that it was more likely the first one. He then reached for a lever inside the turret which traversed the turret till the barrel, along with the projector was pointing towards the river. He then took the metal slider that covered the projector and slid it on and off in a Morse Code kind of fashion.

He then waited for several minutes, hoping that they managed to see the light even through the thick fog. Then a few dozen faint shapes began to appear in the distance. As these shapes drew closer, Welkin could now see that it was his squad slowly rowing towards the shore in small rowboats. He had instructed them to row slowly in order for them to not make any loud noises that would alert the droids to their presence. This operation depended on stealth and secrecy. And if the droids became aware of them before they could carry out their objectives then they would all be in very huge trouble. And by trouble, he meant dead.

Soon, the first boats managed to reach the shore, the squad carefully got out of the boats and pulled them onto shore. They had replaced their standard issue Marine weapons with captured droid ones since that was all that was available to them at the moment. But sadly, ammo for their weapons were low so they only had two to three clips or magazines for each one of them. They would have to take extra power packs from the enemy once they had killed some of them. Until then, they would have to avoid any unnecessary confrontations with the CIS troops. And if they did, then they would have to make every shot count. Once they had all gathered together, they along with the _Edelweiss_ began to slowly make for the designated rendezvous point that Welkin had told them to go to, making sure that they could be as quiet as possible.

Slowly and surely they made their way through the streets of Vasel, trying to be as quiet as they could. The fog had lessened up a little bit so they could see a bit more clearly and farther than before. Unfortunately, this made them much easier to be spotted by the droids, which added only more tension to their seemingly hard mission. Each of them had their weapons at the ready in case they had run into any unexpected trouble.

They could have been moving a little bit faster if not for Oscar and Karl. Despite being injured during the droid counterattack yesterday, the both of them insisted fervently to take part in this mission, at least Oscar did. After much pleading, Welkin decided to let them take part as long as they would stay behind them at all times and not do anything reckless. Right now they were inside the _Edelweiss_ since it would be safer for them in there than it would be for them out in the open with everyone else.

As they neared the end of the street and began to turn the next corner before the lead Scout, Ramona, signalled for them to halt. She then quietly asked for Alicia, Rosie, and Largo over to the front to see what she was seeing. They walked up to her and peaking around the corner slightly and saw the bridge along with the droid defences they had set up to protect them from a Marine counterattack. A set of four j-1 cannons, two on each side, had been set up behind a line of sandbags placed upon the sides of the main road to the bridge. With their range and hitting power they would be able to hold back their tanks without any little effort. They could also see that on the top floors of several of the buildings they had blown them open in order to place machine guns along with a few snipers to knock out the infantry. And from their position, they could mow down a lot of the infantry before they could cross the bridge. In what appeared to be a large parking lot, the droids had converted it into a tank depot. There was probably about a dozen powered down tanks parked there. Fuel containers, which carried fuel for the AATs, were scattered all around them, with the Fuel inside glowing blue in the dark night. There were also some strange objects being kept under large fabric covers. No one in the squad knew what were under them, but they could guess that it was most likely a certain kind of weapon.

"Doesn't look like they've set up any major defences here. Why though?" wondered Alicia out loud, but in a whisper so that they didn't wake any sleeping Droids.

"With the kinds of weapons they have in their arsenal, they don't need much if they want to kill us before we even step foot here," replied Largo in the same hushed tone.

"That's good to know but how do we take them all out?" questioned Rosie, her voice just a little bit louder than the two.

Before they could say anything more, the AATs in the depot roared as their engines were brought to life. Crew members for the tanks sprinted in in groups of five as they entered their tanks to prep them for battle. While they were entering the AATs, the trio were beginning to hear the sound of marching boots coming down the road. From the glow of the streetlights appeared on the ground a long line of shadows that seemed to be heading towards the bridge. Alicia, Largo, and Rosie ducked behind the corner as to mask their presence while managing to keep an eye on what was going on. Soon, there appeared a formation of droids marching towards the bridge. They marched in a formation of ten by ten men, with their weapons presented as if they were on a parade. Eight of those one droid squares marched past the group and continued marching towards the bridge. After they had past them, the AATs at the tank depot moved out and followed behind them, using the sides of the road as they made their way to the front of the column. After they had all passed, Luke walked up to the trio and warned them "Those guys are heading towards the bridge!"

"We need to move closer towards the bridgehead. We'll be able to get a better look there," suggested Largo.

"Alright then, let's move. But be careful. They still don't know that we're here and I'd like to keep it that way," cautioned Welkin.

The Droid powered down by the control shed snored so loudly that somehow he had managed to not hear the noise of the loud thunder of tanks and the marching of his fellow droids taking position near the bridgehead. He continued to be like this for several more minutes before he was suddenly and rudely awakened by a voice shouting "Get up you lazy bum!"

He awoke flailing his arms wildly before grabbing his rifle and began pointing it erratically as if he was under attack. After a few moments he regained his senses and looked to see that it was now approaching dawn with the sun just peaking over the horizon, and there was another droid in front of him, hunched over and laughing his ass off. He quickly summarized that this droid was the one who had awoken him and apparently the sight of his dazed awakening was funny enough to get him to laugh. His expression began to form into a scowl as he got up onto his feet. When the other solider had dialled down his laughing a bit he growled _"_ That wasn't funny _"_

The second soldier stopped laughing, stood up straight and replied gleefully _"_ You're right. That was hysterical. You should have seen your reaction a few moments ago _"_

 _"_ What's going on _?"_ asked the formerly sleeping soldier, wanting to know why he was so rudely awoken. His counterpart answered _"_ The battalion is getting ready to move out. They need us to lower the bridge. Come on _"_ Soon the two of them walked into the building. Inside there was a massive that took up most of the space. It was connected to a series of winches and pulley's that were used to raise and lower the bridge. There was also a control panel with various switches, dials, and buttons to help the process. And finally next to it was a large lever stuck into the ground which ultimately was the tool used to control the bridge.

As the first soldier went to work on the control panel, his counterpart stood guard next to him with his rifle. As the first soldier flipped the first few switches, the generator in the room began to power up. The large turbine that made up the centre of the generator began to spin slowly before picking up the pace. As it spun faster and faster, the ion drive used to power it caused the generator to glow blue and blue jolts of electricity to fire out from it, causing the guard to take a few steps back out of fear that he would be electrocuted. Once everything was set, the soldier operating the control panel reached for the lever and pushed it all the way forward. The Great Vasel Bridge creaked and moaned as the bridge was slowly lowered into position to create a straight and narrow walkway leading towards the OAG positions.

Kilo Squad managed to find a safe place to watch near the bridgehead. They hid next to a series of abandoned buildings that separated them from the Droid column while also keeping them away from view by the Droids inside the bridge control building. They had managed to get a better view of the enemy troops that were preparing to cross the first row there were four AAT's lined up side by side with two of the 100 man square behind them. It repeated itself three more times for a grand total sixteen AAT's and over eight hundred infantry, a battalion strong force that was dedicated to taking back the city once and for all. As the bridge gradually lowered into position, Welkin, as well as the others could tell that once those troops made it across, everyone was done for. Even though they had managed to repel the CIS troops yesterday, the force they were up against now was much larger than the previous one.

"That's gotta be a whole battalion. Most likely about eight hundred troops in all," said Hannes.

"Oh man, look at them all. We are so fucking screwed," said a worried Hermes.

"Well Lieutenant, what's your brilliant plan say now?" scoffed Rosie as she summed up their odds of success. She didn't know what had possessed her to agree to taking part in this mission in the first place, but now she was left wondering if she was going to even live to see tomorrow.

Welkin stood in view of his troops from the turret hatch of the Edelweiss. He pointed over to the the building placed next towards the bridge and explained "That building over there controls the bridge. If the Droids cross and we set the bridge to raise then..."

"We send an entire clanker battalion into the river," summarized Largo, with a slight smile appearing on his face.

"It'll help even the odds for us a lot," remarked Ted Ustinov.

"But we'll still have to deal with the remaining two hundred Droids left here," warned Catherine.

"Taking on two hundred droids seems like better odds than taking on a thousand of them," said Ted's friend Melville with Cherry adding "I like, totally agree with Mel here."

"Whatever we're going to do, we need to do it fast. Cause right now it looks like the clankers are about to move out," informed Montley, pointing at the bridge. The squad followed his gaze and saw that the bridge was now finally set in place. One of the tank commanders in the lead row of AAT's appeared through the turret hatch, shouted _"_ Battalion, move out _!"_ , and the convoy began to move forward at marching pace across the bridge. Wanting to not waste this opportunity, Welkin ordered "Sparrow take a small group and get that bridge raised now!"

"On it!" responded Luke before pointing at Marina, Ramsey, Edy, Homer, and Ted to follow him. Slowly and quietly, they sneaked over to the control building, making sure they were unseen by the advancing Droid battalion. When they reached the door, Luke took point with the others standing right behind him. Luke turned his head to then, placed a finger upon his lips and uttered out "Shhhh,". The five of them nodded their heads in agreement before readying their weapons. Luke then returned his attention back to the door. With his right hand holding his M416 assault rifle level and pointing forwards, and his left hand quietly opening the door he led his group into the room where the two droids stood.

Their backs were faced against them and they seemed to be completely oblivious to their presence. When they were all in the room with their weapons pointed at the Droids, Luke broke the silence by calmly announcing in his best droid impression _"Good Morning folks",_ his helmet managing to distort his voiceThe two droids turned around and the expressions on their faces instantly changed from being calm to surprise and shock. Standing right in front of them were six Marines, weapons aimed at them. At first the two droids thought that they could try and shoot back. But the fact that some of the Marines were armed with automatic weapons and the close range between the two groups meant that shooting back with their blaster rifles would be utterly fruitless. Even if the two droids could get a shot off from their rifles and managed to kill one or two of them, the remaining four Marines would still gun them down without a second thought. Armed with that information, the two droids dropped their weapons upon the ground and raised their hands into the air to surrender.

Luke, Edy, and Marina took the two droids and placed them in the other end of the room. While Luke and Edy keep their weapons trained on them, they had Marina do a pat down on them to search for any further weapons on them. Other than their bayonets, and a few stick grenades, there was nothing else of importance. Meanwhile, Ramsey and Homer were working on the control panel, trying to figure out how to set the bridge to raise while Ted stood by them by the large lever, watching the droids advance across the bridge from the window.

"Their almost halfway across! Can't you guys hurry it up?" asked Ted, in a more serious demeanor than his usual self.

"We're almost there. Just a few more seconds and, there!" shouted Ramsey as she and Homer finished the preparations for the bridge "Pull the lever, quick!"

As Luke grabbed the lever with both hands, he looked out the window one last time to the Droids and remarked to them with a smile _"_ Hasta la vista," before pulling the lever back with all his might.

The Droid column continued to march across the bridge, now having past the halfway mark and getting closer towards the other side. Suddenly the bridge jerked under their feet. The troops and tanks stopped dead in their tracks as each of them began wondering what had just happened. Soon the ground beneath them began to shift and was becoming uneven. Soon, the realization hit them all like a rock: Someone was raising the bridge!

They broke formation, everyone and everything frantically trying to get back to their side of the river. But as much as they tried, their reaction was too little, too late. The bridge was now being raised at a steep angle. The troops lost their footing and began sliding down and falling into the river in droves. Some tried to hold onto the railing for dear life but they eventually lost their grip and joined the comrades in the river. The AAT's fared no better. Their gravity repulsion systems scraped the surface, tearing up the platform as they furiously drove the system to the breaking point. Once the bridge had gotten to a certain point, they too fell to the river, crushing any soldiers they landed on and sending the crews inside to a watery grave below.

Welkin and the others watched from their positions and let out shouts and cheers at the sight of the Droids falling into the murky water below. No one could blame them, they had just pulled off something incredible. The odds of the battle had now gradually shifted towards their side, so it was fine that they should celebrate a little bit for reason's sake. All around they shouted chants and insults at the clankers as they were consumed by the river below.

"Ha, ha, take that you bastards," laughed Noce.

"How's the water clankers?" exclaimed Claudia.

"I bet you didn't see that coming did ya?" shouted Alex.

"That only counts as one" Welkin heard someone mumble.

Unfortunately, they had forgotten about the remaining droid troops within the city. The sound of their cheering soon alerted them to their presence. When they saw their bridge being raised they wondered at first what was going on. Was there a malfunction in the control room? None of them knew. But now everything had been made clear. Somehow the Marines had crossed the river and had just taken out the majority of their forces. They had to be taken out and fast. The only question: Where the hell were they? Their answer came when one of the droids caught a glimpse of them standing by the railing by the control room as they continued to watch the droids fall. He alerted his comrades to them by shouting "The Marines! There over there! Blast Them!"before letting off a burst at Kilo Squad with his blaster rifle. His comrades followed suit and opened fire on their enemy.

The sounds of gunfire and bullets whizzing by their heads brought Kilo Squad back to reality as they ran back behind the building for cover, even taking a few pot shots at the droids as they ran. Once they had all gathered, Vyse, Freesia, and Salinas took positions by the edge of the building and began to return fire at the enemy troops. By now, the gunshots had probably alerted every droid on the East bank to the fact that they were there. And it was evident since the number of troops coming towards them and shooting at them seemed to be increasing. The sheer volume of fire being showered onto them was so intense that it had caused the trio to take cover behind the building to protect themselves.

Soon the squad heard a strange creaking noise and looked to see that the bridge was being lowered. Right after they saw that, they heard a loud bang and saw Luke laying cover fire for his troops as they ran to re-join the group. Salinas and Vyse joined him to help get the others to safety. They ran as fast as their legs could carry them, hoping that they wouldn't get shot in the process. Once they had all safely rejoined the group, Luke ran towards them as well with them giving him cover fire as well. On the last leg of the run, Luke did a quick boost slide towards the group, narrowly colliding with the building.

"Cutting it a little close there, aren't you Commander?" uttered Largo before firing a shot from his AC-30 at a droid then quickly ducking behind cover.

"What's war without a little recklessness?" responded Luke as he got back on his feet. He then looked towards Welkin who was on top of the _Edelweiss_ and asked "What do we do now? We're going to have every droid on this side of the river after us if we don't think of something fast?"

"Come on, it's just a bunch of soldiers. We can handle these guys. What else could they possibly throw at us?" questioned Claudia. Just as she said those words, Mica shouted at the top of his lungs "Oh shit! We've got tanks incoming!" And true to his word came two AAT tanks barrelling straight at them. Each of them fired a shell from their cannons with both shots missing. One shot simply hit the ground near their location and exploded harmlessly while the other smashed through the second floor of the building next to Kilo Squad and lodging itself in the building on the other side of the street. When the shell crashed through the second story it caused bricks from the building and glass from the window to shower the squad. Each of them covered themselves with their hands and arms to shield themselves from the falling debris. Thankfully by the time it was over the only injuries were a few minor cuts and scrapes. After the threat had passed, everyone looked at Claudia with a look on their faces that said 'You just had too say it didn't you?'. Claudia simply smiled sheepishly before admitting "Spoke too soon huh?"

"Oh, you think?" said Alicia sarcastically.

"Alright listen up!" announced Welkin, causing everyone to divert his attention to him. "The rest of the Marine forces are set to cross once the bridge is level. We need to keep the Droids occupied so that they can cross. We need to make for the bridgehead!"

"If it's one thing I know, it's how to keep a bunch of assholes occupied. Let's go introduce ourselves to the Droids lads," announced Luke. Welkin moved forward with the _Edelweiss_ into open view of the AAT tanks. Isara traversed the tank so that it's frontal armour stood facing the AATs. The AAT's each fire another round at the _Edelweiss_ , hoping to knock it out. One shot hit the sloped armour and was deflected while the other missed the turret by a few inches. The _Edelweiss_ returned fire, knocking out one of the AAT tanks with a well-placed shot to its turret, blasting it to bits and engulfing the tank in flames. The remaining AAT began to back up towards the main road before veering sharply to the left and up the main road. The _Edelweiss_ gave chase and followed the AAT towards the main road. The rest of Kilo Squad followed close behind, firing at the droid infantry who were retreating along with the tank.

Once they had reached the intersection that connected the bridge with the main road, they were met with another round of gunfire. The droids had managed to get crews to at least two of the J-1's and were now shelling at the _Edelweiss_ , trying frantically to knock them out. The infantry had also gotten up with their weapons as well, and had taken up position behind the sandbags and rubble littered around the area. They were also using the adjacent building to try and hit the Marines from the flanks and from up above. The AAT tank that was previously being chased by the Edelweiss was now positioned behind the J-1's as support. In short, Welkin and his squad were up against a heavy wall of enemy fire as they tried to defend the bridgehead.

Even though the sun had now begun to rise, which brought enough light to help their aim, most of the droids that Kilo Squad was now fighting had been asleep up until now and they were only active due to the sounds of battle, causing them to grab their weapons and head out into battle in a hurry. As such they were slightly confused and low on power which hindered their aim.

"For once we catch the droids by surprise when they're not ready, and I still feel like they're going to kick our asses," complained Rosie as she popped out of cover from behind a ruined wall and mowed down two droids with her AC-160.

"If this war was supposed to be easy, we would have already won it by now," clarified Largo who was crouched next to her behind the same wall.

"Rosie, over here! We found something useful!" cried Hannes. Rosie looked to see him and Nils hiding behind a large object covered by a heavy cloth. He signalled for her to get over to where they were. Apparently whatever they found was probably very important. Waiting for the right moment, she bolted out of cover towards them. When she reached them, the two of them grabbed hold of the covers to reveal what the droids were hiding underneath. Rosie's eyes widened with shock as the object was none other than a separatist J-1 gun fully loaded with ammunition.

Rosie couldn't contain her excitement and let out a "Oh, hell yes! This is what I'm talking about!" The three of them then took up positions on the gun with Rosie sitting in the gunner's seat while Hannes and Nils sat flanking her in the loaders positions. Rosie grabbed a hold of a lever and began to traverse gun towards the droid lines. The droids had placed the gun next to the side of a building and angled it in a way that the building protected the J-1 gun from the other J-1's and the AAT tank. However, it placed them with the side of the droid infantry who were taking pot-shots at the Squad from a three story building in the opposing line of houses and behind the walls of sandbags across the road. Rosie looked down the sights and carefully lined up a bead on a large portion of the droids that were taking cover. The gun didn't have a trigger like modern firearms. It fired when the operator pressed his or her finger on a screen placed on the side. Once she was sure that everything was set, she slammed her hand down on that screen as hard as she could and unleashed a withering horde of fire upon the droids, the barrels rattling with each shot.

The shells tore through the droids, tearing through their metal bodies. Their dead bodies laid bullet riddled in the street, their insides completely turned to scrap. A few of them even had a gaping hole in their heads from when they took a shot there, with their minds now quite literally blown away. Some tried to run for cover or simply run in order to escape from the devastating firepower, but Rosie simply cut them down like rag dolls. She quickly made away with about a dozen or more so droids before the gun ran out of ammo. Hannes and Nils quickly went to work finding more ammunition for the gun. The droids on the ground took advantage of this and began to fall back to the line with the other J-1s and the AAT tank. Seeing this, Kilo Squad began to advance forward a bit more, just stopping a few yards forward of their previous position while taking some ammunition from their fallen enemies as they moved. As the squad was advancing, Rosie noticed that the droids inside the house adjacent to them were now apparently focused on them. From the shadows in the windows she could see them line up their weapons. And on the first floor, left side, they had brought up a machine gun with a bi-pod and placed it in a firing position.

Instinctively, Rosie yelled to her fellow soldiers, now finished loading the gun, as loud as she could "Get your heads down, quick!" They reacted to her instructions a split second before they became pelted by small arms fire from the machine gun and other various firearms. They didn't hit them, only absorbed harmlessly by the metal shield they were hiding behind. Regardless, the amount of fire was enough to keep them pinned down and prevent them from shooting back.

Alicia was sneaking towards the window where the machine gun was placed. She was slowly advancing towards them and keeping herself out of sight so they wouldn't notice her approach. She sneaked towards the window until stopping just outside the window, leaning against the wall to conceal herself. She was so close to the machine gun that she could just reach out and touch it. The buzzing sound the gun was making was so ear piercing that she was fighting the urge to cover her ears even with her helmet on. Thankfully however, the noise was just loud enough to cover what she was about to do next. From her belt she pulled out a grenade and then waited for the droids to reload. And with the high rate of fire, she didn't have to wait long. The gun stopped a few seconds later. As fast as she could, Alicia pulled out the safety pin and hurled the grenade through the window. She jumped back behind the wall just before the grenade exploded. Wanting to make sure she had gotten them, she leaped through the window, trying to catch a glimpse through the smoke caused by the explosion.

Alicia looked to the ground to see the blood soaked corpses of two Twi'lek CIS sympathizer soldiers. One was lying against the wall next to the machine gun. He appeared to take the brunt of the blast. His right foot along with most of the lower portion of his leg were blown to bits, leaving a bloody stump in its place. He had also sustained significant shrapnel wounds to his torso, and his face was so wounded that he was barely recognizable. The remaining Twi'lek in the room had similar injuries, but somewhat less gruesome. He was slightly farther away from the blast and only received shrapnel wounds. He was lying on his back, arms spread out like an angel. He had gotten most of the hits in the chest and facial area, blood pouring out from the more serious wounds. But was most disturbing was his eyes: They were wide open and looked as if they were staring at Alicia in a blank, lifeless stare.

Alicia suddenly became sick to her stomach and began gasping for air in a violent nature. She collapsed to her knees, eyes watering and thoughts racing. She thought she would be used to this. She had fought in several skirmishes already. Bruhl, the farmstead, Western Vasel, she had killed her fair share of soldiers. But they had fought at each other at a distance, not close like this. She hadn't seen the kind of carnage and bloodshed like what she was seeing now. Seeing this made her question if she was losing her very sanity. _Is this really what war is like? Am I really capable of doing things like this?_ she thought to herself. She soon realized what war was really like. And it had shown its true face to her. She felt the urge to take off her helmet and vomite.

Her moment was interrupted when the house began to shake and the sound of large calibre gunfire began to fill the air. She clutched her head and dived to the ground as her body reacted on its own. What she didn't know was that her little stunt with the grenade didn't go unnoticed. Rosie had taken advantage of the situation and opened fire on the German troops that were positioned on the higher floors, unloading the J-1 cannon on both upper stories completely. The shells went through the brick walls with ease, even demolishing a few portions in the process. It caused debris to shoot into the rooms, ripping through the droids with ease and causing them to drop like flies from each hit they received. After the gun ran out of ammo for the second time, Rosie stepped off along with the others once she figured that the droids in the house were all taken cared of.

The Droid Commander in charge of the J-1 crews bared witness to the destructive firepower unleashed upon his fellow troops by the J-1 gun. The sheer shock of the attack, coupled with the brutal wounds that it had afflicted, had somewhat shaken the droid's resolve a bit. After the firing had subsided, looked forward only to see the Marine squad they had been shooting at along with their tank had now taken advantage of their pause to resume their advance towards their position. The OAG tank halted its advance for a moment before firing a shell at the AAT tank parked next to the anti-tank crews. It went straight through the front armour and exited the back, making its way cleanly through the engine before finally striking another building behind them. The AATs engine had caught fire due to the hit. Smoke began to billow out from the holes that the shell created as well as from the tank hatches, implying that smoke was now filling the inside as well. The hatches flipped open, with more smoke pouring out as well as the tank's crew, desperate to escape their burning tank. As the crew collapsed onto the ground, their faces were shown to be covered in soot. The worries of the officer were only added when one of the crew members gestured for him to look at what was coming up behind the Marine squad.

The officer took a look through his binoculars and saw that the rest of the OAG forces, both Marine and Regulars, were charging across the bridge to join the fighting across the river. Now the droids had reason to worry. With most of their forces sent to a watery grave, the OAG now had a real shot at retaking the city. And with the number of tanks and infantry coming across right now. It would only be a matter of time before his crews would be overrun. In an effort to try and save them, he put down his binoculars and ordered _"Withdraw to the temple. Fall back!"_ The crews dropped everything as they abandoned their guns and made for the other end of the city.

Kilo Squad continued to pursue them until they reached the J-1s. Once they had completely stopped, Welkin opened the turret hatch and looked behind to see the rest of the Marines pour out of the bridge and begin to fan out in different directions throughout the city, determined to root out any droids hiding within. But as the main force moved into the city, two Army tanks, as well as two small squads of Regulars trailing behind them, moved towards Kilo Squad. They stopped just short of the group. The two tanks opened their turret hatches and out appeared Lieutenants Faldio and Read.

"You did a fine job here Welkin. I'm still amazed at how you managed to pull this off let alone convince the Captain to go along with this," commented Faldio with a smile upon his face.

"Yeah, but the plan's only halfway done. We still have a lot of work to do," clarified Welkin.

"I agree. While the rest of our forces circle around, clearing out the Germans on our flanks. We should move out through the middle and clear out any enemy holdings. Then we meet the others and combine our forces for a joint attack on the remaining enemy troops," informed Read.

Welkin nodded in agreement before given out the remaining orders to his troops. "Alright then. Rosie, you and Sparrow take the Marines and lead the column. Largo, have the remaining troops stick with the tanks and offer fire support. Alicia will..." Welkin was about to continue but noticed that something was off. He looked around for a moment before realizing was wrong: Alicia was nowhere to be found.

"Where's Alicia? Anybody know where she is?" he asked, hoping someone had an answer. There were a few moments of silence before Dallas spoke up and explained "I think Miss Alicia was still in that building back there"

"What building?" questioned Read.

"The one that we turned into Swiss cheese over there," explained Jack as he pointed towards the building. The others looked to that same building, still somewhat smoking from the havoc unleashed upon it. Soon, thoughts of worry began to appear in Welkin's head. The amount of damage to the building made him begin to think that Alicia got hurt during the fight. _Was she injured? Is she even still alive?_ he thought as he tried to figure out what to do next. He soon cleared his mind before issuing another set of orders to the group. "Sparrow, Take my place here on the _Edelweiss_. I'm going to check up on Alicia and see if she's alright," he said. Before anyone could object he had already hopped out of the tank, his M37 plasma pistol in hand as he raced over to the building.

As the others watched him run off, Faldio only broke their silence by saying "Well you heard him. Sir get up onto the tank. Once you're up and settled, we move out. No more questions, we've wasted enough time already."

Luke opened his mouth to object but nothing came out. Instead he let out a sigh and replied back in a mumble "Fine." As Luke climbed up the _Edelweiss_ and into the turret he thought up in his mind _What is it with Welkin and women? He's known Alicia for little over a month and he's already racing off to save her? He's known Lieutenant Read for a few days and he's gotten her to develop a crush on him. Is there something here that I'm missing? Does he have some kind of charm on him or something that makes ladies like him?_ Luke let those thoughts go away once he was inside the gunner's seat inside the _Edelweiss_. Once Faldio saw this, he then gave the order for everyone to move out. The _Edelweiss_ led the column, followed by the two light tanks and infantry. All heading straight for the City hall.

Welkin peered through the shattered window to see what it was like inside the building. He saw debris and shell casings littered about the floor and large craters in the walls for when the shells tore through the building. But Alicia was nowhere to be found, which only made him want to investigate the area more. He slowly moved towards the door to open it. He had barely touched it when the remains of the door fell apart and collapsed onto the floor, creating a loud crash as it landed. Welkin cringed for a moment after it fell, knowing now that any chance of finding Alicia stealthy had just dissipated in an instant.

Welkin made his way past the ruined door and began calmly strolling through the front rooms of the house, pistol raised, in hopes that Alicia hadn't been killed. After going through a few rooms and turning up nothing, he managed to stumble upon the room where the CIS machine gun team had been killed by Alicia's grenade. Avoiding the elephant in the room, meaning the dead Twi'leks, he spied something else entirely. He noticed boot treads in the dust that had littered the floor, boot treads belonging to OAG Marine boots. And there were more, creating a small trail that went out of the room.

During his nature walks, Welkin had become quite the adept tracker. He could easily identify a specific animal based on their footprints, the spacing between the individual steps, and the pattern in which they moved. From that experience, he could summarize that Alicia was at some point in this room before leaving. And judging by how far apart the individual steps were, she apparently left in a hurry. The question that appeared at the moment was why? _Was she running from the enemy? No, not likely, if it was that then there would be more than one set of treads. Maybe she was chasing someone? No again. Just doesn't seem likely_ Welkin thought. What was certain was that Alicia was definitely trying to get out in a hurry.

Alicia barrelled down the alley like a madman, hoping to find someplace quiet and solitary. After a few solid minutes of running, she managed to find a quiet place near the end of the alley that connected to the street. There was a large dumpster that stood next to the door where she laid her back against before sliding down to the ground and onto her knees. Alicia's eyes began to water up and she soon lost control over her emotions. She began to sob and wail uncontrollably as the thoughts of her actions began to haunt her to no end, her cries only muffled by the _pop_ of gunfire and the _boom_ of explosions. She had managed to escape that building while Rosie was shelling it. And it was a good thing too. If she stayed in that room with those two dead soldiers, she would have lost her mind right then and there and scream in agony for what she had done. Those two men she had killed looked no older than she. And now they laid dead their own land. _Is this what was has become? Young kids killing each other without any sense, mercy, or compassion?_ she thought, trying to figure out the reason for this. She tried to reason that this was necessary and it was all to defend the Galaxy. But no matter what she told herself, no manner of self-talk could stop her from crying her eyes out in grief.

She cried for several minutes before suddenly she heard the door on the other side of the dumpster fly open and hit the wall with a loud thud. Instinctively, she managed to muffle her crying and crawled quickly behind the dumpster to avoid being spotted. The sounds of footsteps hurriedly racing out and away from her towards the street. The sound stopped after a few seconds. Curious, Alicia peaked from the corner to see what was going on.

And true to her thoughts, she could hear the sound of a tank, thundering towards their location, coupled with the sound of machine gun fire. Alicia looked out at the street to see droids running for their lives, blue plasma from a machine gun flying all around them. Some tried to fire back at whatever was chasing them, but were cut down by Plasma bullets and slumped down onto the ground. Alicia's full view became blocked due to a OAG Titan tank appearing in front of the Droids on the other side of the street, it's side completely exposed to them. It had stopped so that it's gunner could line up the gun to fire on the three droids just up the ally from her. The turret traversed to line up the shot and fired. The flash of light that covered the tank in a split second was all Alicia needed to confirm that the shell had hit its target Before moving on.

It appeared that the Twi'lek CIS sympathizer managed to avoid the same fate of his comrades, though not completely unscathed. He had a massive cut on his forehead with blood pouring down over his face. His left sleeve was torn to shreds with his tunic and pants slightly hinged from the heat of the blast. It appeared that he had received wounds on his arm as there was also blood flowing down his arm and on his hands. He looked up. He spotted her. For what seemed an eternity but onl lasted a few seconds he began to race towards her.

Wasting no time, he quickly knelt on top of her. With his bloody left hand, he grabbed hold of her throat and began to squeeze it tightly. Alicia frantically tried to wrest his hold on her all the while struggling to breath as he continued to constrict her windpipe. But it was all in vain as his grip was too strong despite his wounded arm. The Twi'lek then reached for his belt with his free hand and pulled out a knife with a deep serrated edge, the blade glistening from the light of the morning sun and orange flames. Alicia's eyes widened with horror when she realized what this meant for her. She doubled her efforts to resist and break free but she hadn't managed to even loosen his grip on her. The Twi'lek stared at her with a demented and sadistic smile on his face as if he was going to relish what he was about to do next.

"Quit your squirming you Human rat!" he spat out at her, showing the blood that had filled his mouth. "You're going to die here. Just like every one of your kind," he continued before raining the blade high over his head, pointing it downward towards Alicia. "I'm going to make you bleed. Like a stuck pig," he claimed before preparing to lunge the knife into Alicia. But before he could begin, the sound of three gunshots pierced the air. The Twi'lek seemed to pause for a moment. His blade fell out of his trembling hand before he looked down to see three bloody holes in his chest, grouped very tightly together right where his heart would be. Blood began to pour out of his mouth and onto Alicia's tunic before he fell on his side, letting her go and falling off of her in the process. Alicia looked up to see Welkin standing a few yards in front of her, pistol aimed with the barrel still smoking.

After a few moments of standing still he rushed over to Alicia, placing the pistol back into his holster as he ran. Once he reached her he slowly got her to sit up as he checked her for injuries. Other than a blood covered throat as well as a bump on the back of her head, there was nothing very serious. He then noticed how Alicia wasn't speaking so he decided to speak first. In a soft and concerned tone he asked her, "Are you okay?".

"A little shaken, but I think I am," she responded though there was a hint of uncertainty in her voice. "Why are you here?" she asked.

"You ran off without telling anyone, so I came to find you," he answered truthfully, choosing to ignore asking her again based on the tone of her voice.

"But what about the rest of the squad?" she asked, concerned about what he did with them.

"It's alright. I left Faldio and Mary in charge. They're moving up with the rest of the army to take the enemy command centre. Which is where we should be going now," he explained.

 _0712 hours (7:12 am)_

Boom. An explosion by caused by a shell from Faldio's tank had just annihilated another CIS MG position. By now, the column led by Kilo Squad were pushing the droids back towards their command centre in the city hall. Even though they faced some stiff opposition, they were finally clearing the way towards their final objective. Now they were on the final stretch of the trip, with the church right in front of them. The CIS flag draped from the bell tower over the front door standing apart from the grim landscape.

Luke led the group from the _Edelweiss_ with Read and Faldio's tanks flanking it on both sides and the infantry spread out around them but not far away as well as a few of them riding on the rear of the tanks. In front of them were several groups of Separatist troops fleeing from them into the safety of the interior of the building. As the man got inside, they quickly closed the massive wooden doors to prevent them from entering. Meanwhile a squad of Droids remained outside to try and prevent the Marines from capturing the city hall. The odds however were against them since they were only a group of infantry up against an even larger group supported by three tanks.

"Alright we're drawing close now. Everyone start squirting that area ahead. Let's finish this now," ordered Read from her tank.

"Roger that, ma'am," responded Luke as he cocked the handle on his LMG-5 and letting loose a hail of fire. The rest of the tanks followed suit as well as the infantry. Firing every rifle and machine gun they had at the droid positions. To the Droids outside the church, they kept themselves hidden behind cover as the volume of Plasma bullets around them increased each passing second. Due to their programming, many tried to fire back with their own weapons but were cut down the moment they popped out of cover, reducing their numbers quite rapidly. And the Plasma that didn't strike them or the area around them instead struck the building. Breaking its ornamental windows and burrowing themselves deep within the walls and the heavy wooden doors as well as causing damage to the inside when some passed through the shattered windows.

As Luke was peppering the enemy, his gun jammed. When he moved to clear the jam he looked to see Susie, one of the soldiers riding on the _Edelweiss_ , simply stare at what was transpiring in front of her with a frightened look on her face. In fact, it appeared that she hadn't fired her weapon at all during the entire battle.

Luke grabbed her by the shoulder and shook her violently, grabbing her attention. "What the hell are you doing? Shoot now!" he yelled at her.

"What do I shoot at?" stuttered Susie.

"The clankers you dumb broad. Kill the fuckers before they kill us all!" he explained before returning to his gun, which after a few moments he had un-jammed. He quickly got his finger back onto the trigger and continued firing away at the enemy. Susie hesitated for a moment before closing her eyes shut and fired forward blindly out of fear. The trio of tanks soon halted a dozen meters from the city hall doors and with their machine guns, cleared out the remaining droids outside its walls. Once they were finished Luke looked to Faldio and said "See if you can clear us a way in."

Faldio responded to that by ordering the crew of his tank to fire upon the doors. The tank turret traversed to the right before it lined up with its target. And with a mighty thud it's 120mm cannon fired. Colliding with the door and breaking it off their hinges while simultaneously smashing them to hundreds of splinters.

"Come on kiddos, let's get into the fight," shouted Rosie enthusiastically while signalling for the others to follow her lead. She then charged forward, with the rest of Kilo Squad following right behind her. Not only that, but they were also being joined by Luke, Faldio, and Read who had climbed out of their tanks and grabbed a weapon from one of the dead CIS soldiers. When they entered the city hall, they expected to be met by groups of soldiers armed and ready to kill them. Instead they walked in to see a Droid Commander, slumped dead on the other side of the floor along with almost two dozen Separatist troops standing up, weapons on the floor, arms raised high, and all shouting frantically at them _"We Surrender! Don't shoot! Don't shoot!"_

"Get on your knees! Jane and Coby, cuff them," ordered Faldio. The three of them followed those orders. Once Luke translated what Faldio wanted to tell them to the few Twi'leks present, they all unanimously got on their knees where Jane and Hannes tied their hands behind their backs. The rest of the squad set about securing the room, while the Regulars searched the basement and the bell tower for other foes, though turning up empty handed.

"Lieutenant Landzaat," called out a voice. Faldio looked behind him to see Largo standing in front of him. Largo continued with "The buildings secured. No more krauts inside. And we just got word that the remaining droids have fled the city."

"What about Lieutenant Gunther and Sergeant Melchiott?" asked Faldio, concerned about his friends.

"They'll be here," answered Largo. Faldio let out a light smile before looking over at Luke and ordering "Contact the Captain and tell her what's happened."

"Roger, dodger," he replied before taking a radio and dialling in the correct frequency to contact Varrot. Soon the radio crackled to life as Varrot called from the other end "This is Captain Varrot here. What's going on?"

Luke let out a hearty laugh before explaining "Start drinking your champagne Cap'n. Cause the droids have fled the city! Vasel is ours again!"

Luke and Welkin walked into the command tent where Captain Varrot was to hand in their reports. Luke noticed how everyone was crowding round the Radio.

"Why's everyone crowding round the Radio?" Luke asked. All he got for a reply was a "Shhhhh". Luke and Welkin walked over to see what everyone was listening too.

" _Yesterday, 1_ _st_ _of July, 2622. A date which will live in infamy, the Orion Arm Government was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Chorus Federation._

 _The Orion Arm was at peace with that nation and, at the solicitation of Chorus, was still in conversation with its government and its leader looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Damocles systems._

 _Indeed, one hour after Federation air squadrons had commenced bombing in the OAG Moon of Oahu, the Federation Ambassador to the OAG and his colleague delivered a formal reply to our Secretary of State due to a recent message. And while this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or of armed attack._

 _It will be recorded that the distance of Concordia from the Chorus Federation makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many days or even weeks ago. During the intervening time, the Chorus Federation government has deliberately sought to deceive the Orion Arm Government by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace._

 _The attack yesterday on the Concordia System has caused severe damage to OAG naval and military forces in the region. I regret to tell you that very many OAG lives have been lost. In addition, OAG ships have been reported torpedoed on the trade routes between Concordia and surrounding systems._

 _The Chorus Federation has, therefore, undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Damocles area. The facts of yesterday and today speak for themselves. The people of the Orion Arm have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our nation._

 _As Commander in Chief of the Army, Navy, Marines and Airforce, I have directed that all measures be taken for our defence. But always will our whole nation remember the character of the onslaught against us._

 _No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the Orion people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory._

 _I believe that I interpret the will of Parliament and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost, but will make it very certain that this form of treachery shall never again endanger us._

 _Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory, and our interests are in grave danger._

 _With confidence in our armed forces, with the unbounding determination of our people, we will gain the inevitable triumph - so help us God._

 _I ask that the Parliament declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by the Chorus federation on Sunday, July 1st, 2622, a state of war has existed between the Orion Arm Government and the Chorus federation"_


	15. Smash and Grab

**The First Contact War**

Chapter 15

Smash and Grab

" _You win battles by know your enemies' timing, and using a timing your enemy does not expect." Miyamoto Musashi_

 _2622 July 15th Earth Standard Calendar,_ _Sargent Rebecca 'Hex' Darnell, Concordia, Firebase Santa Monica._

The Federation was all over the place as they tried to breach the beachfront at Firebase Santa Monica. The fire was heavy and unrelenting. Hex squinted through her sights as she looked for the more immediate threats to their lines and they were everywhere as she looked from her vantage point in the trenches. Maybe this was the result of that funny feeling that she had all day from the time that she woke up to the time she was directed out to her patrol by Command.

Ever since that morning there was something off about everything. Hex could never explain it, not even to her patrol mates how she knew something was going to happen. No one took her gut feelings lightly either. They had kept her alive the past ten years after the Federation took control of the Orbital Defence Initiative or ODIN satellites and targeted her home leaving her alone; at least she thought so, in the world. She had no word of her parents who resided in New Phoenix and resigned herself to avenging their deaths and making sure that no one else would have to go through that.

It was pretty much everyone's story or everyone had a story like that who joined up to fight against the Federation on Concordia. She joined and never looked back and ploughed ahead. She had nowhere else to go so she dedicated herself to the fight. Her 'gut instinct' made her legendary in some respects and earned ire from others. One of the major things was that it was considered she didn't play too well with authority. She didn't care. She was there to fight the Federation and she would be damned if they took this home from her as well.

"Fuck they're everywhere." It was accompanied by gunfire from next to her that it was almost deafening.

Hex spared a glance at her partner and friend Carol as she fired her weapon at the advancing enemy. She felt a sense of gladness at the presence of her partner that she was still alive in this fight. "And they're going to get nothing but lead from me."

Carol ducked and put a hand to her helmet as an RPG hit their embankment. She felt the dirt and debris that flew from the explosion hit her on the shoulders as she looked up to see her friend pop back up from her crouched position and continued to fire. "I'm so not cut out for this."

"You may be right. You are a medic," Hex countered without any malice behind it.

"And the only reason I'm out here is because it's all hands on deck," Carol countered as she scampered over to where a soldier had gone down and was grabbing his shoulder. She pulled out bandages to plug the wound.

Hex gave a slight smirk at that. Carol had been the medic for her team the past five years. The woman had been a doctor when she enlisted and the first thing that was obvious to Hex was that the woman didn't like shooting guns. Sure she had trained for it but the woman hated it and didn't like combat but she was damn good in the field in terms of patching up things. Hex made it her personal job to keep an eye on Carol and safe. It ended up cementing a bond of friendship to the point that the men thought the end of the world had come. Their sergeant was not known for making friends. She went in and did the job and expected others to do the same.

It was hard for those outside the team to comprehend but there was a modicum of respect. The men valued their leader's expertise and they worked together to make sure everyone was more or less intact when they came back from patrol sweeps of the Wall. They were considered the best next to Viking Six and Viking Five. Rumour had it that they took out a whole patrol with their dog.

Hex knew all this and didn't think much of it. She did make much of her men in terms of making sure that they were good to go and if someone was hurt she made sure they made it back. She could be a hard ass but she did care. She watched Carol take care of one of her guys but he ended up dying from bleeding out and she had to admire Carol's strength to return to the line. She said, "We may have to fall back."

"There's still Harris and Potts," Carol pointed out. She knew they had to hold the line even though it looked dire. She was willing to do it because someone had to look after her friend who would go on a suicide mission if it called for it.

Hex looked at the situation. It was getting dire. She could see that they were losing ground. "Tell them to pull back and regroup with Tango squad. You go too."

"And you?"

"Staying at my post. Rigging up a few explosions and giving them hell," Hex replied giving Carol a grin. She patted her friend's helmet to indicate that she was to get moving and that was an order.

"And my professional opinion is that you are insane as always," Carol replied as she turned to relay the order to the remaining men of the squad. She looked at her friend and saw that she was indeed preparing to give a very loud explosion and shook her head.

Hex looked over her embankment and noted the advancing enemy. She didn't have much time. She called in, "Command, this is Echo Three, hostiles advancing and we're losing ground."

" _Roger that Echo, can you hold position?"_

"Negative, Command. Fall backing to next position but leaving a nice surprise for the Feds." Hex ran through her empty line and laid down what she had finished.

" _Roger Echo. Fall back to nearest position and continue fire."_

"Roger that."

" _We are losing ground. We need you to help reinforce the beachfront."_

" _On our way. Any word from Captain Winter's command post?"_

Hex paused only for a moment to hear what was going on. She was familiar with Captain Winter since she was assigned to his command. He assigned her patrols accordingly and always treated her… she wasn't sure how to describe it. She was always business when it came to orders but his mannerism to her was different. In return she lightened up a bit and they had interesting conversations. If Carol was there, she would have said that she was fond of the Captain and in that respectful way.

" _Negative. Defensive teams were holding that position…"_

Hex looked around and it felt like her breath was taken away. If Captain Winter was KIA or seriously injured… She couldn't think the worst but it was a very real possibility. And her friend Carol was right. She was fond of the man and it was because he gave her a chance in terms of command. Up until five years ago she had been put down even as she advanced to the rank she deserved. She was not taken seriously until she had been called in by the Captain.

She was nervous then but she maintained that look of calm as she had been taught and what had been assumed to be the stereotype of her people. It was a bit of a put off for people who didn't understand but for those that got to know her, it was a mask to hide what she was truly feeling and it was something she excelled at ever since she was a child. It was this look of calm she had when she walked into the Captain's command.

The man was well known in military circles. He knew his stuff and was respected for it. Hex admired his courage during the early part of the war and now he was speaking to her. It had been a total surprise when he asked her where she was from and what her background was. She had been taken aback and wondered why he was asking and looked at him with a look of suspicion. It was bold but she only responded with name, rank and serial.

That seemed to please him since he nodded and beckoned to her stand at ease. The first part was the rundown of her career thus far and he pointed out a few noteworthy comments from her superiors that were total bullshit but nevertheless she wasn't able to argue. She owned up to it and even gave certain 'corrections' that had not been noted. Captain Winter merely nodded at her and looked at what he had on her. In the end he said that he needed someone to lead one of his squads and that he was appointing her to the job.

He had told her what he was doing with his back turned towards her. When he announced his decision he had turned to gauge her reaction. She responded with a calm air and stood at attention to accept. Since that day she was Echo Three and leader of Echo Squad. Also since then the captain had become more open and tried to encourage her to open up as well. Her gut said to but this time she was wary about it but the captain didn't seem to mind. It was like he knew what she was thinking and responded accordingly.

Now it looked like there might be a possibility… Hex shook her head and went about the business of setting the last of the charges. She couldn't think about that now even though she was struck with the slightest feelings of dread and possible sadness of that possibility. She was going to make life a living hell for the Feds. Once it was set she called, "Command, this is Echo Three. Pulling back and waiting to light up the ground."

" _Roger. All units be advised danger close near sector zero seven eight niner. Echo Three has the green light."_

Hex ran to a nearby hole. She was still in the trenches but it was the best cover and she had a good position. She watched and waited. She fired her weapon to draw them in closer and as many as possible. When she was sure, she let it rip. The explosion that followed really lit up the ground. Hex peeked over at the sight of her handiwork and gave an approving nod. That was a good kill.

" _Echo Three good kill. You bought time for the_ _SA10C-Thunderbolts_ _."_

"Roger that, Echo Three out."

It was business as usual but Hex was separated from her squad. Still she ran through the lines taking out the enemy and grabbing ammo along the way. She paused only a moment to note that the enemy was retreating. She frowned at that though. That didn't seem right. She watched as the enemy popped smoke to… "Command, hostiles marking our guys with smoke. Artillery inbound."

" _Copy that. All unit's enemy artillery inbound."_

Hex watched as the artillery bombarded the defensive positions. It made her a bit careless and a round grazed her arm. She ducked and looked up to see enemy VTOL transports inbound. This was going to be a shit hole for sure.

"You couldn't stay out of trouble long enough could you?"

Hex looked up to see Carol already at work looking at her arm. She didn't bother to question how the medic found her. "It's a scratch. Where's the squad?"

Carol become quiet for a moment, "They fell back to the defensive position. Artillery got them."

" _Command we have enemy birds suppressing our position! What's the ETA on those Warthogs?"_

" _SA10C's en route. ETA thirty seconds"._

"Like we have thirty seconds," Hex muttered while getting back to her feet. She would mourn her squad later. Right now she had Carol to worry about and they were stuck in the middle of heavy fire and it looked like relief was on the way but they were losing the beach. "We need to stay out of Fed sight and make our way to the defensive position. A10's are inbound."

"Don't have to tell me twice. Lead the way," Carol replied as she loaded a fresh mag.

Hex began to move out. She was right in that the Fed was storming the beach. They were losing ground and fast. She could only hope that the A10s would get there on time to save what was left. They would hold their ground though.

" _A10s are on station and ready for tasking."_

Hex pulled Carol into a trench to hide from the Thunderbolt fire. Whoever was piloting them was making it fast and accurate and that was a relief. "At least someone can shoot."

"Better them than me. You know me. I don't like guns," Carol joked. She adjusted her position and looked around the trench.

At that moment an explosion sounded. Both women looked to see one of the balconies of the defensive positions fall. They could see men failing as they fell to the ground. Some did manage to survive and were taking cover since they were in the trenches.

" _Drone Control's defensive teams are reporting massive casualties and need assistance."_

Hex looked at Carol. If Drone Control fell, then they were screwed. She looked at Carol and the woman nodded. She called, "Command this is Echo Three acknowledging sit rep. Heading to Drone Control now using the trenches."

" _Roger Echo Three."_

" _We're moving through the trenches! Hang tight, we'll get there!"_

" _All defensive units be advised! Friendlies are moving through the trenches towards Drone Control. Watch your fire!"_

"Just another day at the park, Carol."

"Fuck you, Hex."

They gave each other a fist bump and started moving through the trenches. The Federation was crawling all over the place but if they didn't get there and secure Control they were going to lose the beach. The drones were the only thing that were keeping the beaches from being completely overrun. Hex took point and began to clear the path. It was like doing drills when she was trying to better Carol's shoot ratio. It sucked horribly but it did develop a sense of teamwork and cemented a firm friendship.

Carol's rifle was going off and picking off hostiles that were trying to flank them or came out of the woodwork. It was a well-developed strategy that served them both a couple of times on patrol. The squad had picked up on it and they had adapted it to squad size and it worked. Now it was back down to two and they were against huge odds.

They ran past sandbag mounds that really didn't do shit for cover but it was better than nothing even when you had durasteel Armour. Hex felt the sand from the beach sticking to her armour's skin from the sweat pouring down her face and neck. She could hear shouts of people calling that men were down and where targets were. It was loud and unrelenting but they had to push forward. Somewhere along the way a couple of their guys from other teams joined to help clear a path.

" _We're surrounded on all sides! What's your ETA?"_

" _We're almost there. Hold on!"_

"Copy that. Echo Three almost there."

They pushed forward and Hex thought she heard Caracian so she pressed against the wall and put a hand back to press Carol to the wall. It was gone and she heard voices. It sounded like their guys so she risked it after indicating that Carol should stay back and be ready. She wasn't going to take chances. If she got hit, then Carol would be fine and she would take down as many as she could.

With Carol pressed against the wall with her gun ready, Hex took a deep breath before coming around the corner. She was prepared to fire with her rifle up and she aimed. The result ended up with her coming face to face with another soldier who was pointing his rifle at her. First thoughts were that he was fearless and a good soldier for standing his ground. Then she noticed the black mask with a skull bones on it, where the actual bones would be on his face, that covered his face except for the area where the eyes were.

"Name and rank," he said.

"Echo Three," she replied, well aware that it wasn't what he was asking. He wasn't lowering his weapon so she wasn't either. "You?"

"CDR. Luke Sparrow… Sergeant."

It was a standoff as Hex studied him and went with her gut. She kept her weapon up and diverted her gaze and her gun and fired. The dead Fed fell into the trench and she lowered her weapon and stared silently at the Commander. As far as she knew, she was in trouble for her attitude towards a superior officer but now wasn't the time. She said, "Trenches are crawling with them."

 _Commander Luke Sparrow POV_

CDR. Luke Sparrow looked at the sergeant that in most cases would have been considered undermining the chain of command. His first impression was that she was a bitch because of her attitude but also impressive. He had heard of Sergeant 'Hex' and he was certain she was the one that set off the fireworks below to buy some time to hold the beach. Her team was well known during the sweeps of the Wall and couple of missions they had been sent on. Their motto was 'Into the Breach' or something like that. Some of the stuff was stories that were embellished by the men as what had happened.

At this point it looked like they were going to need some help and since he had heard that Echo Three was responding to aid for Drone Control, he wasn't going to turn down help. He replied, "Only too true sergeant."

Hex lowered her weapon and looked around while Carol came out to reveal that she wasn't alone. "We're making for Drone Control."

"Same here. You're welcome to join. We could use the extra hands."

"Funny. I was about to say the same thing to you," Hex replied. She knew that she was being disrespectful but something compelled her to be; like that was the only way to gain acceptance. It was strange and probably stupid but it was that gut thing again and she went with it. "My medic, Echo Five," she introduced Carol who nodded.

"Sparrow. My Squad mate Riley," Luke replied. While it was probably not the best of times to be making introductions, it had reduced the tensions long enough to agree to work together and then later go back to deciding who had the bigger bite. "Let's move out."

Hex followed behind Luke and was in turn followed by Riley and Carol. They continued on towards control and ended up running into a large hovercraft that was flying over the trenches. It wasn't one of theirs so that meant that it was one of the Feds. She paused to study the thing as it flew overhead and her eyes scanned it out of habit. If she had the weaponry she would try to take it out. She returned to business and signalled Carol to fall into formation.

"Drone control! Enemy forces are swarming at your door! We need air support on your position. It's the only way we'll be able to get through," Luke called through the comms. He fired at the hostiles that were in the trenches and trying to slow them down. He was surprised though to see that Hex had passed him up and was pushing forward and behind her was her medic covering her flank like a two-man tank.

" _Roger that! Repositioning drones now! The tower will be in your kill zone! Watch your fire!"_

Luke looked at the two-woman team as they took cover. They were anticipating the air strike. He called to his comrade, "Call em in! Make sure to direct your fire away from the tower!"

Hex took cover and fired at the hostiles from her position while occasionally checking to see if Carol was still there. She teased, "Still with me Doc?"

"Bite me," Carol replied with a slight grin as she fired her weapon. She noticed the drones firing as they took out enemy armour. "Looks like our partners are good shots… not that you'd ever notice." She smirked when she saw the look her friend was giving her.

Hex gave a look and covered the one called Riley while he directed the drones to draw fire from the tower. He was good she could admit but that didn't mean that she was impressed. Being beaten down by her successes sort of put the whole thing about showboating out of her and she did the same to her guys. She continued to so her job until the second drone was hit by enemy fire and it struck the tower. She heard Luke calling the tower and getting nothing. "Tower's down," she said with harsh realization.

"Shit! Come on let's move!" Luke hadn't wanted to admit it but it looked like the beach was going to be overrun. Still they had to make sure. He signalled for them to move out.

Hex followed behind Luke as they headed towards the damaged tower. There were still hostiles all around so she narrowed her eyes and covered the leader while trusting in Carol and Riley to do the same. They cleared out the entrance and Luke called, "That's the last of 'em. Let's move."

Hex moved lightly on her feet to take point. She passed Luke and Riley and ended up at the door to look around. Dirt clung to her face, darkening her skin, forcing it into shadow. From the view of her companions she looked like a being that wasn't quite human. She radioed, "Command, drone control is down. Moving in to evac the injured, over."

" _All units this is Command. SA10C Drone Support is now offline. Fall back to secondary defensive positions. I repeat all units retreat from the beach."_

"Let's go!"

Hex pulled on Carol's vest and started following Luke through the buildings along with Riley. Air artillery was being dropped at the same time and it was not helping as troopers were falling back to the secondary positions. "Keep up Doc!"

At that moment Riley slipped and Hex forced herself to stop and help him up. Artillery exploded around them, sending debris up. She yanked on his arm since he had slipped while trying to get up. When she turned though… One second Carol was there, the next second and explosion hit in front and Carol was no longer there. It was not her voice when she screamed out, "Carol!"

There was nothing there and the artillery was getting fiercer and she had someone who needed her help now. She used her other hand to pull Riley to his feet. He had been hit in the head with a chunk of debris and was sporting a cut that looked worse than what it was. She pushed him to follow Luke and gave a backwards glance to whisper good bye.

"Delta HQ is down the next street! Hurry!"

Hex snapped her attention towards Luke and Riley. She covered the flank as she followed them, taking down enemies from the street. She had no idea where she was going or why she was even sticking with Luke and Riley but she stayed and covered.

"Enemies behind us! We gotta get inside!"

Hex was prepared to remain behind but she was grabbed by the shoulder of her vest and urged inside by Luke. She really didn't have the heart to scowl at that since she realized that they were at the captain's command. She started following Riley and tailed by Luke being the last one looking for Captain Winter. Their way was blocked and only Riley was able to get through. Luke told him to go upstairs and they would find another way through. They did find another way through and Luke shouted, "Riley!"

"Up here! There's no sign of the captain." Hex and Luke hurried up to the room where Riley was through an alternate route from the fire escape. Hex looked up as she heard a Warbird VTOL approaching. The Warbird stopped right above them and lowered three cables down to them. She saw Luke and Riley attaching the cables to their belts.

"You coming or what?"

* * *

 _2622 July 15th Earth Standard Calendar,_ _CDR Elias Winter, in Orbit around Concordia, aboard the stealth ship OAG Winter Solace_

Elias could be considered a man of few regrets. As he said, once he made a decision, there was no going back. It was his way of saying that he was confident in it. Looking down at his boys, he watched as Hex walked back towards them to join them but not be a part of their group. She had squatted nearby within conversation distance and seemed more inclined to 'talk' to Riley though she answered to Luke's questions. Luke was silent and seemed less talkative as he usually did around people he didn't have to talk to.

He wasn't wrong when he made the decision to make her an operator and the same went for his men. His men he knew they were capable of the job ahead and he was certain she was too. It was different because he hadn't had the opportunity to watch her grow up and learn what she learned. It took the war to show him that she was skilled as a tracker and had the ability to sneak up on people. She was innovative and she was patient and resourceful as a leader.

He was well aware of how she had been treated the first five days of the war. He didn't believe much the reports but she didn't deny things when he pressed when she reported to him five years ago. Since then she did what was asked and once or twice barely toed the line or more like leaned over it. She got the job done and didn't finish until it was completed; another quality in a Delta Operator.

He could understand her apprehension though. She was never one to seek fame and what she had done as an artist was more for awareness. She didn't care about the money. She didn't even know what Delta were until she met them… and it was quite memorable. He could see Reece watching her as she 'sat' very still and the only movement was when she spoke to Riley and occasionally Luke. His nose looked a little swollen and Merrick… the man was scowling.

Sighing Elias knew it was time to get to business and he walked forward. His men stood up quickly but Hex was slower and graceful. It was regal and Elias wondered if she had inherited that from her mother. Merrick was on his feet and asking, "So what are we going to do about the Feds on Concordia?"

"Nothing."

"What do you mean nothing!" yelled Hex.

"The OAG does not currently have the Forces to go on the offensive against the Feds, even with 50% of the home fleet en route. we can however get them off world, but we don't have the available units to attack the Federation Planets directly, so instead we are going to infiltrate the capital Caracas and snatch the man in charge, Albert Valentine. This…" Elias said pressing a button, showing a hologram of the Presidential Skyscraper. "Is the Presidential Skyscraper, Valentine's office is located on the 73rd floor. We will enter via the roof using a special stealth Warbird and enter on one of the higher floors and make our way down inside. We will neutralize any opposition and hit Valentine's office. Once we have secured the VIP we will exfill to this carpark two blocks away, where the Stealthbird will pick you up and rendezvous with the _Winter Solace._ This ship will then immediately jump to Earth were we will hand Valentine over. Also there will be no use of your Exoskeletons due to the high risk of the mission, command doesn't want anything to fall into enemy hands if this goes sideways."

"How do we know Valentine will be in his office?"

"We are going in on Federation Day. Valentine will have just have finished a speech and will be finishing work off in his office before going home."

"Well then… I've always wanted to visit Caracas; we'll even get to bring back a souvenir" Luke commented.

* * *

"And what about you?" Luke was well aware that it sounded like a childish retort but he had to say something. "Considering you grew up on them yourself like a bear teaching your people how to hunt."

Hex was actually amused by Luke's choice of words. She was also still feeling that unfamiliar feeling that she wasn't sure what to do about. "I don't know about that. I was merely telling Riley how I got my name. At least it has meaning. What the hell kind of a name is 'polymath' anyway?"

Riley was certain that Hex was goading Luke on purpose but Luke wasn't helping his cause either since he had sneered at her. All he could do was jump in the middle in order for them not to hit each other. He was certain they wouldn't try to hit him in their pursuit of trying to kill each other or from the looks of it… He was not going to go there just yet.

Luke merely glared at Hex and asked, "And what the hell kind of name is 'Hex'? Sounds clichéd. At least 'polymath' is original, it means having learned much in Greek, referring to my ability of a Jack of all Trades. "

"Nice speech I bet you tell yourself that to make you feel important," Hex shot back automatically. " 'Hex' or rather 'Hexe' is German for witch. Hex can also refer to the word's meaning as a curse, alluding to my standing antagonistic relationship with my superiors and the Feds."

The bump to the shoulder was hard and Luke felt it as Hex brushed past him to head in the direction for briefing. He watched her leave and heard Riley hiss, "Bad move there bro."

"She got on my bad side," Luke countered as he turned in the direction she was heading.

"No, I think you got on her bad side and you dug a trench," Riley corrected. "You just had to say it."

"I didn't say anything."

"Yeah that was what started it."

"Shut up."

"You know this is a mission, not a damn costume party."

Hex looked at Merrick as she finished putting the last of her paint on. She moved her head like an inquisitive puppy would and replied, "I know." Her response was calm and in normal cases it was to diffuse a situation. Here it seemed to make Merrick more annoyed with her. "This is a war face," she added as she pointed to her face.

Luke had been listening to the entire conversation and watched her work. She hadn't said a word to him beyond what was necessary but she was animated with Riley; a good show to the point that he was on her bad side. It had been that way the entire time it took to get down to Caracas and plan the assault. The tension was felt and thick enough to be cut with a knife. He took a look at the work she did on her face and was surprised to find that he didn't have a problem with it.

The top half of her face was painted black like a mask including her forehead. Above her brows were thin strips of white like feathers and on her cheek twin dark red lines on each one like the Fed's blood that hit her on the face when they first met. The whole picture made her look intimidating and scary and was better than any Ghost mask. Her dark brown hair had been swept back into a single braid that was coiled into a knot on the back of her head. It was a badass look.

Riley was watching the whole thing as well and he caught his brother looking and nudged him, "Say something, bro."

"Why me?"

"You want to stay on her bad side? I know you're pissed about it."

Pissed wasn't exactly the word Luke would use to describe the conditions of the past few days. Functional may be the correct word since they did work together but it was hardly pleasant at least between him and her. With Riley she was nicer and even gave him tips. Merrick groused and grumbled and she was polite. Reece, it was a quiet acceptance and of course Elias conversed with her like he did him and Riley. It was just different with them.

It wasn't like she made it easy to get on her good side in the first place. It was like she was determined to keep him down no matter what he did. It was like she found fault with everything and while it wasn't hatred, it was more… he had no idea. He went with the best thing and was polite with her but didn't expect anything beyond politeness in return. Maybe the right word was clinical? Either way he was stubborn enough to take it but… he really didn't like it.

"Luke," Riley said and motioned towards where Merrick and Hex were having a standoff.

Luke sighed, "Like it's gonna do anything."

"You'd be surprised."

Luke shot his friend a look akin to the idea that it would be a cold day in hell before that would happen. Then again he probably was in hell. He made a noise and walked over before a potential fistfight started and he was willing to bet that Hex would win. She certainly looked fierce enough. He cleared his throat and said, "It's not that bad."

If looks could kill, Merrick's would. Luke stood his ground and reaffirmed his opinion, "It's not bad. It looks like a… ghost."

Riley heard what Luke said and almost wanted to laugh out loud. His friend looked uncomfortable saying it and he had one person glaring at him and the other was looking at him like he had gone off the deep end. He looked down but managed to catch a glimpse at Reece who was also trying hard not to laugh.

"That was the effect I was going for," Hex soft tones broke the silence. "Inspiration by the Ghost Dancers of the Sioux and we are warriors too." She slowly gave an almost sly smile in the direction of Merrick. "You would look good in this though I think the bottom half in red better reflects your temper."

"Fine." Merrick walked away muttering about her being a pain in the ass.

"Do you like pressing people's buttons?"

Hex had been watching Merrick storm off when she heard Luke's question. She turned to see his face covered in camo paint and it made his brown eyes stand out more. They were actually a nice colour and he wasn't bad per se. She had observed him with Riley when he wasn't looking and when he spoke to his friend. It was just… "Only because I know it pisses him off and I hardly made a good impression when I gave him a black eye. Why?"

"I want to say that pleasing everyone in life is impossible, but pissing them off is easy and fun as hell but, you can be nice. You are nice when you are."

It was lame and awkward and Luke knew it. He could hear Riley laughing at him in silent laughter. It was a surprise though when she replied, he had it well but he always found it awkward talking to people when not giving orders or reports. "You are too."

"Thanks?"

"You're welcome."

It was rather abrupt when she pivoted on her heel and went back to checking her gear. Luke stared for a moment trying to figure out what had just happened. He looked over at Riley who merely shrugged his shoulders and went back to what he was doing. Luke didn't bother looking at anyone else. He shuffled on his feet and said, "I bet you'll scare them good… Hex."

Hex paused just a moment when she heard her name. It sounded nice coming from him when it was devoid of any contempt. Actually he had always been polite after their initial conversation but it just sounded different this time and she liked it. Her lip twitched in a slight smile and she continued finishing her prep. She had her gear on and was ready to go except for one last thing.

It was one weapon that sort of increased the rumours of how scary she was to people. It certainly lent credence to romanticized versions of the Old West. It wasn't a traditional weapon but she had learned how to use it from her father and had this one made specifically for her. She ran her fingers along the grain of the wood of the handle up to the bladed part. Her thumb traced the sharpened edge with practice long honed since she first held one.

"That's not standard issue."

Hex turned to see Reece standing close. She figured he was checking to make sure that she was ready to go since she was causing a slight delay. She held it up and moved it like she was playing with it. "This? Not really but it comes in handy."

Reece studied her. He had been since he set her feet on the VTOL. He didn't even mind that she had bopped him a good one on the nose. He liked the fact that she hadn't taken their rescue at face value. He thought she had good instincts about her just for doing that and the fact that she didn't flinch at Merrick's temper… She would do all right as an operator. He pointed at her weapon, "Do you know how to use it?"

Hex looked at Reece and saw the dare in his eyes. She twitched her lips into a grin. "Care for a demonstration?"

Reece gestured that she was to have a go. He pointed at her target. "Be my guest."

"This isn't kid's play," she countered as she moved to get into position. "I'm already in trouble with Merrick."

"He just doesn't like it that you got the drop on him," Reece replied with a slight shake of his head. "It's been a long time since anyone has been able to do that. And especially from someone who doesn't hold Delta in awe."

"I didn't know you guys," Hex replied as she stood in a loose but firm stance. She was ready to throw but she wasn't going to if she didn't have the green light here. Out in the field it was anything goes. "Ask the boys about how I was ready to shoot them when we came face to face."

"Would you shoot a member of your own side?"

Hex felt her lip twitch involuntarily. She held her weapon by the head between her first and middle fingers. Her throat convulsed as she looked at nothing in particular. In a low voice that matched the appearance of her face, "If they were not who they said they were, then I would. I did it before."

Reece looked at her. "You did?"

"Ask the Commander," Hex replied. She flipped her weapon in her hand and put it on its slot on her belt. "He was the one that sent me on the mission that I discovered it." She looked at the door and the clock. "We should get moving."

Reece watched as she started heading towards the door. It made him all the more curious about her. Turning he motioned for Luke and Riley to come along as he followed Hex to their ride into Caracas. He watched as Riley immediately approached her followed by Luke. He was going to join them when a hand was placed on his shoulder. He turned to see that it was Elias and he turned to wait for last minute instructions.

Elias looked at Reece and said, "It's true. I sent Echo Team on a mission and they uncovered a traitor."

"So she killed him?"

"Yes and it was after nearly losing the recon team because of the traitor."

Reece realized what Elias was saying. "So she was the one that…"

"She did what she had to do Reece. You can trust that she will watch your back to the end."

"Do we tell her about Locus?"

"No."

* * *

 _2622 July 16th Earth Standard Calendar,_ _CDR Luke 'Polymath' Sparrow, Presidential Building, Caracas City, Chorus. 0000 hours._

The fireworks exploded over the night sky filling it with bright colours of red, yellow, green… it was a celebration after all. The city of Caracas was lit up below and the buildings had their lights on for the evening. It was like how the cities in No Man's Land looked like at night before ODIN destroyed them. Down below people were celebrating because it was Federation Day and the successful attack on the OAG. Yes, there was a lot to celebrate.

Luke was kneeling from his position on the roof and scanning the landscape in front of him. She was mostly staring at the building across from them; it was the target building where they were going to catch Albert Valentine, the man who he knew, could end this war. he had been that way for the past thirty minutes and waiting. That was the patience tester.

Hex had been keeping watch from her post but also been watching Luke. Once she had taken position, she hadn't moved. She looked like a still statue staring into the night. Even Reece had moved a little but she hadn't. She was just kneeling with perfect balance with one arm resting on her knee and the other was dangling that it almost touched the ground she was kneeling on. Every single muscle was taut and still. He couldn't help but admire it and…

A slight elbow from Riley had Luke looking at his friend. He glared at Riley and his brother-in-arms smirked as he turned to look at the building they were going to hit once they confirmed Valentine was there. Luke scowled and turned back to his lookout but he couldn't help but look at Hex. She still hadn't moved and it looked like she could sit there for hours.

"He's right on time," Reece said as he looked overhead at the aircraft inbound to their target building. He jumped down from his position to get a better look. "Time to earn the mask," he said as he pulled his on over his face. He turned to look overhead and follow the inbound VTOLs towards the building.

"Maybe some don't need one," Luke murmured as he got himself ready as he glanced in her direction.

"VTOL's landing, confirm visual ID," Reece said as he nudged Riley. "Scarecrow, this is Six-Two. Prepare to receive optical feed."

Riley put on his optic scanner and zoomed in to look and ID their target. They had to make sure he was there or this trip was going to be a bust. He focused on a door into the building to make sure his settings were good.

" _Copy Actual. Receiving transmission. Cleaning up the signal. Wait until he is facing you."_

"Our target's on the roof dead ahead. We need to ID him," Reece said.

Hex was looking straight ahead and she narrowed her eyes. Her focus was on the chopper that had landed and spotting their man. She said, "Focus on the chopper Ghost." She was looking in that direction and then said, "Grey suit, glasses. Focus on him."

Luke looked at her and she was still on her position looking at the rooftop. How the hell did she know that? Could she even see from that distance? He didn't think so and figured that it was all for show.

" _Target confirmed. Mission is a go."_

"I guess you do have the eyes of a hawk, Hawk," Riley said as he lowered his optic scanner and put it away. He looked over at Hex who was looking at him and they shared a grin. He then looked at his brother who was looking like he did earlier before they shipped out.

Hex grinned at Riley and finally she moved from her position and leapt down to down the group. She replied, "I guess my name is good for something." She gave a friendly pat before turning to notice Luke staring at her. "It's just being able to observe."

Reece wanted to laugh but didn't. He shook his head though to indicate he had noticed. He found it a little creepy that she was able to be still for so long. He almost mistook her for a statue at one point. It had him wonder exactly what she did on her missions with her old team. He replied, "Hard copy, Scarecrow. Six-Two out." Toward the group he said, "Set up your launchers and check your chutes for exfil."

Hex went to the launcher she had set up and cracked the case. To her left was Luke setting up his line and to her right was Riley. It made for an interesting thought that was gone the moment it caught fire. She brushed it off as she made sure her chute was good along with the emergency chute. The plan seemed a little more exciting than what she had been on but she was willing to tough it out.

"Your strap," Luke's voice came in on her left.

Hex turned and caught Luke adjusting one of her straps that had twisted. She hadn't noticed it and probably wouldn't have. Maybe she would have felt the chaffing later but it still wasn't a big deal. Still she let him fix it and said, "Wouldn't have been a bother."

"Maybe not now but later," Luke replied as he finished. He looked at her full on not really expecting anything from her.

"Thanks, Polymath," she replied and she turned back to make sure the launcher was set.

"You're welcome Hex," Luke replied to her back and went to set up his own launcher. She wasn't ignoring him or being rude but just accepting it. It was different from her 'bad side' as Riley put it but he couldn't help but feel that she was treating him differently from the others. The obvious was his brother.

"Fire your lines kids," Reece was saying to get them going.

It was funny to think how noisy the equipment could be when they fired their lines. The upside was that no one was going to be looking up and if they did, no one would notice. The other upside was the fact that the fireworks in the sky plus the noise below would cover up any noise the equipment made. It was just a funny thought as Luke hooked up to his line, took a breath and ran to the edge of the building and leapt off to rappel down.

It was quite a thrill to feel the wind in his face as he continued his course towards the target building. He could feel the shorter locks of his dark hair tickling her ears as he moved forward. he glanced over to see Hex looking like she was trying to gain momentum and Riley looked like a kid going surfing at one of Santa Monica's beach resorts. Reece was the only one that looked like this was routine for him. For him it would never get old.

"Three. Two. One. Detach," Reece gave the go.

Luke reached for his rig and followed through. This was even better than running and jumping off a building. It certainly was a fantasy of something like Tarzan swinging through the trees as his weight and momentum carried him forward. He crouched his body into a ball and readied his feet. The thump against the wall as the balls of his feet touched had him want to giggle like a girl as he let the balls of his feet absorb the impact and he bounced a little.

There was a slight crunch and he looked to see Riley bouncing to get to the wall. he could make out a crack in the glass. When he looked up he had a sheepish grin on his face. It caused him to give a grin in return and a slight shake of his head. he adjusted her feet and still was on the balls of his feet and ready to move on Reece's orders. Time to get down to business. he flipped her rifle to a ready position.

" _Line secure. Let's move down."_

Bouncing on the balls of her feet, Luke rappelled down to the next floor and got to appreciatively watch as Riley took out tangos in the rooms in his range. He adjusted and didn't make a sound as she looked on the level they were at.

" _Targets down. We're clear._ _Move to the next floor."_

Luke moved down almost on tip toe. It was not the conventional way of rappelling down but He found that it was quiet to Him and he could move like he would on the ground. He peered through the glass and said, "More enemies below."

" _Hold your fire."_

Luke looked up to see that Hex was not too far from him and she was peering to get a good look. She had a couple in her sights and she readied her rifle and waited for the green light. He heard Reece say that he had three at the poker table. He angled his body and was able to see them clearly. Interesting angle but he could make the shot.

" _Left side. One in the kitchen. One on the way."_

He looked at Hex's direction. Well that made the odds interesting. He looked up to find that Hex was staring at him again. She didn't know why except the possibility that she was trying to throw him off his game. Fat chance of that happening.

" _Shift left. Polymath, Hex, hit the kitchen first. Wait until he's in the kitchen then take them both out."_

Hex felt her lip twitch as she brought up her rifle and followed Luke as they shifted. She got into position and asked, "Do you want to catch him with his pants down?" She meant if he wanted the one that was looking for chow.

Luke felt his lip twitch in a near smile. "Only if you take out the latecomer."

"Roger that," she replied as she readied her gun. She spotted her target walking into the kitchen.

"On you," Luke said.

Luke wrapped her finger around the trigger. He aimed right for the head and steadied his breathing until it was like he wasn't breathing at all. He squeezed and felt the gun kick. All that was in front was a hole in the glass and the hostile was down. He glanced over to see Hex bogey down. "Nice," she commented.

" _Got movement in the center."_

Hex shifted and followed Riley and Reece back over. Movement with the poker players. She studied their body language and it looked like someone wasn't playing fair. She had her sights on the far right.

" _Alright you three, smoke these guys."_

"I got far right," Hex let Riley and Luke know as she shifted on the balls of her feet to steady herself. She took the initiative and fired first and it was followed by Luke and Riley and their shots. They never saw it coming.

"Clear," Luke called.

" _Keep it moving."_

Luke was tempted to reply with a salute. He didn't though and proceeded to move with the others down to the control centre floor. The lights were on but the funny thing is that they wouldn't be noticed. No one would have expected them to rappel down the side of a building to infiltrate. That was one of the perks in special ops.

" _Control centre is on this floor."_

That was the cue to ready to enter. Grabbing the torch from his belt he cut the glass creating a yellow circle big enough to fly through. It was quick and fast and he was flying into the building, the glass landing in huge chunks on the ground. He had his line detached and rifle up and ready covering Hex while Riley covered Reece.

" _Power system in the back. Let's go."_

It was a silent jaunt as Riley followed Reece and Hex followed Luke. Luke didn't have much to complain about since she was covering his six. It just unnerved him that she could move that quietly even with all her equipment on. He did hear her say, "Relax. If you were an enemy, you'd be dead before now."

"So this is a step up."

"No. Distinction."

Luke shook his head as he went to do what he had to do. This was going to be a long mission and Riley hadn't even killed the lights yet. He could almost hear Riley laughing at him and was tempted to just tell him to shut up.

Hex wrinkled her nose as she yanked her knife out of the downed tango as well as Riley's and handed it off to him. She looked at hers and shook the blood off and put it back on her belt. She flipped her rifle into position making it seem like a flamboyant trick but it was more a means of putting the rifle into position just in case it was needed for something other than shooting. She looked around even though they were on the balcony and rallied on Reece and Luke.

" _Remember we gotta shut down the elevators, seal off his chance to bolt."_

Luke glanced at Hex and then Riley before saying, "Hex and me will take the main bank in the west wing."

Reece nodded, "We'll rendezvous in the junction to cut the secondary's. On me."

Hex gave a glance at Riley and a nod of reassurance and watched him and Reece take off. Taking a breath, she held her rifle up and followed Luke. Maybe she shouldn't have teased him about if he were an enemy. Now he was probably paranoid. Oh well, she would do her job and cover his six. She turned to check the flank as they advanced before turning around.

Luke thought he might have been nuts for saying that he would take her on his side. It was an impulse that he decided to take Hex with him. He could have easily taken his friend and they already could work together as a team; they could even communicate silently and no one knew what they were going to do. She was a wild card and he wasn't sure how he felt about it but it did feel right that she was there.

"Tango, twelve o'clock.'

Luke looked ahead and saw what she was seeing. "I got em." He aimed and fired the suppressed round.

"Nicely done." Hex didn't spare a glanced as she moved forward to take point. She passed him slinking by a little more closely than she would have done and her uniform brushed his. She did it on purpose and didn't care since she already was on a role teasing him about her being sneaky. She was curious to see what he would do. She did notice that when she brushed by him, there was a jolt of electricity that hit. It wasn't the bad kind that sometimes occurred when her gut said that the person in front of her was a target. It was different and sent a strange charge through her system.

Luke felt the brush. It took a lot of willpower to not react to that. He just let her pass and covered the rear as they moved forward. He continued to feel the tingle and almost tripped over her if he hadn't seen her kneeling and peering in the darkness. "What is it?"

Hex had stopped when she sensed it. It was automatic to drop to a crouching position and take survey of the situation. She stared straight ahead and then glanced all around. It was quiet and it looked like there was no one there but that was what worried her. She felt Luke's boot hit hers and held her hand up to stop him. When he spoke she turned and gestured that he was to stay put before she took off into the darkness.

Luke had no problem taking orders. It was just irksome to have someone who had a sort of disregard for rank tell him what to do. Yet he found himself obeying her signal to stay put and took a defensive position where he was. He held his rifle ready for any sign of enemies. He only moved to rotate in his spot. Then he heard footsteps followed by something in Caracas. He held up his rifle and saw the lone enemy heading his way. He wasn't going to wait for Hex to finish whatever the hell she was doing. He took aim and fired.

What Luke didn't see was that by firing it put him in sights for a sniper. He didn't know until the round hit the ground near his foot. He wheeled around to find his attacker in a stranglehold and Hex drawing her knife across the throat. It took him a moment to realize that she had saved his ass but he didn't appreciate the fact that she didn't say what was going on. He had a scowl on his face by the time she made her way back and said, "You could've just said something."

"I could but then they would have known and repositioned or worse fired on us." Hex looked at him in the eye as if to figure out what he was so upset about. Finally, she said, "And you wouldn't have seen him until it was too late."

Luke couldn't say anything about that since he had come to the same conclusion. "Fine, we still have to shut down the mains."

"Lead the way."

They made their way towards the main elevators. Hex covered Luke while he made sure that the mains were offline. They didn't have too much trouble and it produced that awkward feeling. Hex wasn't sure but she got the sense that this mission was going too good to plan. Maybe it was paranoia honed from the years in the field and running ops or just because but she got the feeling that something was going to happen and that each moment towards Valentine was going to make that happen. She didn't voice it to Luke since there was no sense in worrying him and they were both well aware that this mission could go to shits fast.

"Done," Luke's voice interrupted her thoughts.

" _Polymath, check in."_

Luke looked at Hex who turned to keep an eye out while he replied to Reece, "Main elevators offline, secondary's still active."

" _Copy. See you in five."_

"Come on. Control room," Luke beckoned.

Hex nodded as she made to follow Luke. They silently made their way through their end until Hex moved forward to switch. She only blinked as she took point to clear the path. It wasn't that she didn't think he could do it. It was more along the lines of automatic habit when in the company of someone ranked higher. She had always been told to take point and it carried out to her command in that sometimes she took over. Plus, it was how she had been able to protect Carol.

There was a pair of enemies up ahead. She signalled it silently to Luke who said, "Take out the one on the left. I got the right."

It was almost perfectly synchronized as they aimed down and shot. It was a beauty of a shot to admire but they had to get moving. Roving through the dark halls, Hex fell back to let Luke take the lead since he was more familiar with where to go.

" _Polymath, we're entering from the northeast corner."_

"Roger that. We're almost to the control room."

Crossing the balcony, they could see the exploding fireworks in the sky. Had it been a normal night, it would have been nice to watch. The coloured lights lit up the sky in a beautiful spray of sparks. Hex found herself frowning at the thought of how nice it was walking there and shook her head. The view was making her think crazy thoughts. She moved to cover while Luke went to work on the keypad to open the doors.

It was like getting a treat when she spotted Reece and Riley coming from their end. The distance was great but she had been able to see the pair in the darkness much like when she initially identified Valentine. She grinned and nodded at Riley when he came over just as Luke managed to get the doors opened and walked in like he belonged there. "Okay. Hex, kill the power to the elevators."

She walked up to the controls for the elevators and looked up on the monitors. Her eyes narrowed slightly and she said, "Looks like we've got company."

"Got no choice. Do it," Luke replied.

Hex popped open the panel and pulled out a pair of pliers. She glanced at the monitors with a practiced eye and gave a quick glance at Luke and Riley. She then turned and cut the wiring to shut everything down. "Here we go."

"Here they come. Time to upgrade," Luke said as he tapped her shoulder to indicate she was to move.

" _They've found us! Get back here!"_

"And I thought they were the welcome wagon," Hex muttered as she made sure her rifle was in good order. She jogged behind Luke in a light fashion on the balls of her feet. It was a strange way to run but she discovered that it was better to look strange and be able to move faster than to be a sitting duck when you ran what other people called normal.

It was starling when Luke pulled on the back of her vest and pulled them against the wall. It was when he did that a couple of rounds hit where she would have been if she kept moving. She could feel his warm breath against her. She said nothing when Luke released her and said, "We're even."

"You've got a long way to go before that applies," she said as she levelled her rifle and prepared to follow. Enemies were on their floor and with the odd and new designer look of the floor, they could be hidden above or below and they wouldn't even know until they were fired upon. There was some adequate cover but they were going to need to push if they were to get Valentine.

"We're losing time. We need to move!"

Finding cover behind some crates that probably held weapons or ammo, Hex looked for locations of the targets. They had the advantage with blind locations they could hide in. She glanced over to find that Riley was by the wall and taking cover. He would be fine there and he could look for targets at the odd angles. She could see in front and on the balcony in front. It would have to do and she looked for the targets to fire.

"Targets down," Reece called when the last of them went down and headed for the ropes.

The group rallied and Luke beckoned towards his brother, "Give me your extra charges. I'll cover our exit."

Riley handed over his charges and walked over to where their lines were set up. Luke went over to set the charge and looked up to see that Hex hadn't moved. "You better hook up now."

"Only when I'm sure, sir." Hex looked around the area. They didn't have much time and it certainly was cut short when she heard Spanish words being uttered rapidly.

" _Hook up now Hex!"_

Hex had gone to the railing and hooked up but she raised her rifle to cover fire. "You better make it quick Polymath."

"Just go, Hex," Luke shouted almost angrily as he finished what he was doing.

Hex fired at the enemy that started to come through the door. She managed to hook up the end to Luke's rope and had it ready to hand off. She said nothing but continued to cover him and when he was finished handed off his rope to hook on. She was firing when Luke yanked on her from behind and they were over the railing just as the explosions went off.

It was awkward but Luke held onto Hex's vest even though she was hooked up until they stopped from their drop. He looked at her and asked, "Do you always have to disobey orders?"

"Do you always ask pointless questions?" She gave a look back before she noticed something, "Above us."

Both she and Luke raised their rifles and fired at the enemy shooting down at them. They cleared from above but it looked like they had more company on the floor below as Reece pointed out. They rappelled down and fired at the enemy they spotted through the glass. They were joined by Riley and the three of them cleared the floor that was shooting at them and continued to move on down to the next.

"We need to get inside," Luke said.

There was no torch or pre-cut hole to bust through on the next level. Luke and Riley used their weight to crash through the glass and landed on the floor of an area that looked like one of those indoor garden or atrium places. There were planters with real life trees in there along with pathways. It was like an indoor park so there were plenty of places to take cover. Unfortunately, they were fired upon the moment they crashed in.

" _We have to get to the HVT!"_

Luke looked around and asked, "Where's Hex?"

Riley looked around. All he saw was Reece as he moved to take cover and he was with his brother. There was no sign of their fourth. "No idea."

"Shit," Luke murmured. It was bad enough that they had to catch their HVT before he could bolt in the middle of a firefight. They also had a missing team member who had been with them on the ropes not too long ago. "Just keep going Ghost."

That was all they could do. Luke and Riley pushed them back. One enemy almost got Riley until a shot rang out. They were joined by Hex who said more to Riley, "Sorry. Traffic."

Luke made a rude sound before saying, "Come on."

They pushed forward until they got stuck near chairs. Reece was urging them to keep moving but it seemed like the enemy got smart and decided to concentrate fire. One launched a grenade from a launcher and it hit pretty much right in front of Luke's helmet and he fell back. He had been hit in the face though with the debris and Riley was on the other side to try and thin the numbers.

" _Keep moving. We can't let Valentine get away."_

Hex looked around her corner and quickly scanned the area. She looked around and rolled her eyes. This was really going to push her luck but what choice did they have? They needed Valentine and right now the path was blocked. So the logical thing to do was to clear it and judging by the way they were moving… It could work. She lowered her rifle so it would hang and her right went to her belt and she adjusted her crouch on the balls of her feet. She called through the comm, "Ghost, you feel like helping me out with something?"

"You got something planned?" Riley looked over to see his brother rubbing his face and firing his weapon. He saw Hex balancing on the balls of her feet like she was preparing to… "What are you going to do?"

"Concentrate your fire on the balconies. I'll cover the ground."

"With what?"

Hex didn't answer since she pivoted on her feet to move past Luke to the other side of the planter and out of Riley's sight. Luke had managed to clear the sting from his face but it was a good hit and he felt blood dripping down. He saw Hex turn to go behind him and wondered what the hell she was up to and looked at Riley who looked just as confused until he started firing at the targets on the balconies. He lifted his rifle and started hitting what was in front of him.

" _Push through once you take out the threat on the balconies."_

Luke and Riley did that and when they started moving forward, they discovered bodies from the ground level littering the floor with their blood. They continued forward until Riley was hit in the shoulder going down stairs. He ended up slipping and sliding down to the ground where he was vulnerable.

Luke moved in to cover to allow Riley time to get up and he ended up taking a hit to the shoulder. He kept firing though and tried to lug Riley up to his feet who was still firing himself. It looked like they were going to get mowed down when a shape startled them as it swooped down on the enemy targets. Luke blinked at the blur.

Hex had taken advantage of the fact that she had been largely ignored by the enemy. Why she wasn't sure but she was going to use it. She managed to clear the path for Luke, Riley and Reece to move up while she pushed forward using the planters and shadows to her advantage. She had doubled back when Riley had gotten hit and then Luke while trying to help his friend. She had the element of surprise and took it.

With a leap she startled the enemy and swung her weapon drawing blood. It was not standard issue the tomahawk but she had kept it with her ever since she had been given it by her father. Even when she did her artist thing she always had it and practiced with it. Joining the military, it ended up defining her and added to that scary image most of the men conjured up and in this case it seemed to fit. She did look scary swinging it around in a well-practiced manner, twirling it to give it momentum in her strikes and not afraid to hit major arteries.

The first one got a nasty slice to arm and she ended up giving him a hole in the chest. The other behind him got a strike into the shoulder and she pulled out her DE-9 pistol and fired a couple of shots into the chest. She then whirled to fire at another that had been hidden while holding up her tomahawk and was prepared to use it. The floor was clear and they had a clear path to Valentine.

Looking at Luke and Riley she asked, "You okay?"

"Never better," Riley said as he got to his feet.

"Come on. We can't let Valentine get away," Reece said as they started moving.

Hex held her tomahawk out ready to use it and covered with her pistol as she followed Luke to their position. She heard, "Any other surprises?"

"Yeah I'm good with a knife," she added.

" _In position."_

"Likewise," Luke replied as he took his place by the door. He looked to see Hex ready to go. He wasn't going to argue since he knew she knew how to use that thing and she could easily use it on him.

" _Alright let's do this."_

That was the signal and Luke opened his door to find himself face to face with a rather terrified Valentine. He grabbed him and was followed by Hex who looked very intimidating in her position. He got a quick glance and saw how intimidating her… war paint looked on her face.

" _Polymath?"_

"I got him," and Luke slammed Valentine through the door effectively boxing him in the office that Valentine used. Luke grabbed the flailing body on the floor and slung him into the chair next to the large desk and pulled out his pistol.

"He knew you would come," Valentine said as he held his arms up to surrender.

"Where's Locus? Where is he?' Reece looked at the man as he demanded his information. _Whose Locus_ Hex wondered.

"Locus?" Hex muttered confused, the others ignored her.

"I don't know. No one knows," Valentine said.

Luke wasn't convinced by that answer. As soon as Luke grabbed Valentine and flung him on the desk he moved in. There was still blood dripping from her tomahawk and it looked grisly even after she pulled it out of the man's free arm. She twirled the tomahawk in her hand. Luke signalled her to give him the knife. She handed it over hesitantly. She watched him drive down the tomahawk down with a hard thud.

The screaming Valentine did would have made people think he was being gutted. Hex looked at the man with a bland expression as she leaned forward. She said, "That was for starters." She then yanked out the tomahawk from where Luke had buried it deep in the wood between his fingers. "She could drive it a little closer to home," Luke added as she held it close so Valentine could see the blood still on it.

Valentine said, "He's not here."

Hex gave an expression that said 'oh well' towards Reece. "Pity," she said as she brought up her tomahawk to strike again, this time aiming at the other hand.

"Wait! His location is in there. In an encrypted file," Valentine screeched as he pointed at the computer on the desk. "Just keep her away from me!"

Hex made a face like she wasn't appreciated and stepped away. She ended up giving the guy another scare by throwing the tomahawk into the desk but well away from Valentines hand. He screamed anyway and her lip twitched as she watched Reece head towards the computer. Merrick began to strap valentine into his gravchute harness.

"Well, well, well if it ain't the walking dead." The screen behind Valentine came to life with the image of a man in Locus pattern armour on it.

"Locus," Reece said without a hint of malice. To Hex, she thought she detected sadness.

"I knew you'd follow the bread crumbs."

"You tried to kill my father you piece of shit!"

The outburst from Riley was a bit unexpected from Hex's view. He looked angry and she realized that he had a temper when it came to the people that mattered the most to him. Still it would do no good to lose their heads over this. She was too far away to give him a kick in the chin so she hissed at Riley in a gruff voice, "Don't."

"The Boys of Delta Force. Boys sent to do man's work, a soldier's work" Locus taunted. He studied them before turning his gaze to the desk and he saw the tomahawk. "And that looks very familiar. Only one person I know…" It was then he caught sight of Hex. She was standing at an angle so he couldn't see her hair and her body was covered in gear. "Is that Charlie? No… too short. I wonder who you are."

Reece tried to divert the conversation and asked, "Where are you Locus?

"Where I am doesn't matter. What matters is a decade ago you left me to die in this city. And from this night forward Elias lives with the knowledge he sent his own men to their deaths."

The bad feeling that Hex had as they approached reared its head as the screen went blank and the ground started to shake. It didn't help that she felt creeped out by Locus's observation of her and while he had never seen her before… It didn't sit well as she looked around.

"It's a set up! We gotta get out of here!" Reece shouted at the three of them to get moving.

Luke realized that Hex hadn't moved as he took Valentine by the arm and said, "Hex!"

That snapped Hex out of her thoughts and she grabbed her tomahawk and the module with the encrypted file. She put her weapon back on her belt and clutched the module towards her as she followed Luke and the others out of the office while the building started to collapse form the explosion Locus had rigged. Valentine was attached to Merrick's harness. They had managed to make it out of the building by going with the momentum of the fall and crashed through the windows. It was gentle relief when the chutes deployed and they were suspended from the air.

" _Scarecrow we're airborne! En route to rally point echo. Good work you three. Now let's get the hell out of here."_

* * *

 _Codex Update_

 _The OAG Stealthbird_

 _The Stealthbirds have featured stealth technologies. These features are said to include specialized materials, and the use of harsh angles and flat surfaces across the exterior fuselage, techniques previously employed upon other stealth aircraft. They are also said to feature presence-reduction measures or "stealth". The use of advanced composite materials on the airframe has commonly resulted in reductions in an aircraft's radar cross-section (RCS). In the case of the Stealthbird, measures were taken to produce minimal visual, radar, infra-red and acoustic signatures to improve battlefield survivability. Stealthbird is reported to feature a digital camouflage system._


	16. The Homefront

**The First Contact War**

Chapter 16

The Homefront

" _Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength." Arnold Schwarzenegger_

 _2622 July 28th Earth Standard Calendar,_ _CDR Luke 'Polymath' Sparrow, Concordia, Firebase Santa Monica, Administrative Building C7._

The constant crack of gunfire added to the shouts, screams, and death that echoed throughout the hallway. The dull grey walls were riddled with plasma burns and in some spots, where grenades had detonated, chunks of plaster and drywall about the ground. Painstaking progress had yielded only two floors cleared in the last hour: and there were still three more in this building alone. The men inching their way through the building knew that once this building was cleared, there were at least a dozen more waiting them as they progressed further in the port facility.

Ducking behind the wall he was against, the squad leader glanced at his team behind him and shouted, "Get on your LMG-5 and lay down some goddamn fire!"

One of the Marines hustled to the front of the column and peered around the corner. Fifteen meters down the hall he could see several Fed soldiers peering around what cover they had. He quickly returned to cover as a hail of bullets poured from the Fed guns.

"Are you waiting for an invitation," the squad leader questioned, "Use your weapon Marine."

"Christ this is suicide," the gunner mumbled as he went prone and leaned his upper body to the right.

A volley of rounds quickly zipped from his rifle tearing into the Fed positions. Their heads dropped below the cover as one of their comrades fell to the ground missing a part of his forehead.

"Go," the gunner shouted as he fired another volley down the hallway pinning the Feds down.

The squad leader leaned from cover over top of the gunner and tossed a grenade down the hallway followed quickly by a second. A third Marine moved from the column and tossed a third grenade down the hallway. The Marines retreated behind the cover of the corner after throwing, and moments later the sounds of explosions echoed throughout the hallway. Chunks of wall, debris, and body parts flew across the hallway leaving a fine cloud of dust hanging in the air as the Marines burst from their position towards the Feds, firing several rounds each into the last known positions of the Feds they raced towards.

As they overran the Fed position, only one was found to be still in the land of the living. The Fed's left leg had been blown apart by the exploding grenades. Blood splattered against the wall and was now pooling at the gory stump that was left just above where his knee was moments before. The stubble on his face was all but obscured by the dirt, cuts, and blood that now adorned it. The screams and shouts were quickly silenced by a burst of fire as the Marines moved passed the position and continued towards the fighting that lay ahead of them.

"Holy shit," the gunner exclaimed as the team entered a room and found it void of hostiles, "Did you see that guy's leg?"

"Hell yeah, damn thing was blown clean the –"

"Heffron, Riley," the squad leader angrily shouted as he heard the two Marines let their focus go elsewhere, "Shut your fucking mouths."

"Christ Luke," the gunner, Lance Corporal Marcus Heffron argued back, "What crawled up your ass?"

Luke stormed across the small room towards Heffron, "What's up my ass," he shouted inches from Heffron's face, "We've lost twelve Marines in the last hour in this building alone and you're making jokes about the fucking Feds who killed them."

The silence in the room was broken only by the rushing of boots and Marines past the door towards the fighting. The words sunk into each of the Marines in the room.

"Now get your game face on and let's go kill the rest of these bastards," Luke said with a feint smirk.

Luke exited the room to join the other Marines moving through the hallway, "Saber Two, Saber Two-One, third floor is clear, how copy?"

The third operator in the room, Hex, approached Heffron and patted him on the shoulder, "You really are a dumbass sometimes you know," she said laughing as she exited the room and joined the squad leader.

"I thought it was cool, reminded me of that dude we found on Mandalor," Riley said as the two finally left the room.

"What happened on Mandalor, stays on Mandalor!" Hex heard Luke call back.

Luke had to explain who Locus was to Hex after the Caracas Mission, about how he fought against the insurrection before being hired by ONI to spy in Federation space, how shortly after he went rouge and Stoll the prototype Locus armour and went off on his quest to be the perfect soldier. He had managed to build a form on friendship with Hex who had also opened up a bit. Delta had handed over Valentine to the OAG senate where he had signed the Federations surrender. That did not mean the Federation Forces on Concordia surrendered as well. They had continued fighting which had led to today's firefight.

The four Operators and Marines entered the stairwell and continued up two flights of stairs to the fifth floor. Below them on the fourth, Marines from 1st Platoon were pitted against a squad sized force of Feds who fought for every inch of space.

Luke nodded towards his team, and with the training and precision they had practiced for years, burst through the stairwell onto the floor.

"Clear right," Riley shouted first through the breach, followed closely by Hex and the remainder of the team.

With the area clear for the moment, the four-man team quickly moved down the hallway and took positions covering the door as more Marines from the company poured through. A second fireteam moved past Luke and his men as they took point moving down the hallway. The dull grey walls and windowless hallways created a maze that disoriented some of the Marines as to which direction the Feds were.

Clad in urban MARPAT fatigues with vital areas covered by his Beskar armour with a Modular Tactical Vest and lightweight Beskar helmet, Luke carried more than thirty-five pounds of protective gear as he followed the fireteam down the hall. Gripping his M416 attached with an M303 grenade launcher, he looked like a fierce looking warrior who had proved himself time and again in combat over the years.

"Door comin' up," the leading sergeant said.

The fireteam stacked up on the door as Luke and his team took an overwatch position around them. The door to the room was kicked in, breaking the bolt and sending the door swinging inward. The four-man team was through the door in a matter of seconds, only to be cut down by a hail of gunfire emanating from the back corner of the room. Several Feds were barricaded behind cover with their weapons focused on the only entrance to the room.

"Jesus," Hex shouted as the gunfire erupted from the room a mere meter from her, "Contact right!"

Two of the Marines had survived the initial burst of gunfire and were now screaming in agony as the plasma burned through their flesh. Instinctively, Hex and Riley reached for the wounded Marines and dragged them from the doorway back towards the group. A corpsman was already racing forward to aid the two men.

The hallway now filled with shouts as the Marines reacted to the new threat that had emerged from the room. The wounded Marines were passed back towards the others, leaving Luke and his team on point for the group.

"Hex, Simon," Luke shouted, "Frag 'em on my go."

The three Marines stacked up against the wall, Hex, Luke, then Riley, and each removed a frag grenade from their combat webbing.

Luke nodded his head, "Do it."

The three pulled the pins from their grenades and waited a moment before Hex lobbed her grenade through the doorway. She quickly moved off the wall allowing Luke to throw his grenade through the door. Luke followed the same motion as Hex and allowed Riley to toss his grenade last through the opening. A moment later, an explosion rocked the room followed quickly by a second and third. Waiting a moment after the final explosion, the tea burst into the room firing into the Fed positon.

Dust obscured the room as the Marines converged on the Fed position. The lights had been blown by the explosions, severely limiting their vision as they swarmed the room.

"Clear left," Hex shouted.

"Clear right," Riley echoed.

The Fed position had been devastated by the explosions, the tables and desks used for cover had been blown apart and the bodies that scattered the area were missing an assortment of limbs and appendages. Pools of blood formed underneath the bodies staining the carpet a dark maroon. Luke looked across the room and could see that it was stocked with boxes of munitions and weapons that could have been rigged to explode at any moment. He was frankly surprised that the grenades had not detonated the ordinance stocked in the room.

"Tommy clear out, the rooms still hot," he said looking at the munitions and not wanting to risk a secondary explosion with his team in the room.

The team exited the room followed several seconds later by Luke. The two dead Marines had been moved from the area back towards the stairwell along with the wounded.

"Saber Two, this is Two-One," Luke began.

 _"Two-One this is Two, send it."_

"We have four men down, two wounded, two K.I.A. over."

 _"Two copies all, continue the sweep, out."_

Luke looked down the hallway, behind him were fifteen trained, and heavily armed Marines crouched against the wall waiting to move forward. He took a deep breath before patting Hex on her shoulder. This was the sign to move forward. Hex got to her feet and began walking forward, hugging the right wall, weapon trained forward.

Several rooms were passed and each were cleared of Feds using a similar strategy, careful to not repeat the mistake of the first room. One of the wounded Marines had died as he was being carried down the stairwell towards evac, bringing the number of K.I.A. on the floor to three.

Hex carefully approached the last door on the floor which was cracked open ever so slightly. Inside, she could hear rustling and the murmur of voices. She stopped and held up his left hand in a fist, stopping the column of Marines.

"What'd you wanna do Ploymath," She whispered to Luke behind her.

"Easy or hard way?"

Hex turned her head left slightly so she could see Luke from the corner of her eye. A smirk appeared on Hex's face, "Easy way."

Luke smiled as he pulled a frag from his webbing as Hex did the same. Luke moved forward next to Hex, removing the pin from the grenade and releasing the soon as Hex reached forward and pushed the door inward.

The grenade bounced off the wall of the room and settled on the floor behind the Feds. After Luke through his grenade, Hex tossed her own into the room. Again, explosions rocked the building as the interior of the room was turned to a cloud of grey dust. The fireteam entered the room with weapons raised, ready for contact, but they were met with none. More Feds lay dead in the room, and with that, the fifth floor of the building was cleared. The team exited the room and met again with the Marines in the hallway. A large window shown north, showing the buildings that still needed to be cleared of Federation presence.

Luke toggled his headset, "Saber Two, Two-One, fifth floor is clear over."

The platoon commander responded, _"Two-One, Two Actual, good work. Sixth floor has been cleared by Saber Three, how copy?"_

"Solid copy Two, which building is next on the list," Luke asked as he looked out the window towards the remaining buildings.

 _"None of them Two-One, Scarface Actual has ordered airstrikes on the remaining buildings, too many casualties at the current pace."_

The response was both a blessing and a curse, no more fighting for now, but far too many Marines had died so far and command didn't want to risk anymore men.

"ETA on airstrikes Two," Luke asked.

 _"Sixty seconds Two-One, hunker down, Two out."_

Luke called for his team to meet in front of the window to watch the inbound airstrikes. The dozen buildings that lay before them varied in size, each filled with Fed infantry. Heffron was in the middle of saying something when the first bomb landed, followed by countless more. The shockwave blew out the window but left the team unscathed except for a cut on Riley's face. The rumbling and noise of the explosions caused the team to hunker down and wait it out.

Two minutes later, after the dust had cleared, what lay before them was a wasteland. A dozen buildings had been flattened by the bombs and the remains jutted from the ground in a mess of concrete, steel, and piping.

"Holy shit," Hex remarked as she looked at the devastation before them.

The Marines crowded the window, looking in shock at the destruction before them, but Luke was focused on something else. Beyond the rubble of the buildings, several columns of black smoke rose high into the air. Fires could still be seen blazing aboard the wrecks of the _OAG Nimitz_ and the _OAG Carl Vinson_. The smoke rose into the air, higher than the buildings the lay beyond, downtown Santa Monica, reminding Luke at that moment, that the war had come home.

* * *

Six Marines were huddled around a Cougar-H Light Armoured Vehicle as the latest intel was relayed to them by 2nd Platoon's commanding officer, Lieutenant Todd Burris. The Marines had been on stand down for the last eight hours after their assault on the buildings at Naval Air Station at Santa Monica, West Island. Now, they were being called on again to clear out the last pocket of Fed resistance in the city.

"Latest intel says that they occupy this northeast peninsula just off of the Silver Strand Boulevard," Burris said as he pointed the locations out on the map that was lying on the hood of the Cougar-H, "Scarface wants us to be on point for the assault to mark targets for the Hornet Gunships and heavy ass that should be arriving any minute. Sparrow I want your team on point for this."

"Roger that El-Tee," Luke said nodding, "Sir, once we make a push through, I want to take my team and put them in one of these tall buildings so we can direct strikes better."

"I like that idea Sparrow," Burris said approvingly as he continued to look over the map.

"What about the civilian population in there," Sgt Bowren asked.

"The AO is completely cleared, anything you see not Marine," Burris began as he looked up from the map, "You light it the fuck up Chris."

The team leaders nodded their heads in understanding as the briefing continued. Ten minutes later, they returned to their teams.

"So what's the word Luke," Hex asked as Luke appeared at the side of the Cougar-H.

"We've been tasked with leading the assault on the last pocket of resistance in Santa Monica," Luke said as he placed his M416 inside the Cougar-H and took a seat.

"Well that's just great," Hex complained pitching a bag of Skittles against the windshield, "Why don't they just bomb the shit out of them like they did yesterday on base?"

"Because Hex," Luke said after he downed half a bottle of water, "That would be too easy for us, gotta do it the Marine way remember?"

"Yeah, well this Marine thinks that command is retarded and should just blow shit up from a distance."

"Yeah but this is better," Heffron chimed in from the back seat of the vehicle, "Now we're the ones that get to blow shit up."

"Hey Simon," Luke said as Hex and Heffron argued back and forth, "Go prep the M40, might come in handy."

Riley opened the rear hatch and pulled a gun-case that held the M40A5 from the Cougar-H. He laid the case on the hood of the Cougar-H and began checking the optics and cleaning the weapon. The Cougar-H was parked underneath camouflage netting on the tarmac of what remained of NAS West Island. The airfield had been converted to a parking lot of Marine vehicles and aircraft. Cougar-H, M4-Trojan IFVs and several T-600 Titan tanks were positioned around the base while in the north corner the airstrip, a dozen AH-4Z SuperHornets were sitting, being prepped by flight crews for the upcoming assault.

* * *

An hour later, the platoon was on the road south out of the base. The six Cougar-Hs carrying the men of 2nd Platoon were the leading tip of the convoy: over a hundred and fifty Marines and a dozen M4-Trojans. After driving down the sunny Southern Concordia highway for ten minutes, the vehicles were at the rally point.

Burris' voice filled the interior of the Cougar-H from the radio, _"All Saber Victors, this is Saber Two, dismount and continue on foot from this location, over."_

"You heard the man Hex, park it over there," Luke said pointing towards a sand covered parking lot overlooking the Southern Concordian Ocean.

The vehicle came to a stop, crunching the sand beneath the tires. Luke opened the door of the Cougar-H and stepped out, greeted by the warm breeze of the Southern Coast. As the doors slammed shut around him, Luke removed his Oakley sunglasses and put them in one of the breast pockets of his MTV.

Luke turned back towards the north, he could see the full force of what was behind him. The M4-Trojans rolled past Luke's position and took up positions facing the Federation. The Trojans were followed closely behind by several AAV personnel carriers, each loaded with twenty Marine riflemen.

"Well gents," Luke began, "Let's get to work."

The twenty-four men of 2nd Platoon took off from their parked Cougar-Hs across the boulevard and entered the industrial park that the Feds had chosen to occupy. Before them lay a maze of crisscrossed roads and streets with warehouses, buildings, and parking structures mixed in.

As the platoon was crouched behind one of the Trojans, Hex commented on the situation, "It's gonna be a long ass day."

"Riley get the designator from the bag," Luke shouted over the gunfire that filled the street.

"I'm on it," Riley said as he reached into the equipment bag and retrieved a small, camcorder sized device.

Riley moved along the building to the corner where Luke and Hex were and handed the device to Hex. Hex poked her head around from the cover and directed the infrared designator towards the second floor of a building one hundred meters from the team. Twenty other Marines were in cover firing around their position, their advance stopped by this building.

Luke crouched and adjusted the radio to the correct channel, "Cujo Flight, this is Saber Two-One, how copy?"

 _"Saber Two-One, this is Cujo Flight, send it."_

"Roger Cujo, priority target grid EFX230B," Luke said as he looked at the small folded map, "Target is lit, how copy?"

 _"Solid copy Saber Two-One, we're inbound, keep your heads down."_

Luke turned his head towards the ocean, and in the distance, he could see two specks appear in the air that quickly became larger as they moved towards him.

Luke keyed his LASH headset, "All Sabers this is Two-One, airstrike inbound, hunker down."

Around the street, the Marine fireteams that were firing towards the building ceased the firing and got behind whatever cover they could, corners, cars, even dumpsters. The two SuperHornets flew in at around two hundred meters above the street. From the stubby wings, a dozen rockets were fired from each aircraft. The Hydra 10 free flight rockets slammed into the three story building all along the front, collapsing the majority of the building sending a column of dust skyward. Shouts and cheers roared from the Marine positions as the concrete still fell from the destroyed building. The Fed fire had ceased, opening up the street to continue the assault.

"Hell yeah baby," Hex shouted pounding her fist in the air.

"Knock that off Hex, you look like a jackass," Luke said shaking his head as he looked at Hex.

"Come on Luke, you know that was cool," Hex said turning her head and staring at Luke, "We just blew the shit out of another building. God I love this job."

M4-Trojans rolled by the team's position shaking the ground, several more SuperHornets thundered by over head of them. As the VTOLs continued north, a streak of grey smoke appeared from further down the road and streaked into the group of SuperHornets. The missile struck one of the Gunships, swatting it from the sky, sending the burning wreck spiralling down to the ground. Luke followed it as the aircraft fell until it was obscured by buildings. A fireball shot into the sky, signifying the crash and death of the VTOl.

Luke slammed a fresh magazine into his M416 and pulled the charging handle back, "Get up, we're oscar-mike."

2nd Platoon moved forward, keeping pace with the Trojans as they blasted away at the Fed positions with their 25 mm Plasma chain guns. Rocket propelled grenades, AT-12 rockets, and thousands of rounds of bullets filled the air south of Santa Monica. The Marines slowly trudged forward through it, taking casualties, but inflicting much more.

Four hours into the fight, 2nd Platoon had reached a five story building that over looked the entire area. As they approached, they took sniper fire from the building, Corporal Olsen was killed by a round penetrating his neck. The remainder took cover behind cars and in door frames.

"Two-One on me," Luke shouted as he rushed across the street from behind cover towards the building.

Seven Marines joined Luke on the wall of the building, out of the fire coming from the snipers above them. The rest of the platoon stayed on the street, firing up at the fourth floor where the Feds were. Luke led the squad into the building, checking the corners as they burst through the ground floor door.

The entrance was clear but the number of Feds in the building was unknown, raising the tension of the Marines as they began the tedious work of clearing the building room by room. In five minutes, the first floor was cleared and no Feds had been found. The eight men moved up the stairs to the second floor.

Hex was first out of the stairwell, she crouched and peered out of the door towards the left. Less than fifteen meters away were two Feds, that hadn't noticed Hex. She quickly raised her rifle and sighted the two. Hex's movement attracted their attention but it was too late, she fired several rounds at head height towards them. Their bodies dropped to the floor. Hex quickly rushed out of the stairwell towards cover behind a desk as the other Marines poured from the stairs.

"Contact left," Hex shouted as she saw more Feds appear from a room further down.

She answered the new Feds with more rounds tearing into them, joined by Luke, Riley, and the other Marines of the squad. The noise of the gunfire filled the floor of the partially constructed building. The floors were complete and several rooms were walled, but mostly, the floors consisted of I-beam supports and piles of I-beams and steel.

The fire from the Marine guns were too much for the six Feds that fought back on the floor. They were quickly killed, adding more Fed blood to the Southern Concordia landscape. The squad checked themselves to make sure no one was wounded before continuing to the third floor through a different stairwell. The Fed gunfire above them and the Marine fire from the ground continued, though now it was significantly less than it had been. Luke wondered whether that was good or bad for his fellow Marines.

The third floor resembled the second, still under construction with supplies and equipment everywhere. The Feds on this floor had scattered and the Marines were not met with fire when they exited the stairwell. They spread out, and began searching the floor. Riley was on the left side of the group, against a drywall that was up, as he approached the edge, he poked his head around and saw several Feds behind stacked I-beams.

"Get down," he shouted.

Not a moment after he yelled and the team hit the floor, Plasma bullets ripped through the drywall, holes appearing all across the thin wall. The team quickly crawled behind random equipment and supplies that were about the area, anything that would offer more protection than the drywall.

"Jesus Christ could that have been any closer," Hex yelled as she pushed up against several I-beams.

"Shut up," Luke said calmly as he keyed his headset, "Two-One Bravo, we're pinned down on the west side, can you flank them anyway, over?"

 _"Two-One, Bravo, give us a minute, over,"_ elsewhere on the floor, Sergeant Chris Bowren and his fireteam moved the opposite direction to find the Feds that had pinned down the other team.

The fire from the Feds hadn't let up, stranding Luke and his team behind makeshift cover as they sat waiting for Bowren and his team to do something. Heffron poked his head above the cover and tried to get a bead on the Fed firing.

"Get your damn head down," Luke barked as he saw this, "You wanna get shot or something?"

Heffron dropped back below the cover, "Just trying to shoot back Sir."

"Don't," Luke said, "Bowren and his guys are over there and you don't know where they're at. You could whack friendlies. Besides, it's my job to bring you home."

Hex laughed, "Stupid new guy, didn't they teach you anything in Basic?"

The fire from the other side of the wall immediately picked up, then abruptly ceased after several seconds.

Luke's earpiece came alive, _"Two-One, this is Two-One Bravo, how copy?"_

"Solid copy Bravo."

 _"Enemy neutralized, floor's clear, its safe to move, over."_

"Roger that Bravo," Luke said as he stood up from the cover, "Meet you at the stairs, Two-One out."

The two teams regrouped at the stairwell leading to the fourth floor. After reloading their weapons, they proceeded up the stairs once more. As Hex quietly crept up the stairs, he could hear voices coming from somewhere on the floor. As he was about to exit the stairwell, Hex quickly stopped and held her fist in the air, stopping the rest of the Marines. Across the doorway, was a thin wire which was most likely attached to an explosive device.

Hex signalled to the wire as she carefully stepped over it. She then crouched behind cover and took aim at the Feds. She held her fire until the other Marines had crossed the wire and were in position. The Feds, four of them, were lying prone on the edge of the building firing down on the Marines below. Luke drew a bead on one of the Feds, lying thirty meters away, and fired.

A hail of Plasma found the Fed soldiers, their bodies torn apart by the rounds. After waiting a moment for any additional movement, Luke signalled for them to move forward.

"Saber Two, this is Two-One, fourth floor is cleared, watch your fire, over."

 _"Two-One, Two, roger that, good work."_

The fire from the Marines below stopped, and the area became relatively quiet; explosions and gunfire could still be heard in the surrounding area. As the four bodies were searched by his team, Luke moved to the stairwell and detonated the explosives from a safe position. He walked back towards the Marines.

"Chris go check the fifth floor then head back down here, oorah?"

"Oorah Sparrow," Bowren said as he led his team towards the stairs.

Luke looked at his team, "Sean get the M40 and lets set an OP set up."

The four Marines got to work setting their observation post up on the fourth floor of the building. The sun was still high in the sky, and several battles raged below them on the streets: the fight for Santa Monica was still not over.

The main push of the Federation invasion was directed at New Phoenix. However, raids against key military installations occurred throughout the planet. One of the main installations struck was Naval Air Station West Island, home port of three _Bengal_ -class carriers. The initial strike damaged two of the carriers and crippled the air operations of NAS West Island. Fed troops dispersed throughout the surrounding area south of Santa Monica killing any civilians and military personnel that were in their path. Marines from Firebase Santa Monica next to the city, were immediately deployed to Santa Monica to combat the Fed troops and eradicate them from the city.

"RPG, two-two-zero meters, wind west to east, quarter value, behind the red pickup," Luke mumbled as he peered through magnified binoculars, "On scope."

Lying next to Luke, Riley sighted his M40A5 onto the target, a Fed soldier hefting an RPG-12 tube who was crouched behind a pickup truck in the parking lot adjacent to the building they were in. The Fed and his squad continued to advance through the parking lot closer to the building Luke was in. Advancing up the street opposite of the Feds, four Trojans and a platoon of Marines, oblivious to the approaching threat in the parking lot.

Riley made an adjustment to the dial atop the scope and said, "On target."

The Fed popped his head above cover.

"Fire," Luke said.

A single 7.62 plasma round exploded out of the M40 at 2,550 feet per second. The bullet traversed the distance and struck the Fed in the forehead in less than a second. Upon seeing their comrade fall, the remaining squad of Feds opened up at the advancing Marines, thinking the bullet had come from them. Riley remained invisible, thanks to the sound suppressor attached to the muzzle of the rifle.

"Good hit," Luke congratulated as he watched the Fed's head turn to a pink mist, "Second target, low profile, behind the dumpster."

"Got him," Riley said as he adjusted.

"Fire," the second round struck the Fed in the neck, his body crumpling to the ground, "Hit."

The Fed squad was in disarray as fire from Riley and the advancing Marines cut down those who were brave enough to poke out of cover. Several minutes later and four more shots, all hits, and the Marines were advancing past the parking lot, fifteen Feds lay dead on the pavement.

The team had been in their observation post for just over an hour and on all sides, Marines were making slow progress forward. Riley already had twenty-two kills under his belt with the M40, and there were still plenty of targets in their AO.

Luke and Riley continued to scan in front of them for targets to engage or call support fire in on; a building had already been levelled by combination of Trojan chain guns and Hydra rockets from the circling SuperHornets. Hex sat behind the two marksmen, manning the radio that connected the team to the SuperHornets and Trojans, while Heffron watched the stairwell encase they were to be attacked from behind.

"God, this is killing me," Hex complained as she twirled the radio handset around by its cord, "I wanna go shoot something."

"At least you get to kinda blow shit up," Heffron said as he turned his head from the stairwell towards Hex, "I suppose I could waste this wall though."

"Do that Heff," Luke said without removing the binoculars from his face, "I'll make sure you're on KP for a month."

Hex and Heffron both shrugged as they thought about the consequences Luke threatened. The silence was broken by an explosion in the distance; an M4-Trojan exploded as it was struck with several RPGs originating from a building along the road.

"You see 'em," Luke asked as he shifted his position to range the building.

"I got the building, but no shot on any targets," Reily said as he looked down the scope.

The hull of the Trojan could be seen in the road; several bodies were also lying in the street around the burning vehicle as the surviving Marines took cover behind whatever they could. The angle from their current spot offered no shot towards the building facing the road.

"Displace left," Luke said as he pushed himself up from the floor and hustled towards the northern side of the building and went prone.

Riley followed a moment later and set up the M40 once more, unfolding the bipod and fixing a secure spot to fire from. They both scanned through their scopes trying to find targets.

"Second floor, third window from the left," Riley said as he finally found a target.

From their spot, the two could see pieces of the building burst off as it was hit with small arms fire from the Marines on the street. Hex joined them a moment later carrying the radio.

"Three-three-five to target, wind west to east three miles, on scope," Luke said as he found the window and made the calculations.

Riley focused on the window and steadied his breath, "On target."

Both Luke and Riley waited, watching the window for the Fed to show himself. After what felt like a life time, but in reality was only a few seconds, a figure appeared in the window hoisting a tubed weapon: an RPG-12.

"Fire."

The round streaked toward the target yet missed the Fed by inches.

"Shit," Riley mumbled as he pulled the bolt back, ejecting the spent cartridge.

"You got him," Luke asked as he continued watching the window.

"On target," Riley replied as he centred the crosshair on the window.

After a few moments, the Fed reappeared again in the window. This time Riley did not miss, striking the Fed in his chest. The force of the impact from the round caused the Fed's finger to depress, firing the RPG-12 inside the building. Fire exploded out several of the windows followed by smoke and dust. Even with the explosion of the RPG, gunfire still came from the building.

"Enough of this shit," Luke grumbled as he reached to his right and pulled the map in front of him, "Hex get ready to relay coordinates."

"Got it," Hex said as she put the handset to her ear, "Cujo Flight, Saber Two-One how copy?"

 _"Two-One, Cujo Flight, solid copy, send it."_

"Ready," Luke asked as he looked at the map.

"Yeah, give it to me," Hex said.

"Target grid Echo-Foxtrot-Zulu-Three-Two-Niner, target is lit," Luke said.

Hex repeated the order over the handset as Luke turned the handheld laser device on and held it up, aiming it at the building's roof.

"Thirty seconds out," Hex said as she dropped the handset and moved to the spot on the floor where Luke and Riley were to watch the missiles strike.

After lying silent for several seconds, Luke asked, "Do we have comms with that unit down there?"

Hex looked at him and made a face, "I don't think so."

Luke chuckled, "They're gonna be in for a hell of a wake up in a second."

The three Delta operatives laid on the concrete floor observing the battle below them in the distance. The dull wir of repulser engines grew steadily louder as a pair of SuperHornets flew past the building where the team was, and onward towards the target.

Smoke trails left the two aircraft as a dozen rockets slammed into the building that had ambushed the Trojan. Sections of the building's roof could be seen collapsing as a second flight of SuperHornets made a pass on the building, firing another dozen rockets into it.

"Get some baby," yelled Heffron from the stairs twenty meters from the rest of the team.

"What a crazy bastard," Hex said as she got up and moved back towards the radio, "I hope I wasn't like that when I was younger?"

"Do you want my honest opinion," Luke replied grinning.

"Don't be hatin' Luke," Hex said as she grabbed the handset from the radio, "Cujo, good effect on target, Two-One out."

The three Marines moved back to their original positions as another assault was made on the Fed positions to the south of the building. As they scouted the area, Luke and Riley could see a formidable defensive position being set up by the Feds. The Marines were sending a large force towards them. Luke noticed as he scanned the group, that several T-600 Titans were mixed in with the Marines and Trojans.

"Hex gimme the radio," Luke said as he looked up from the map.

Hex handed the handset to Luke as she went prone next to him.

"Titan Zero-Six, this is Saber Two-One how copy?"

On the street below the team, one of the three Titans answered the radio call, _"Two-One this is Zero-Six, send it."_

Luke looked at his map once more before responding, "Zero-Six be advised, you have large Fed activity approximately five hundred meters at your twelve."

As the tanks rumbled past the building, the tank commander viewed the area through his thermal sights, trying to find out where the called out enemy was located. After searching for a moment, he found what Luke had seen. He quickly saw over forty white heat signatures moving around a three story building directly to his front.

As he waited for the tank commander to respond, Luke's headset came alive with Bowren's voice _, "Two-One, Two-One Bravo, be advised, friendlies are coming up the stairs to your position, over."_

Luke keyed his LASH, "Bravo, copy, Two-One out," Luke shouted to Heffron, "Heff we got friendlies coming up the stairs, try not to shoot 'em."

"Will do," Heffron shouted as he heard footsteps pounding up the stairs.

The tank commander's voice came back over the net, _"Two-One, we found the targets, thanks for the assist, Zero-Six out."_

Luke gave the handset back to Hex before holding the binoculars up again, "Range five-one-niner," she began calling out.

As Luke called out the distances to the building, six men appeared on the floor from the stairwell. Heffron walked them over to where Luke and Riley were lying.

"Luke," Heffron began, "We got some visitors."

Luke turned around and faced behind him. Standing alongside Heffron were six men, clad in desert fatigues each with rough, unshaven beards. Three of the men were holding Barrett M92B3 sniper rifles by the handles while the others held ACR12 assault rifles; rifles not even available to frontline troops yet.

"Commander Sparrow," one of them asked.

"Yeah that's me," Luke said getting to his feet; he searched for a name badge on the man but couldn't find one.

"It's Green," the man said, sensing Luke's search, "SAS D Squadron. We're here to help out and touch some Feds from afar; brought some toys that could be of some assistance," he said, referencing the Light Fifties his men had.

Luke glanced at the three marksmen with the Barrett rifles, each had pouches stuffed with magazines full of the nasty .50 cal round. There was no comparing the M92B3 to Rileys M40.

"Go a head and pick a spot you like," Luke said, "Armor assault's making a move over there; could probably use some sniper cover."

"You heard the man, Mac you're with me, the rest of you up a floor," Green said.

The four other SAS members returned to the stairwell and proceeded up the steps to the fifth floor while Green and the marksman named Mac took positions near where Riley was lying.

"So how long have you been up here Commander," Green asked as his marksman prepped the fifty.

"Just over two hours I'd say," Luke replied as he got back down next to Reily and raised the binoculars once more.

"How many kills?"

"Twenty-three from killer here," Hex said acknowledging Riley, "Plus a shit ton more from the ass and air we've called in."

"Impressive," Green said as he went prone on the floor next to his marksman, "What's the range to this building Commander?"

"Five-one-niner, it's at your one o'clock," Luke said as he scanned the building through his binoculars, "Armor should be rolling into it any minute."

"Well there's no time to waste then," Green said before turning to his marksman, "Dial it in."

The scope on the Barrett was adjusted and final calculations were made by both Luke and the SAS snipers. On the fifth floor, the target building had been relayed to the SAS as they also sighted in targets.

"Gentleman, let's get this party started," Green said into his mic, "On my count, three, two, one, fire."

Three rifles fired near simultaneously, sending three large .50 cal rounds towards the targeted building. All three rounds struck their targets, killing the Feds that were unlucky to be on the receiving end of the rounds. From the observation post, Luke's team and the SAS team could fire down onto the Fed held building in the distance. The first threats eliminated were the Feds that were positioned on the rooftop with RPG-12s and high powered rifles.

The banging of the three Light Fifty's continued for several minutes. Each gunshot usually meant that another Fed had been killed and was no longer a threat. Because of the added firepower that had arrived at the OP, Rileys M40 had been silent for several minutes, keeping a watch on other sectors.

Things were going good for the time being, the Marine convoy had advanced up to within two hundred meters of the building without losing any vehicles, and the SAS sniper fire had reduced the roof of the building to a dead zone. The M92s had slowed the rate at which they fired, now having to search the windows for targets to expose themselves. However, there weren't many windows left after the Titans and Trojans began firing their main cannons at the building, quickly reducing it to rubble.

As the building collapsed, Green keyed his mic, "Good work boys, keep following that convoy and scan for targets on the rooftops."

Green then turned to Luke, "Well Commander good work today, I think we have it covered here if you want to regroup with your unit."

As Green was speaking, a snap was heard to all on the fourth floor. The M82 clattered to the floor, causing everyone to look at the marksman next to Green. He was lying face down on the floor, blood pooling around his head.

"Sniper," Luke and Green both shouted.

Riley, Luke and Green both pushed themselves off the floor and rushed back in to the interior of the building and to cover.

As they ran towards cover, Green shouted into his mic, "Sniper contact left, you see anything from up top?"

However as Green ran towards cover away from Mac's body, he was struck in the back by another Plasma bullet fired from the hidden sniper mid-sentence. Blood spilled out of the wound as his body fell to the floor lifeless. Luke, Riley and Hex had all scrambled behind cover of several stacks of I-beams while Heffron ducked into the stairwell.

"Where the hell did that come from," Riley screamed as pushed up against the I-beams.

"No idea, did you see any flashes," Hex yelled back.

The team continued shouting at each other as the confusion continued. Luke was staying calm though, instead staring at Green's body as it lay on the floor, blood expanding ever further from the wound as it stained the concrete floor. Riley poked his head out from the I-beam cover and raised his M40 quickly trying to survey the area for the sniper's location. Luke noticed Riley movement and quickly grabbed him by his vest and yanked him back behind the cover.

"The hell you think you're doing," he shouted, "The SAS are looking for him so just sit your ass down."

Luke wasn't just looking at Green's body; he was straining to listen to the earpiece that had fallen off his ear. The sound of the remaining SAS was barely audible, but enough to hear. The SAS snipers were constantly chatting trying to find the sniper's location.

"Just sit tight," Luke said as he looked around at each member of his team, "Just sit tight for now guys."

The warm Southern Concordia air blew through Santa Monica, carrying with it the smell of the Concordian Ocean that reached Luke and the team as they lay behind cover in the partially constructed building. For ten minutes, they had been behind cover, avoiding the cross-hairs of a Fed sniper that had already killed two SAS right in front of them. A floor above them, four additional SAS desperately searched for the Fed that had killed two of their own.

"Jesus have they found him yet," Hex complained as she banged her head against the I-beam she was lying behind; her helmet absorbing the blows against the steel.

"I could have found him five minutes ago," Riley said as he rolled his eyes to his left and looked at Luke.

"He would have found your head the second you poked out," Luke said looking rather annoyed.

"I think you could have gotten him Simon," Hex said looking at Riley from behind the cover.

The team continued chatting, trying to keep their minds off the fact that they were pinned down by a sniper who obviously knew what he was doing. The earpiece hanging off of Green's body came alive and Luke shouted at everyone to shut up so he could hear.

 _"I think we found him, grey building six-one-zero at our twelve,"_ one voice said.

Another voice could be heard, _"Which window, the second one?"_

 _"Second, no the fourth from the right."_

A moment later, a hiss was heard that came from the fifth floor. The explanation of the hiss quickly came over the radio.

 _"Christ he just shot Mark, he's got us zeroed in."_

 _"Did that come from the fourth or second window?"_

The SAS snipers were in utter confusion as they lost another member of their team and were nowhere closer to narrowing down the sniper's exact location. The general location however had been identified by the SAS, giving Luke an idea as he grabbed his map and did some quick distance calculations in his head.

"Hex slide me the radio," Luke said looking up from the map.

Hex did as she was ordered and slid the radio set across the floor to Luke. Luke reached for the radio set and dragged it next to him. He grabbed the handset with his right hand while he held onto the map with his left, doing some quick calculations in his head.

Holding the handset to his mouth, he spoke, "Cujo Flight this is Saber Two-One how copy?"

Several seconds later, _"Saber Two-One, this is Misfit Four, Cujo has RTB, over."_

"Copy, Misfit, priority target, approximately six-zero-zero meters at zero-eight-seven degrees of our building, how copy?"

 _"I copy you Two-One, interrogative, what is this target exactly?"_

"Target is grey building, fill it with lead Four."

 _"Roger that, we're inbound hot, Misfit Four out."_

Luke set the handset down and looked at his team, "Let's see if we can't blow this bastard to pieces."

The team waited behind the cover, and again, the sound of engines grew louder as a flight of SuperHornets blazed over the building towards the targeted building. Several seconds later, the sound of Hydra rockets exploding filled the air, followed quickly by dust as the grey building was reduced to rubble in a matter of seconds by the godly firepower of the SuperHornets.

Luke raised his head and looked at Heffron who was in the stairwell, "Go upstairs and check if that was the building they had zeroed in."

"Oorah Sergeant," Heffron said as he began bounding up the steps to the fifth floor.

He returned a minute later walking out of the stairwell, "They say we're in the clear."

That was good enough for Luke, who stood up from his cover and turned to survey the damage in the distance. He gauged the distance of the building that was now rubble to the two SAS that lay on the floor in front of him.

"Not a bad shot," he mumbled as he looked into the distance.

Hex and Riley checked the two bodies for any signs of life, even though they both knew the answer to their query. They dragged the bodies away from their current positions, towards the stairwell, their blood leaving streaks across the floor. Riley also retrieved the Barrett and checked to see if it was still operational. The blood from the marksman who had once used it now stained the black gun, dirtying the chamber and main components.

"Won't be using this anytime soon," Riley said as he placed the Barrett on the floor next to the two SAS.

Looking around the floor, Luke could see shell casings that littered the area from the once used positions; and the blood shown dark red against the concrete floor.

"Pack this shit up," Luke said as he lifted his assault pack and slung it over his shoulders, "We're linking up with Saber Two."

The three Marines quickly went about retrieving the equipment that was on the floor. Riley placed the M40 back into the gun case that he attached to his pack while Hex attached the radio to her pack. They were ready to move in two minutes. Hex led them down the stairs, Luke taking one last look at the floor, their home for the last three hours and the two SAS snipers that lay dead. Luke quickly cleared his head as he began bounding down the stairs with the rest of his team.

Minutes later, the team was back on the street regrouping with Bowren and the rest of Saber Two-One Bravo, who had been on the street level providing rear security while Luke and the team were at the OP.

"So how'd it go," Bowren asked as Luke was last to exit the building.

"Wouldn't even believe it if I told ya Chris," Luke said as he passed Bowren, "Let's get a move on gents, Saber Two is waiting."

With that, the seven Marines followed their squad leader off down the road. As they followed the road, several AAVs passed them, loaded with additional Marines. The battle that initially started with one hundred and twenty Marine riflemen and light armour, had grown to an entire Marine battalion added to the mix as well as twelve Titan tanks from 1st Tanks that had just arrived in Santa Monica and were thrown into the mix. As the squad moved east along the road, SuperHornets blazed over them firing rockets and 20 mm Gatling guns at Fed positions as Marines advanced on all the points in the assault.

After advancing up the street three hundred meters, the squad finally regrouped with the rest of Saber Two, who were hunkered down in a blown-out store front.

"Sparrow," Burris said as the eight Marines entered the store, "Nice of you to finally join us."

"Got a little side tracked up there sir," Luke said as he approached the lieutenant and team leaders who were circled around a metal table.

"Well you didn't miss much, but right now Scarface is pushing for a final assault so we're about ten mikes from kicking that off," Burris said as he highlighted the remaining Fed positions on the map.

As the team leaders looked at the map, three Titan tanks rolled by the store followed by four Trojans. Luke casually glanced up to see how many had passed. He had lost count of the number of armoured units in the fight; they all looked the same after a while.

"Are we spearheading this push sir," Luke asked after examining the map and drawn arrows.

"No, Marines from RCT-One are leading with the heavy ass right behind them. We're on follow up duty, on guard for any stragglers. Now go get stocked up on ammo from that Trojan," Burris said nodding towards an idling trojan across the street, "We're oscar mike in five."

With that, the meeting was ended and the team leaders returned to their men. Luke motioned for his team to follow him as they moved across the street to the Trojan. The rear hatch was open and inside, were dozens of boxes of ammunition and grenades. Riley stashed the M40 case inside the Trojan and retrieved several magazines of AC160 ammo. The entire team did the same, Luke grabbing several additional 40 mm grenades and stuffing them into one of his pockets. The team had finished restocking their spent munitions by the time the platoon was on the move, advancing up the street half on one side the other half on the other.

As the platoon advanced up the street, Luke was reminded of the same situation a month before on Ryloth, except the dust covered streets of a desert south had been traded for the paved roads of modern Concordia. Coming to an intersection, the platoon stopped and covered the angles on the street as they crossed as quickly as possible. A mere several hundred meters a head of them, the sounds of the battle could be heard, explosions echoing through the streets.

Restocking on ammo had been in vane; by the time Riley and the rest of the platoon reached the leading elements of RCT-One, the fight for Santa Monica had finished. As the team emerged from the street onto an open field at the end of the peninsula, the carnage caused from the battle could be seen. Panning across the field, Luke could see collapsed buildings fresh from the recent battle still smouldering, sending columns of black skyward. Further down in the distance, several Trojans were parked, with wounded Marines lying on the ground, being cared for by corpsmen and comrades. The bodies of Feds littered the landscape as black holes dotted the field, no doubt caused by Hydra rockets from the SuperHornets.

Luke led his team towards the idling Trojans and Titans, where the majority of the Marines in the area were congregated. Crossing the field of the dead was a horrific experience, the mangled bodies of Feds were across the ground, also Marines were lying dead too, a grim reminder of what it cost to take back this small section of the city.

The platoon entered the perimeter of the Trojans and were met by several ranking officers trying to organize the situation at hand. One major who had been given command of the battalion was trying to coordinate casevacs for the wounded when Burris approached him.

"Anything we can do to help here sir," Burris said as he approached the major.

Removing the handset from his ear, the major responded, "Not right now Lieutenant, can't even get West Island on the radio now, just sit back and wait for now."

The major turned and returned to his work coordinating with command as in the distance, a squad of Marines exited a building leading two Fed prisoners. The Feds were led to the major and a sergeant explained the situation.

Burris was in the middle of issuing the platoon orders when the major shouted to him over the roar of the Trojan engines, "Lieutenant," he motioned for Burris to approach him, "Just captured this Fed major and captain, since you're not doing anything, you escort them back to West Island for interrogation."

"Yes sir," Burris nodded before turning back towards the platoon and shouting, "Sparrow!"

Luke hustled from the platoon to Burris who informed him of the situation. Rounding up the team, Luke led the Marines and Fed prisoners from the perimeter towards an idling Cougar-H. However, before they could reach the Cougar-H, an Army Warbird landed on the field, kicking up a storm of dust that blinded the Marines. Debarking from the aircraft, were six men, clad in all black uniforms, even wearing full balaclavas in the Concordia heat.

The six men rushed from the Warbird towards Luke and his team who were caught off guard by the occurrence. One of the men shouted at Luke, who was between the men in black and the Fed prisoners.

"We're here to take custody of the prisoner's sergeant," he said sternly from behind the balaclava and combat goggles, his eyes the only part of him visible.

"On who's authority," Luke questioned, not knowing what to do, yet hoping Burris or the major would appear and take control of the situation.

"You don't need to know that Commander," the man replied agitated, "Now, turn over the prisoners."

Luke glanced over to the Trojans where the major was, and was shocked to see two more of the black clad men conversing with him. The major appeared to fight the words, but eventually motioned at Luke to relinquish the prisoners to the men.

Two men from the group moved towards them and grabbed the prisoners by the collars and pushed them towards the helicopter. They left without another word. After throwing the prisoners into the VTOL, the men quickly boarded the Warbird and were back in the air in seconds. Strangely, Luke thought, the Blackhawk did not go West towards NAS West Island, yet east towards the city.

"You wanna tell me what the hell just happened Luke," Hex asked as she approached Luke's side watching the Warbird disappear into the skyline of the city.

"I have no fucking idea, probably ONI spooks." Luke said confused as he stood there in the open field, gripping his rifle.

After a moment, Luke shook what just happened off and said as he turned to the team, "Let's get back to the platoon and get the hell out of this shit-hole."

The Marines agreed and they walked back towards the platoon, huddled around a Trojan. The platoon joked around, and talked about the day and the close calls they had, and how they were glad to finally be done. Luke knew, that this was far from being over as he stood in a small circle with the other team leaders, there were still other Federation holdouts still remaining on Concordia. After several minutes of this, a loud bang was heard throughout the field. The sound which many thought was a truck backfiring turned out to be a gun shot when one of the Marines in the platoon fell to the ground.

"Get some cover," several of the men yelled as panic and confusion overcame the Marines.

Marines scattered everywhere as more shots rang out across the field. Luke found cover behind the Trojan along with Bowren and Riley. Marines were scattered elsewhere as they desperately sought cover.

"Where the hell is Hex and Heff," Luke shouted over the noise to Riley, who just shook his head.

The turret of an Titan that was nearby began shifting towards the south, and stopped as the barrel was fixated on a building at the edges of the field. The tank fired once, then again several seconds later. In moments, Trojans and Titans were unloading their ordinance into the building as it quickly collapsed under the fire. It was over in a minute, five Marines now were lying on the ground, as Luke shouted for Hex and Heffron.

As Marines began appearing from behind cover, Hex was soon found with several members of the platoon with her.

"Where the fuck is Heff," Luke questioned.

"I thought he was with you guys," Hex quickly said as she realized they were missing a man.

"Hey uh Luke," Riley said knocking Luke's arm.

Luke turned around to see a corpsman and several Marines over the body of the Marine in the platoon that fell. Luke could see an LMG-5 lying on the ground next to the body as blood soaked into the ground.

"Jesus Christ," Luke mumbled as he stood over Heffron's body; another friend had just been taken from him.

 _Codex Update_

 _The OAG_ _Assault Amphibious Vehicle_

 _The_ _Assault Amphibious Vehicle_ _(_ _AAV_ _)—official designation_ _AAV-P12/A5_ _is a fully tracked Amphibious landing vehicle manufactured by UEG Combat Industries. The AAV-P12/A5 is the current amphibious troop transport of the OAG military. It is used by OAG. Assault Amphibian Battalions to land the surface assault elements of the landing force and their equipment in a single lift from assault shipping during amphibious operations to inland objectives and to conduct mechanized operations and related combat support in subsequent mechanized operations ashore. It is also operated by other forces. Marines call them "amtracks," a shortening of their original designation, "amphibious tractor.". The AAVs are like the M4-Trojans are both tracked vehicles but have been upgraded to included hovering systems from the Republic._

 _The OAG_ _AH-4Z SuperHornet_

 _The_ _OAG AH-4Z SuperHornet_ _is an OAG VTOL, twin-turboshaft attack Gunship with a tailwheel-type landing gear arrangement and a tandem cockpit for a two-man crew. It features a nose-mounted sensor suite for target acquisition and night vision systems. It is armed with a 30mm M510 duel chain gun carried between the main landing gear, under the aircraft's forward fuselage. It has four hard points mounted on stub-wing pylons, typically carrying a mixture of hellfire missiles and Hydra-10 rocket pods. The AH-4Z has a large amount of systems redundancy to improve combat survivability. over 4,000 AH-4Zs have been produced to date._

 _7.62 Plasma Bullet_

 _It was introduced in UEG. service in the AC-12 rifle and LMG-1 in the late 2470s. It is used in various Sniper Rifles and Machine Guns such as the LMG-5, and various rifles in use by special operations forces. The cartridge is used both by infantry and on mounted and crew-served weapons mounted to vehicles, aircraft and ships. The plasma Bullet is made up of a Steel Jacket Core with a small electronic system that activates a plasma field around the bullet that cauterizes the entry and exit wounds._

 **Did some research on actual NATO military language and codenames to improve the accuracy of my story.**


	17. That Others May Live

**The First Contact War**

Chapter 17

That Others May Live

" _It is my duty as a Pararescueman to save life and to aid the injured. I will be prepared at all times to perform my assigned duties quickly and efficiently, placing these duties before personal desires and comforts. These things we (I) do, that others may live._ _" Pararescue Creed._

 _2622 September 12th Earth Standard Calendar, Yinchorr, Senior Airman Johnathon Mar._

Senior Airmen Johnathon, or John, Mar, 114th Rescue Squadron, two tours, one on Abregado and one on Vanqor. Mar had rescued more men than a small clinic could treat in a month. It was the beginning of his third tour and the first shift change for his unit. In an addition to his team, a new recruit fresh out of PJ Indoc had joined them for the ride. Summer time, the CIS attacks were frequent and high during the hottest season of the year. Mar was from Arcadia and was used to the weather, his tanned skin making him different from the rest of his lobster red teammates. Yinchorr had been taken over in a coup supported by the CIS, the OAG had been quick to respond and it two months the world had been liberated. However there were still Separatist Militias dotted all over the world.

The AM team was changing shifts with the PM team. Mar and fifteen others would be working from noon until 11 PM at night. The team would be hooking their gear up to the VTOL's passenger bay complete with blood packs, medical equipment and their own personal protective vests and gear. John was finish up his preparations and was waiting for blood packs along with extra medical gear to be stocked in the helicopter when the dreadful sound rang out from the airbase's speakers.

The speakers boomed as the automated audio clip played before the dispatcher spoke, _"Pedros. Scramble, scramble, scramble."_

"What the fuck?" John screamed, "What about the blood packs and other equipment?"

"AM team's bringing it!" John's senior, Gary yelled, "Get your gear on and get ready to dust off!"

John quickly pulled on his body armour and medical gloves, seeing the two other members of the team rushing to the helicopter. In their arms were boxes for blood packs while another two behind them had medical equipment. Slipping on his ballistic sunglasses and helmet, John jumped inside the helicopter to do the final check while waving goodbye to the AM shift guys. The rookie and another experienced pararescuemen were gearing up as the pilots started up the Warbird. Hot air started to blast into the passenger bay, the sound of rotors whirling before turning into a thundering thumping. Mar jacked the radio into his headset to hear the pilots talking.

"Pedro 3-2, spooled up and ready to lift," he heard the pilot report.

"Everyone ready?!" John screamed.

All three gave him a thumbs-up.

"PJ, Pilot, crew ready for dust off," John reported.

"Roger PJ, lifting off in one mike."

Mar reached for the right side door and slid the slab of metal shut. The rookie, Barnaby Smith, was still donning his helmet when the helicopter jerked forward. The MH-64 Warbird soon took off and with it, the four pararescuemen. John looked out the window to see a plain of desert stretching as far as the eye can see with a few mountains poking above the horizon. Tol-Kashorn airbase was one of the few places that he felt slightly safe in, just slightly. Another Warbird was flying ahead of theirs. Pedro 3-1 was their lead Warbird with another batch of pararescuemen. Their job was to load seven more patients if need be and to provide air cover for Pedro 3-2 as they extracted the injured.

"Gary!" John screamed, "Gary! What does MIST say?!"

"Uh..." Gary muttered, looking at a small PDA device, "one CAT Alpha. Not amputated, GSW to chest and arm. Lost a lot of blood."

"Hey Rich," John screamed, "get an IV drip going and prep a blood pack just in case!"

"What?!" Barnaby yelled back, trying to hear over the engines.

"I. V. I. V," John screamed back, making gestures with his hands, "and a blood pack!"

Barnaby passed Mar a clear plastic bag with clear liquid floating inside. He clipped the carabiner holding the IV bag to the top of the helicopter, a small radio wire holding the bag in place. Soon, there were bags holding various liquids hanging from the Warbirds ceiling with clear tubes cascading down from them. Extra preparations were made just in case there were more patients preparing to board the medevac helicopter. John was looking out the window when he saw Gary look down at his vest. The team leader reached into his pouch and pulled out the PDA, his eyebrows scrunching in curiosity before looking up at the other three.

"Change in the MIST!" MIST or Mechanism of injury, Injuries, Signs/Symptoms, Treatment, "two CAT Alphas and one CAT Bravo, IED, GSW to chest and arm along with IED, shrapnel to body!"

"Is that MIST for the other CAT Alpha and Bravo?" John screamed.

"Yeah!" Gary yelled back. "Jason," he spoke into his headset microphone, "we are taking all injured, copy?"

"Check," came the short reply.

"Pilot, CRO," the pilot spoke.

"CRO, go ahead," Combat Rescue Officer Gary replied.

"Exit's on right side the dude," the pilot stated.

"Check."

Mar kept watch over the horizon as they flew towards their VLZ (VTOL Landing Zone) just twenty to thirty miles from the airbase. He hoped that the patient would be delivered to the hospital within the golden hour. One hour was all that stood between life and death. Shortly after the golden hour, the chance of survival would drop off dramatically. The two tour veteran felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to see Gary tapping his watch on the left wrist along with flashing his finger fingers.

They were five minutes out.

John pulled open the right door and felt the gust of cold wind rush into the passenger bay. It felt good. The ground below looked absolutely staggering for a war torn country. Mountains rose from their left with white snow-capped peaks, huge lakes of glimmering blue water slid by below them and the brown sky with a few clouds behind them as the two helicopters banked right towards the ground. Mar sat on the edge of the Warbird and grabbed onto the rail while the Warbird banked. Soon, they were flying just a few hundred feet above the rooftops. Mar flicked the safety off and racked the charging handle of his AC-30 Carbine to chamber a Plasma bullet.

The Senior Airmen glanced left to see his helicopter's flight engineer racking the M2 Plasma Machine Gun. None of the Plasma bullets in the belt were moving into the machine gun. This looked bad. Another pull and still nothing. Looks like the gun wasn't feeding correctly. Mar couldn't hear anything over the engines wiring in the air. He saw the flight engineer lift up the Browning's cover before slamming it back down and pulling on the charging handle.

Nothing.

"Hey Gary!" Mar yelled.

"Yeah?" he replied.

"What's up with the right gun?"

"It's hard bent!" Hard bent, slang for broken.

John could hear the pilots talk but the constant, loud wirr of the engines made it hard for him to hear even with ear protection. If the right gun failed, they might have to resort to the LMG-5 Squad Automatic Weapon back-up they had inside the helicopter. Loud heavy, metallic thumps exploded in his ears as Mar turned to see the left door gunner testing his own machine gun with lethal results. He gave a thumbs up to the pilots before resuming his duty of watching the ground below. Then, Mar could hear good news over the faint radio transmissions.

"Uh," the voice muttered, "I got the right gun back online again."

A series of heavy thumps exploded close to him.

"Yeah, it's working again," the flight engineer on the right gun reported.

"That is fucking awesome dude," the pilot replied.

They were close to the VLZ, only a few minutes left before they would be on the ground. He knew nothing except that they were picking up OAG soldiers twenty to thirty miles from Tol-Kashorn Airbase. It was their job to put their lives on the line, and just like their motto, so that 'others may live.' Mar felt the Warbird jerk left, his arm quickly grabbing onto the rail by the door.

"One, defending. I have a missile launch warning and I can't see the trail," the pilot quickly reported.

Pops and fizzes exploded from the rear of the chopper in the form of glowing orange balls. Flares were being launched to protect the Warbird against enemy heat seeking rockets and missiles. The Warbird banked right once more to zigzag towards the HLZ. Just as fast as it came, the threat was gone. They were now circling the landing zone and were waiting for the friendly forces to signal that it was all clear. It had to be swept of IEDs and mines or else the Warbird crew itself would become the injured.

"Alright," the pilot spoke up, "the ground team says it's clear. 3-2's going in to land."

"Roger, 3-1's cover."

"PJs," the pilot called, "expect a brown out!"

The Warbird levelled off and pitched up to land. Brownout, or a visual restriction usually from sand or dust from the helicopter's rotor downwash. This made it extremely dangerous for both the pilots and the PJs. Both can't see the enemy beyond the cloud of dust and made them extremely vulnerable to incoming fire. As the Warbird closed distance with the VLZ and the ground, a cloud of dust erupted from underneath the Warbird. It was being blown away by the powerful rotors and encased the helicopter like a hurricane, with the Warbird being the eye of a brown storm.

"Twenty, fifteen, ten, five, tail...brakes," the pilot called out the altitude in feet as John felt a sudden jolt.

"Clipping out," Gary reported, the four men pulling out their radio jacks connecting them with the helicopter's communication.

Mar hopped off the Warbird right after Richard and Gary with his other teammate, Finn, bringing up the rear. The four crouched down right next to the passenger door. Dust, dirt and sand blew all around the Warbird. It was too dangerous to venture blind. For all they knew, enemy fire could cut down the entire team there and then. Mar wanted to take the risk to walk through the fog of war. It was their job after all so that others may live. John saw movement from his peripheral vision. He glanced over to see the pilot's hand waving towards the helicopter's left, just off the nose.

Gary looked back and screamed, "follow me!"

Gary got up, calmly walking straight out from the helicopter to avoid the hot exhaust and turned towards the direction that the pilot waved at. Nothing but brown clouds. Slowly, the fog of dust parted ways to reveal Army soldiers standing around two stretchers and a female. It seemed like a camera crew was also there and the female was a reporter or attached journalist. Gary instantly went to the medic for information as Richard and Finn helped the two men load the stretchers onto the helicopter.

Mar was left with the female reporter.

"Are you okay ma'am?!" Mar screamed over the sound of the rotorblades.

"Y-y-yes!" the reporter screamed back, "I have a couple of scratches here and there but my leg's broken from the IED blast!"

"Okay ma'am," Mar replied, "get on my back! I'll carry you to the Warbird!"

The reporter hesitated for a second before jumping on Mar's back. Her leg was bandaged up and a makeshift splint was wrapped around it. Mar could feel her weight against his back as he shuffled forwards. As if on cue, all hell started to break loose. One single laser zinged right by his ear, a ricochet bouncing off the warbirds metal skin. The Warbird was a giant laser magnet and was the biggest target for an ambush.

"Contact!" the Army soldiers screamed.

"John," Gary yelled from behind him, "get her on the fucking Bird! I'll cover you!"

Mar ran the same pattern. Straight down, adjacent from the Warbird and straight in. He placed the reporter on the helicopter's deck and eased her inside while Gary fired off rounds right behind him. The flight engineers were stoic, their eyes scanning the cloud of dust for any droids that might be running through the fog and inside the repulse engines or area around the helicopter. There were many attempts at suicide bombing on a warbird before and this was not going to be the last. John hopped in and immediately raised his rifle as Barnaby and Finn had started treatment on the patient.

"Everyone's in!" John yelled into the microphone as he connected himself to the helicopter's comms and saw Gary mounting the Pave Hawk, the CRO closing the door behind him.

"Everyone's accounted for, Pedro 3-2 dusting off," the pilots reported, "hold on."

Mar felt his stomach lurch, the helicopter dangerously exploding upwards into the air and pitching forward. The burst of speed carried the aircraft out of the brown smoke and straight into the air. He could hear the thumping of Pedro 3-1's M2's hammering the enemy on the ground with fifty calibre plasma bullets. The helicopter was climbing rapidly to cruise altitude as they banked left towards the OAG hospital.

"Contact, contact muzzle flare at eight o'clock low," Mar heard one of the flight engineers call out the targets.

Another series of pings echoed inside the helicopter.

"Holy shit that was right on," the pilot muttered.

"Three dudes, you see that?" the co-pilot reported, "they look like they have rocket tubes."

"Climbing," the pilot replied.

Mar hooked his rifle up the back wall, the carabiner hanging from the back of his rifle's buttstock. He paid no heed to the reporter. She might be civilian but the two other patients were Catagory Alpha or severe. He did a quick blood sweep to see if he was injured anywhere else and started to pack the gunshot wounds with bandages to soak up the blood. Then, a quick shot of Ketamine to dull the pain before inserting an IV drip into the neck of his elbow to deliver blood. Gary helped him, making sure everything was okay.

"Hey buddy," Gary said as he patted the soldier's face, "you're okay. You're going to make it, okay?"

The soldier merely moaned and lifted up his left arm, forming an okay sign.

"That's it," Gary replied with a reassuring nod, "stay with us buddy."

"Hey!" Mar heard Finn scream, "hey! Blood sweep!"

Barnaby skipped steps. His face looked like a man who was processing information far too slowly. Some had to become accustomed to the information overload while others adapt fairly quickly. The blood sweep was vital; it was to check if there were any injuries they didn't find or know about. Barnaby did the blood sweep and quickly went to insert an IV drip. Gary on the other hand, was busy with the soldier's left leg. It was amputated, blown off by the IED. The lead pararescuemen was busy trying to get a tourniquet to clamp down the bleeding.

"IV's not working!" Barnaby screamed, holding up the needle and shaking his head.

"Go for an IO!" Gary yelled a reply as his medical gloves were drenched in blood.

An Intraosseous Infusion was an operation that injected blood straight into the bone marrow. It was going to hurt the soldier and bad. Mar quickly jumped to action, slipping a syringe of Ketamine into the soldier's blood stream before letting Barnaby perform the IO. The rookie pulled out a red apparatus that looked like rotary saw except the tip had a giant, sharp needle. He fitted another needle like device onto it and rolled the soldier onto his side. Slowly, Barnaby pushed the needle into the soldier's shoulder and heard the agonizing scream erupt from the man's mouth.

"It's just going to hurt for a bit!" Finn assured just as Barnaby pulled the IO inserter out and plugged in a blood pack tube.

Red liquid spiralled down into a small device before going into the soldier's IO. He was receiving blood that would probably save his life. The screaming subsided to a moan as the four pararescuemen continued to treat the patients. They were within the golden hour alright. Pedro 3-2 arrived at the helipad only fifty minutes into the golden hour, the Warbird touching down right next to an ambulance.

Mar slammed open the door to see two Army soldiers rushing out to get their comrade. Gary and Finn went into the first ambulance with the patient while Barnaby and Finn went into the next with the reporter and the less critical soldier. The two soldiers were sent straight into the examination bay and then into the surgery room. Gary and Finn were giving the doctors information while Hume handed off the reporter.

A female Army nurse was waiting for him.

"What have you got?" she asked, flashing a smile.

"She's got a broken right leg, splint. Minor incarcerations and scratches from shrapnel. Otherwise she's okay," Mar reported as the nurse nodded.

"Thanks guys," she said patting him on the back, "we'll take her from here."

John lingered for a few minutes longer, waiting for his brothers as they watched the men being wheeled away on medical beds. As they turned to walk back to their helicopters, the three of them patted Barnaby on the back. It was his first day and he was doing better than expected. Back on the Warbird, John stared at the blood on the deck. So much maroon blood staining the black metal. The stench and sight of drying blood was forever burned into the back of his head. But this was war, it was real and it was gritty.

The Warbird was back in Tol-Kashorn Airbase, it's pilots flying the metal bird into its final traffic pattern before landing it back on the helipad. The emotion was raw still, visceral like the war around it. John had felt it before and there were no words to describe it. He tried to describe it to his father, mother and siblings back home but not no avail. What was it, that feeling of doing your best to save someone's life before they passed away? Satisfaction that you saved a life, regret that you could have done something better, guilt that you didn't move fast enough?

He would never know.

Metal shuddered, his body jerked forward slightly and the Warbird came to a complete stop. Whines escaped the engines as they spooled down and the repulsers blue glow diming while the pilots shut down the aircraft. John slid the door open and jumped off, taking off his vest and helmet. He hooked the gear back on its place at the rear wall of the Warbird. The same was done to his rifle with the carabiner at the back of the buttstock. He turned around to see the lead Warbird's crew coming up to congratulate Richard on a job well done.

"Hey good job buddy," Jason, the Pedro 3-1's CRO, praised Barnaby.

"Yeah, out-fucking-standing work out there man," Finn rubbed the rookie's head.

"We'll make a combat rescue crewman out of you yet," John said with a small smile.

"Thanks guys," Barnaby grunted as he hooked up his gear, "means a lot to me."

"You know what means alot to me?" the pilot said taking off his helmet, the radio/mouth shield combo, "helping me clean up the blood on Jessica."

"Yes sir, Lieutenant Hardass sir," Gary sighed as the pilot laughed, "I'm the only one keeping you and your patients alive Lieutenant."

"Still can't believe you called the Warbird Jessica"

The four plus the four flight engineers and pilots went on about their day. Scrubbing the aircraft down and sanitizing it, the red blood washing away from the black metal of the Warbird. After they had done that, it was back to the ready room. Food, entertainment, lavatories, all of it had to be there. The Pararescuemen had to be within sprinting distance of the Warbirds.

Hours passed by and the eight were lounging around in their office chairs. The room was cooled by large air conditioners and on the tables were TV dinner like trays devoid of food. They sat in a wooden box awaiting their next call, and wait they did.

The automated audio alarm blared before the voice spoke, _"Pedros, scramble, scramble, scramble."_

"There's our next call!" Gary yelled, jumping out of his seat and out the door. Towards the helicopter.

"Putting our lives on the line so that others might live!" John screamed after him, the Arcadian sprinting just behind him.

This was his life.

His life as a pararescueman.

 _2622 November 18th Earth Standard Calendar, Senior Airman Johnathon Mar, Dorin_.

Another day, another possible life waiting to be saved. It has been two months into deployment and yet nothing too gruesome had shown up. Okay, maybe gruesome but not soul maiming. Senior Airmen Johnathon 'John' Mar sat idly in his chair while throwing a tennis ball at the wall opposite of him.

His Warbird's Combat Rescue Officer, Gary, was in his own officer's cubicle separated from the enlisted men. He often joined the rowdy grunts but for today, he was talking to his wife back home. Barnaby Smith, the team's newly christened rookie, stared blankly into a news channel reporting the war. The British female news anchor thanking the Pararescuemen for rescuing the documentary host from under enemy fire and delivering her to relative safety along with much needed medical care and also reporting on a creature called the Zillo Beast that had rampaged on Courascant. Steven Finn, the team's third most seasoned veteran, was fooling around in the computer room. The annoying thing about having to fight on Dorin was that all OAG personnel had to wear breathing masks 24/7 or else they would suffocate in the toxic air.

One of the lead Warbird's men were mess around with each other, the two trying to have staple wars from their chairs. Such were one of war's most forgotten tragedies: Boredom.

"I almost got you!" one of them screamed, "fucking close!"

"Bruce," Mar muttered with boredom as he continued throwing the ball, "better stop it before you staple your balls to the chair."

"Like hell I will," Bruce shot back before his friend landed a quick blow to the crotch of his service trousers, nailing the fabric to the chair.

"Woo!" Bruce's friend, Tony, yelled in victory, "nailed it!"

"Ha ha, very funny T," Bruce replied with a low mumble.

Then, the alarm rang out accompanied by an audio clip, _"Pedros, scramble, scramble, scramble."_

"Fuck," Bruce screamed as he tried to unpin his trousers' crotch from the staple, "I'm stuck!"

"I told you so," Mar laughed, running out the door and towards the helicopter.

The seventy-meter sprint towards the flight line was nothing short of explosive. Each second counted as the timer ticked down for the wounded. With his heart pounding against his chest from the short sprint, Mar threw on his plate carrier and radio headset. He watched the pilots getting into their seats as he donned his helmet. One unified whirl from both engines signalled that the Warbird was starting up. The blades slowly turned before speeding up into an air chopping roar. Mar clipped himself into the Warbird's intercom system, the combat rescue airmen finishing his final gear check. He sat on the helicopter's passenger deck with his legs dangling down from the side.

"Pedro 3-2 spooled up and ready for lift off," the pilot reported on the intercom.

 _"Pedro 3-1, ditto here,"_ the pilot of the flight's lead helicopter replied.

Mar slipped on his Oakley sunglasses while waiting next to Gary for the Warbird to lift off. A minute passed, then two, nothing happened. Mar waited anxiously for the Warbird flight to taxi to the short runway. His right index finger was tapping against his AC-30 Carbine's magazine well in impatience. The wounded's life counter was ticking down each second they sat here doing nothing on the flight line.

Mar turned to Gary and asked, "What the fuck are we waiting for?!"

"Don't know!" Gary yelled back.

"And what does MIST say?!" Mar asked once again.

"Dorin boy, GSW to torso, MIST doesn't say where specifically!" Gary answered back, consulting the small PDA tucked away in the depths of his vest.

"Hey PJs," the co-pilot said and looked back from the cockpit, "we're still on standby. Boss is trying to confirm whether or not the kid's up to MEDROE."

MEDROE or Medical Rules of Eligibility were changed in recent years. Before, the Pararescue could pick up injured non-OAG children and non-OAG citizens alike. Now, only those who were in critical condition, like from a bullet wound to the head, were eligible to be picked up by the Warbirds. This, in John's opinion, was an unwelcomed change. Every life counts, no matter the nationality. And the team's motto, 'That Others Might Live', would not be fulfilled in the slightest. Only those hit by accidental fire from the joint Republic and OAG Forces were allowed to be picked up in addition to the critically wounded.

A sense of frustration started to swelter inside the Senior Airmen.

"Anything from Command?!" Gary yelled into the headset's microphone.

"No," the pilot replied with a sigh, "nothing dude."

"This is frustrating," Barnaby muttered into the microphone.

"Damn right it is," Finn sighed back an answer.

Another fifteen or so minutes passed before an answer arrived, "uh…stand down, stand down," the pilot said.

"What? Why?!" Barnaby yelled back angrily.

"Kid got shot by the CIS, not us," the pilot replied as the shut down the Warbird.

"God damn it!" Barnaby screamed, "we could have helped him."

"Could have, would have, should have," Finn said, patting the rookie's shoulder, "we're in the military and have orders to follow B. We aren't Doctors Without Borders."

Mar clipped the carabiner attached to the butt stock of his rifle to the rear wall of the Warbird. The rear wall held all the medical equipment they needed to keep a person alive during the trip to the OAG field hospital or Dorin hospital. The eight pararescue airmen walked back towards the command centre in disappointment. With the gear still on, they entered the air-conditioned room with the hope of the call would once again come for them to save the kid's life.

"What happened?" John asked the question of which he already knew the answer to his commanding officer, Captain Derek McHale.

"Not up to fucking MEDROE," Captain McHale sighed and rubbed his face in frustration.

"Wish we could have done something about it still," Barnaby muttered with silent frustration.

"Could have, but what if another call comes in during that child's rescue? Mass casualties and tango one patients?" Captain McHale shot back to a silent Barnaby. Tango One patients were those in need of immediate surgery to save their lives and were number one priorities.

The alarm blared once again. _"All Pedros, scramble, scramble, scramble,"_ the dispatch spoke into a microphone stand above a stack of military radios.

"There's your other call, now chop, chop PJs," Captain McHale said and clapped his hands twice to shoo the airmen out.

The pilots, who were just taking off their helmets after a post-flight check, even though they didn't get off the ground, were once again donning the metal brain buckets. Hume climbed back into the helicopter's passenger bay and sat down by the lip of the deck. He grabbed his rifle before quickly giving a thumbs-up to the flight engineer whom was clipping the Maxillofacial Shield to his helmet. The Maxillofacial Shield or simply, the MFS, was a small metal mask that covered the wearer's lower face from debris and dust during flight operations and allows for a microphone to be placed inside for better radio communications.

Mar watched as the other three members of the rescue unit quickly climb aboard and slam their fists into the side of the Warbird's skin to signal that they were ready. It took a few minutes for the Warbird to spool up again, but this time, they had the go signal. The Warbird jerked forward before turning left and towards the runway. Before long, they were rolling forward and into the air. The Warbird slowly cruised from the tarmac, gaining speed and banking left towards, what John remembered was, Dor'shan City.

"MIST updates!" Gary screamed into his microphone over the chopping of the rotor blades, "mass casualties of twelve! Confirmed one Dorin child, two Dorin National Soldiers and two OAG Soldiers! Others still unknown, but these guys are CAT Alphas!"

Category Alphas were critically wounded. They needed to be rescued within the golden hour or the risk of losing them multiplies by the minute. Mar slid himself back into the passenger bay as soon as the helicopters were flying at their designated altitude and pulled the doors forward, closing them. The four of them start preparing blood packs and IV bags with IV lines already hooked up. Mar pulled off his combat gloves and pulled on black medical ones in anticipation of a bloodied patient. It was about fifteen minutes from Dor'shan Air Base to Dor'shan City and even more with headwind.

"I don't like this," the new co-pilot, Sam, was a new recruit just like Barnaby, "looks like an ambush to me."

"I know what you're saying," their pilot, Ben, replied, "it doesn't sit well with me."

"Weapons chambered when we go in?" Sam asked.

"Definitely dude," Ben breathed a reply.

Incidents like this were laser magnets from the CIS. Blow up civilian and military targets, wait for the Birds to pick them up and blow them up too. Much higher casualty rates and a much higher payoff, the chopper's M2 plasma machine guns' door guns were here to make sure that didn't happen. Mar watched the cockpit to see Ben pull out his K11 pistol and rack the slide to chamber a round. Sam was flying the route today, just because he's the co-pilot doesn't mean he didn't fly. Everyone had to gain experience.

Mar checked his watch.

1628 Hours.

"We're ten mikes out," Ben said, "make ready."

Hume watched the two flight engineers unlock their M2's from the downed position. Both racked the charging handle to chamber the large fifty calibres round, test firing them on the mountain range they were flying overhead. Left and right door guns fired with a loud thumping, much louder than the engines.

"Left gun ready," one of the flight engineers reported.

"Right gun ready," the other said.

"Are you sure Leo?" Ben asked, teasing the flight engineer, "it's not going to be like the first time we deployed right?"

"Fuck no Ben," Leo replied, "this time it's working for sure."

"If you say so dude," Ben said as the city of Kandahar revealed itself behind the mountains.

"Five mikes," the pilot warned.

Mar threw open the right door, preparing to jump out either side as soon as the helicopter touched down. Below them, the plains of Dorin were filled with life. The odd Eerm slithering about, men working in the fields and women walking to and from the towns to buy groceries. It would have all seemed a bit backwards if not for the technological structures that dotted the towns.

"This is strange," Ben muttered into the radio, "I can't raise command or the ground forces."

"Do you think they're jamming?" Sam asked.

"Don't know. Have you been to Dor'shan before?" Ben replied.

"Negative," Sam stated.

"Do you want me to fly the approach dude? It could get pretty hot."

After a short pause, Sam replied, "Yeah, okay."

Mar's stomach started to fill up with butterflies. He wasn't normally nervous, but this was bad. OAG forces jamming communications means the loss of time for the injured and the fact that they were under such heavy fire that the jamming needed to be done. He felt the helicopter shift underneath him, the metal beast banking left to orbit in a counter clockwise pattern. Cracks from below were tell-tale signs of a gunfight. It was going to be hot when they go in.

"Jason!" Gary yelled into his headset microphone, "we'll pick up the kid and the two Dorin forces okay?"

No answer.

"Jason?!" Gary yelled once again, "screw this noise."

"Jamming's messing with flight communications," Ben replied.

"Can you level out so I can signal Pedro 3-1's CRO?" Gary asked.

"I can try," Ben said with a nod.

Mar watched as the formation lights and anti-collision lights on the Warbird flash on for a short two or so seconds. The lead Warbird of the flight levelled out, allowing their chopper to catch up. Gary came face to face with Jason, the lead Warbird's CRO. Flying in close formation was dangerous but it was the only way to communicate information across to the other team. Gary started flashing his fingers in sign language with Jason responding in kind. It was a brief moment of silent communication between the two team leaders. A blast back to the dark ages.

"I. Will. Pick. Up. The. Kid. And. The. Two. Dorins," Gary muttered silently into the microphone.

"Jason, Gary, you copy?!" the transmission came back through.

"What the fuck is happening?" Gary screamed at the pilots.

"Jamming's let up," Ben quickly replied, "I'm getting information as we speak."

"I'll pick up the two kids and the Dorins, you get the two OAG forces and the rest of the casualties!" Gary yelled at Jason sitting only a dozen or so feet away from him in the other helicopter.

Jason gave him a thumbs-up.

"Pedro 3-2, Pedro 3-1, breaking off and entering orbit pattern," Ben reported.

"Roger that Pedro 3-2, 1's cover."

The Warbird banked hard left, bringing the aircraft over the outskirts of the city. Mar looked back to see tracers shooting from the roads into the city. The red tracers were OAG soldiers firing off their machine guns. It looked like four to five armoured vehicles were trying to protect the wounded men. The landing zone would be lit up in an instant, but they didn't have the luxury of time anymore.

"Okay PJs," Ben said as he took over the flight controls, "exit's on the left and expect the LZ to be super-hot."

"Roger that," Gary yelled, "bring us in Ben!"

"Check," Ben said calmly, "prepare for a brown out."

The Warbird flew straight, away from the landing zone before turning hard left back towards the small convoy of vehicles. Gary and Mar were to be the first ones out, Gary being the CRO and Mar being the most experienced enlisted Pararescuemen. Strong winds from the repulse engines were directed down and into the dust, sand and dirt. A rolling storm of dust started to expand from the centre like a tsunami of dirt. The dust enveloped the Warbird as it neared the ground, the pilots trusting the radar altimeter to show how far they were from the ground.

"Twenty, fifteen, ten…five, three, two, brace. Back, front, brakes." Ben reported the Warbird altitude as they touched down.

Mar felt the Warbird jerk violently as they smacked into the ground. Gary and he were the first two out the side of the Warbird. The dust cloud made by the engines made it impossible to see anything further than six feet in front of them. Mar took a knee and raised his rifle, creating a defensive perimeter while they took cover inside the Warbird's arc of fire. Just as Gary tried to move out of the Warbirds 'rotor disk' or the area where the engines were pushing the air down, a loud thud quickly made Mar extend out his arm with his hand curled into a fist. It was their sign for everyone to freeze.

"What the fuck was that?!" Finn screamed into the microphone.

Mar turned to Sam to see the co-pilot waving the airmen forwards and left from the rotor disk. Cautious, the four men slowly ventured out from the safety of the helicopter's M2 Plasma Machine Gun. As the airmen got further away from the engines, the dust started to clear with OAG forces hunching over six stretchers. Gary immediately ran to the medic in charge of the wounded to get information. Mar, Finn and Barnaby would triage the most wounded and take them on first. It was decided that the child and two of the most wounded Dorin soldiers would be on the trail helicopter.

"Go in, and then straight left at a ninety degree to the chopper!" Mar instructed a pair of OAG and Dorin soldiers holding the child's stretcher.

"Mar!" Gary screamed for him, "I need a-"

The crackling of laser cut Gary's sentence short as three rounds struck the side of the heavily armoured patrol vehicle. Mar lifted his rifle to take aim at the attackers. They were firing from the city. Mar squeezed the trigger twice to retaliate. The LMG-5 machine guns from the patrol vehicles opened up with a steady thumping. Another deeper, louder and slower thump exploded from the dust storm. The warbirds M2s was unleashing fifty calibre rounds into the city. Giant plasma hurled at the walls demolished the concrete like Lego pieces. While the Warbird was covering the four airmen, Mar grabbed hold of one of the stretchers and walked it into the dust storm. The three stretchers gave the four men just enough space to move around the patients.

Gary was the last on as the Warbird was about lift off. Mar slid the left door shut and gave the flight engineer a thumbs-up, jabbing the air and told him to lift off. The Warbird didn't and continued to sit on the ground as the right door gunner continued to hammer the enemy with his M2. Mar didn't wait, he immediately uncurled one of the five blood bags hanging from the communication lines running along the ceiling of the Warbird in preparation for Gary's command.

"Mar, you get the guy in the middle. Finn, the guy on the right," Gary yelled into microphone, "Barnaby and I will get the kid!"

"Check!" Finn screamed in reply.

Mar was spiking the blood pack's line into the IV of the Dorin man when Gary asked, "why the fuck aren't we dusting off?!"

"We have no comms with Pedro 3-1 or Command!" the left door gunner replied, "someone needs to go tell the ground commander to turn off his jammer until we get at least five miles out!"

Mar, being the closest to the door, volunteered.

"Barnaby," Mar tapped the rookie's shoulder, "take over for me!"

"You got it!" the young man said without hesitation.

Mar slammed the door open again to get a face full of dust, the air was moving fast and hard. The gale buffeted his body and tore at his uniform as he walked back out to the vehicles. Two men were still waiting for the second Warbird. Time was ticking down. Mar yelled at the Corporal to get his ground commander. One Captain ran out from the chaos of troopers returning fire. The only thing keeping the enemy from getting a clear shot on the soldiers and vice versa, was Mar's Warbird. The dust storm from the rotor blades obscured all vision.

"What is it soldier?" the Captain screamed.

"I need you to stop the jamming sir!" Mar replied, "We can't get a single transmission out to the hospitals or command. Your two soldiers there will die without it!"

"If we turn it off, the clankers will be able to coordinate their strikes!" the Captain rebuked.

"You have to turn it off sir! Your men. Will. Die. Mid-flight," Mar emphasized, the Captain took precious seconds to think.

"Alright," he finally said, "but as soon as that second bird gets in the air, we're turning it on."

"Roger that sir!" Mar nodded, finally some was being done.

The Senior Airmen got back onto the Warbird and lifted off not so soon after. There was a whine in the engines, the turbines roaring as the repulsers worked overtime to lift all eleven men inside into the air. Bellowing clouds of dust subsided as the aircraft skimmed low over the desert plains before ascending into the air, circling above the site to provide cover for the leading Warbird. Mar was hunched over the Dorin soldier, he was in a worse state than he had imagined. With two legs amputated and the bleeding still not stopped, he was going to die.

Pedro 3-2 banked left, giving the right flight engineer a break as the left M2 opened up on the enemies below. Mar was giving the Dorin soldier transfused blood but, it wasn't nearly enough. The soldier moaned in pain and rolled over. His right hand being held onto by the comrade next to him. Right then and there, he heaved all of his lunch onto the stretcher. Bits of whatever the Dorins ate covered the mans brown tunic.

Head trauma.

The man was fading fast.

"Ben!" Mar screamed at the top of his lung, "this guy's Tango One!"

Tango One or in critical need of surgery.

"The kid's also Tango One!" Gary screamed, "we need to get to Role 3 (OAG Field Hospital) immediately!"

"Pedro 3-1, Pedro 3-2, requesting we peel off and head for Hero (Dorin Hospital)," Ben asked the lead helicopter's pilot.

"Roger that, go for Hero," the radio transmission came.

The helicopter banked hard right, making the soldier roll back. Hume placed a hand on his heart. It was barely beating. By now, blood had speed everywhere on the deck. His pants, the black metal deck and the stretcher were all drenched in blood. The man alone had taken in two entire blood packs. Mar pulled out two more tourniquets from the back of the helicopter. He wrapped the black Velcro cloth around both of his amputated legs, trying to stop the bleeding.

"Why the fuck are we not going to Role 3?!" Gary screamed.

"Just give me a second dude," Ben replied, "I'm trying to get us to vector to Role 3. Sam, take over."

"Roger," the co-pilot replied.

Then, the inevitable happened. Mar saw no movement from the man's lung.

"He's not breathing!" Mar yelled out.

He placed his right index and middle finger on the man's neck.

No pulse, nothing.

Mar placed a breathing mask onto the Dorins face, and started to breathe air into the soldier. Blood welled from his mouth and made the lips slick with dripping liquid. CPR compressions came quickly after trying to restart his heart. Mar could feel the sternum bones cracking underneath his hands.

Still nothing.

His hands grabbed a portable defibrillator. Scrambling, he pulled out the two shock paddles, placing one near the left shoulder and the other right below his right chest muscle. Mar pushed the buttons. There was slight tensing of the man's muscles, but nothing. He tried again, waiting for the device to recharge. Another try. The man tensed, no jolting magic working medicine like in the movies here.

Nothing.

Two charges, it was time to give up, "he's gone."

"Package him up and switch with Barnaby!" Gary yelled, "Rich, go help Finn with the other guy!"

Mar wrapped a thermal blanket over him, making sure to leave his face open to air. Sometimes after people die, they do come back to life. He hoped that this was the same case. Mar then placed an open body back underneath before shifting his attention to the child. Gary was still trying to get an IV into the boy's thin veins. He switched to an IO, a blood transfusion device that would deliver blood straight into the bone marrow. It was mostly effective, but extremely agonizing and painful.

"We're green for Role 3," Ben reported.

"Great!" Gary screamed back in frustrated concentration.

The CRO jabbed the long needle into the boy's leg. Just as the needle touched the bone, the boy let out a blood curling scream. One that was filled solely with mind numbing pain. Gary eased off before trying again. Another agonizing scream came from the boy, he pushed the IO device away and latched his hand onto Mar's right medical gloved hand. The young boy held on tightly to the airmen. Mar looked up to Gary and shook his head. The pain was too much for the child to endure; he'd have to try an IV with the other arm.

"I'm going to try and spike his right arm!" Mar screamed.

"Do it fast," Gary replied, "we need to get hypertonic saline into him!"

Hypertonic Saline would help ease the pressure crushing the boy's head from the gunshot wound. He was bandaged up well and close to no blood was leaking from the bandages. Using both hands, Mar slowly positioned the needle over the boy's vein. The boy's right hand was gripped tightly to his rolled up sleeve. There was a pause before Mar jabbed the needle into his elbow. Some blood spilled out of the IV needle but not too much.

"I got it!" Mar said and inserted a tube from the Saline bag into the IV.

"We're close to Role 3!" Ben warned, "five mikes out!"

"Start packaging!" Gary screamed the order.

Mar helped Gary strap the boy into the stretcher and stroked his head gently with bloodied gloves. With a single nod, Mar communicated a thousand words in a short time span and reassured the child. He would grow up, maybe unable to work, unable to love a woman or have a child. But it was a life he would give to him no less. Every life was worth saving.

"Three mikes," Ben reported.

Mar shifted his focus to the dead soldier. Normally, if it was an OAG soldier, there would be rituals in place during the flight back. A flag would be given and last rites would be bestowed to the departing soldier. But here, to the Dorin soldier, no one knew what they had to do. The Dorin never gave them a procedure to follow. Mar could do nothing for him. He checked the man's pulse one last time.

Dead.

Out of respect as a fellow soldier and combatant, he zipped up the body bag covering his face and placed a hand on his chest. Under his breath, Mar a few words to send on his way and gave a minute of silence. As the Warbird neared the OAG hospital, Mar said his last words and turned around towards the door. The Warbird pitched up and slowed down while descending to land. There was a sudden jolt as the back wheel contacted the runway before both of the front wheels slammed into the tarmac. Gray flung the left door open and rushed the kid along with the wounded man towards the hands of the ambulance personnel. Mar waited patiently for the second ambulance to stop. Its occupants came rushing out from the back, ready to receive the wounded.

"He's KIA!" Mar screamed to the rushing men and women.

They nodded in reply, understanding that they didn't need to rush. While Gary and Finn whizzed away in their ambulance, Mar carried the dead soldier's stretcher personally. He wanted the man to be delivered to the hospital safely and back to his family for burial. Mar could hear the sirens of the other truck when they neared the OAG hospital. He got off with the stretcher. Another friendly face greeted him.

Green eyes and flowing red hair, this was Captain Claire Whitman's first tour to Dorin. At the age of twenty-four, just like Mar, she had just completed her medical degree with the Army and was shipped to Dorin to help with the OAG hospital. The parajumper had met her on his second batch of wounded. Nothing more than a friendly hello and thanks every now and then.

One day, the two met off shift. While Claire was waking up for her shift at five in the morning, John on the other hand, had to go to bed but couldn't sleep. He was having nightmares from pervious tours of duty. She invited him for a cup of coffee and from then on, things got serious for the two of them. Claire would visit John at the ready room after work, since the Senior Airmen had to stay until after midnight for his shift to be over.

"Rough day today?" Claire asked, trying to comfort him by rubbing his arm.

"You could say that…" Mar sighed and let the medical personnel take care of the body.

Mar gave a final salute as they carried the body into the hospital.

"Guy died on the flight here," Mar said with a grim smile.

"You can't save them all," Claire whispered.

"I know."

It was a few minutes before Jason's team brought in the two other wounded. Garbled transmissions made the mass casualties turn into five CAT Alpha wounded. Mar hung around the front with Claire, trying to catch whatever time he could with her. Even though there was a serious air hanging around the hospital personnel, Claire gave him a bottle of water and chatted with the slightly depressed Pararescuemen. If the helicopter could have landed sooner, if the ground forces weren't jamming their signal, if, if, if. Only ifs, his detachment commander, Kyle had told him to never second guess himself. But still, only if they had landed sooner.

"Thanks guys," Mar heard as the door open, his teammates coming out from the building.

"They Claire," they guys said to the female Army doctor.

"I better go," Mar said and gave her a quick peck to the lips.

"Take care," she replied.

"Claire, now you know public signs of affection are restricted…" Mar heard her friend scold her, the airmen chuckling as the truck drove away.

"The kid and dude will survive," Finn said with a large smile, "no thanks to your flirting with your girlfriend."

"Still wish we could have saved that other guy," Mar said with a sigh and brought a depressing tone over the team.

Back at the ready room, held up a single pair of dog tags to the bright fluorescent lights. It was from a soldier dying in the back of his Warbird. The man had survived from the flight and gave Mar his dog tags as a sign of thanks. A heavy sigh escaped his lips. He looked out the window to see the dark night sky and the flight line lit up by high powered stadium lights. There was a squeak from the door. Mar turned to see Claire with two plastic bags, just like in the Orion Arm.

"Hungry?" she asked the man confined to the ready room.

"Yeah," he said with a large smile, "famished."

"I've got fried rice and chicken," Claire replied.

"Really? Didn't know they had that sort of things here."

"It's a commodity, onetime thing by the base's guest chef," Claire said as she unpacked the plastic bags, "And I. Happened to get the last few boxes of it."

"Aw, and nothing for me?" Finn yelled from the computer room.

"Shut the fuck up and get back to your porn Finn, you'll die alone!" Mar yelled at the still single twenty-two-year-old airmen.

"Claire, he's being mean to me!" Finn screamed back.

"Don't mind him…"


	18. Operation Sandstorm

**The First Contact War**

Chapter 18

Operation Sandstorm

" _God is not on the side of the Big Battalions, but on the side that shoots best" Voltaire._

 _2622 November 30th Earth Standard Calendar, Second Lieutenant Matt Patrick in geo-sync orbit over Geonosis on board the OAG Foley_.

An orchestra of boots thumped and slapped against the tile floor as every able-bodied pilot and WSO of the OAG's 445th Tactical Fighter Squadron made haste towards the double-doors that led to the hanger. In the low-light the young crews worked to finish up the 12 Lightning's before they were needed. The Lightnings of Matt and his assigned flight, Longsword 2, were waiting nearest the path to the runway. He glanced over at his female compatriot, and then stopped her.

"Hey, Baroness." He said. The woman stopped and looked at him. He held out a hand.

"I'm counting on you." He said. They shook and exchanged grins.

"The same goes for me, best of luck to you, Patrick." She drawled.

He exchanged the same gesture with her Navy Air Arm back seater and went on his way towards 91-611. The aircrew's crew chief was waiting for them.

"They finally did it, didn't they sir?" He asked Henry. The lanky WSO's tone was blunt.

"They did, Chief. Is this thing ready to go?" He asked. His shorter and stockier pilot added to the confirmation with a simple nod.

"She is, sir. Both 99s checked out fine." Zablinski reported. Even so, the pilots still needed to inspect themselves.

Matt put his helmet bag and the HGU itself in his seat. He glanced at the stylized crown painted on the forehead of the piece, along with his call sign before lowering his feet back to the ground. Flashlight in hand, he turned around to give his plane a look-over.

The GBU-35 PaveWays had been hung under the wings in lieu of 610-gallon tanks. The glide bomb was a weapon Matt had rarely dropped, only twice in weapons training. Marshall was more knowledgeable on the thing, and Patrick was glad he would be the one who actually guided the thing while the pilot just dropped. Above them was a weapon he felt a much larger knowledge of: the AIM-90. They carried four of the AAMs, the inevitable LANTIRN pods, and an AN/AXQ-14 pod on the centerline to guide the GBU-35s.

Matt didn't doubt that his Lightning would get him home. It was a tough bird and boasted some of the best electronics for its mission (which had been kept in the best shape by the NCOs scurrying about the place). If he encountered any Geonosian fighters, he could fight or simply "eat dirt" by dropping down to the ground, where his Type-99's LANTIRN system would help him avoid crashing. The Geonosian fighters, which he knew lacked such a system, would be reluctant to follow, especially in the hills and mountains out here.

Even as he hauled himself back into his seat and accepted a pair of Night Vision Goggles (NVGs) in exchange for his helmet's visor, Matt noticed a disturbing quiet. Even once the man was strapped in and ready to go, there was still no apparent order to scramble, at least for them. The T-99s equipped for DCA were being put up as early as he'd ben inspecting his weapons. Finally, the radio came to life.

 _"Attention, Longsword 2, this is Foley Flight Control, you are ordered to scramble."_ A voice said with professional urgency.

"Roger that Tower, Longsword 2 copies all." McDale spoke up.

Matt and Henry's ground crew once again sprang into action to get the machine's engines started. Matt activated Night Vision on his visor and turned them on as the canopy secured itself over him. The darkness was bathed in a green that drowned out any other colours. Lights became bright blobs of white.

As the four T-99s taxied, other fighters from two of their sister squadrons, the 344th "Boomerangs" and 293rd "Mongooses", armed with identical loadouts, were being called up. The taxing process was expedited as much as safely possible to get the jets airborne. Matt had to admit; even now he still couldn't feel danger.

 _"Longsword 2, switch to Strike Frequency for tasking."_ The control tower ordered once the flight was collected and out of the pattern. Matt reached down and switched frequencies as the four aircraft levelled out at began to orbit the _Gladiator I-_ class Star Destroyer.

 _"Go for Longsword 2 on Strike."_ Chip McDale radioed.

 _"Longsword 2, this is Gatekeeper, stay in orbit above Foley and standby for SITREP."_ The commanding voice of a controller aboard a _Vigil-_ class corvette of the 188th Airborne Air Control Squadron said. Matt looked his left shoulder over at Valentina, who gave him a shrug. The voice came back.

 _"About half an hour ago, the Geonosians and OAG clashed in several skirmishes in orbit, and Geonosians strike aircraft began making attacks on radar ships and Army transports near the moon. Orders have come down for a pre-emptive strike to cut off what routes into the initial OAG landing zone we can. You guys one of the flights armed with GBU-35s?"_

"Roger that." Longsword 2-1's pilot said.

 _"Okay, we're giving you guys the Ceemire Bridge to cut. The bridge has two parts, each consisting of a two-lane highway over a deep gorge. We believe the Geonosians may try to push troops across it if they can secure it and the airspace around it, given they try to push into landing Zone. It's a big sucker so make your GBUs count. A flight of six T-99s, call sign "Yellow Jacket", will be providing top cover. If need be we'll see what else we can send your way, how copy?"_ the man aboard the corvette outlined.

"Longsword 2 copies all."

Henry did his WSO magic and looked to the front at Matt.

 _"Okay Longsword, listen up, we'll attack in twos on going from South to North. I'll go first, and 2-2 will cover me. 2-3, you'll go in first and 2-4 will watch you."_ The flight lead outlined speedily.

For once Matt was surprisingly glad not be under the moniker of Longsword 2-2.

"Which span goes to whom, sir?" He asked.

 _"Longsword 2-1 and 2-2 will take the northernmost span, 2-3 and 2-4 will take the other. Wait until me and 2-2 have delivered our ordnance, understand?"_

"Longsword 2-3 copies all."

 _"Longsword 2-4 copies all."_

Matt peered through his NVGs into the inky darkness. The four T-99s were the only aircraft in immediate sight. There were no Type-0 Zeros or SA10C Thunderbolts, just the quad of strikers. He looked at his radar and checked his RWR panel often, waiting for some sign of other aircraft, friendly or hostile. On order from Longsword 2-1, the four machines separated into two-ships four miles apart. Matt kept an eye on Valentina's Lightning as they banked right in perfect formation towards the gorge. Matt selected the AIM-90s for the time being and set his radar's range to the maximum.

"Marshall, how are you holding up back there?" he asked over the Internal Comms System out of dislike for the silence.

 _"I'm still breathing, how about you, Patrick?"_ the familiar voice replied.

"First combat hop, kinda wanting to get some action." The front-seater replied.

 _"I heard that."_ Henry agreed.

"Baroness, how about you?" the brunette added.

 _"I'm fine Prince."_ She replied simply. Matt's gaze rotated in various directions until more chatter came onto the radio.

 _"Longsword 2, this is Yellow Jacket Lead, we're taking up position to your west. AWACS hasn't allowed us to press into Geonosian air space yet, so we won't be able to spot any contacts out at long range, how copy?"_ the voice of an T-99 driver spoke up. That didn't sit well with Glory Hound McDale.

 _"AWACS, why isn't Yellow Jacket cleared to press into Geonosian airspace?"_

 _"We haven't gotten it from the higher ups, apparently they're all still asleep."_ The control replied dryly. It evoked a few snickers on the electronic waves.

 _"Alright, alright that's enough. Longsword 2-3, 2-4, break off and wait for my signal to start your run. Longsword 2-2, go high and cover me."_ The flight lead ordered.

Matt pulled the stick to the left and eased back the throttles. His T-99 dove from fifteen thousand to around eleven thousand feet, Longsword 2-4 still with him.

"Okay Marshall, how're our weapons systems doing?" Matt asked.

 _"Nothing bad on my end."_ The Lieutenant replied.

Patrick switched one of his MPDs to a map and looked back out at the ground. He recognized the moonlit shimmer on the Gerunte River, one of the few sources of water on the planet. Out front he saw Longsword 2-1 and 2-2 racing on ahead. McDale's Lightning made a bank towards the water, while the plane of Keller and his WSO, Louie-Louie, went on a straight course above the water. Under Matt's leadership, he and Valentina kept on their course so they'd pass the bridge, swing around and head south before hitting their targets, hopefully just after the other two made their runs

"Gatekeeper, what's our picture?" Matt asked in near unison with the leader of the T-99 CAP.

 _"Still clear, Longsword and Yellow Jacket."_

"Roger that, Longsword 2-1 is at IP, going in hot!" the major bellowed…

 _"Uhm…Longsword 2-1, I'm not seeing a second hit on your run."_ Hangman reported. It evoked a painful silence.

 _"Repeat your last, 2-2?"_ Chip asked, a little irked.

 _"Your second GBU fell long of the target, Louie-Louie watched it on his FLIR pod. Other one hit, but your second bomb fell long."_ The captain repeated calmly.

Matt clamped down his lips to contain a laugh. McDale would already be fired up at his WSO about missing, no need to draw attention. He looked towards the bridge again and then at Henry through his mirrors. They exchanged nods as they waited for McDale to say something. But he only ordered Keller and Louis to drop their weapons. They waited still as he went in and hit the span McDale missed. The Major said little as he reported he was climbing up to keep a watch out for any threats.

 _"Longsword 2-1 here, 2-3 and 2-4, can you make a run soon?"_ He finally said in a flat tone.

"Yes sir, is any part of the bridge still intact?" Matt spoke up. Hangman answered that point.

 _"Still got a good part and several places where the hole is narrow enough to lay a bridge. Should be plenty to drop."_

"Roger that. Longsword 2-3 and 2-4 are going in hot, we'll make one run each." He declared.

 _"Roger that, make it quick."_ Glory Hound snapped. Matt looked at Baroness.

"2-4, circle around once I've dropped my GBUs and try and put yours on target soon as I do, how copy?" He said with a firm voice.

 _"Roger that 2-3, good luck."_

Matt dove down and pulled into a steep right bank, bringing his nose around to heading 180 and 9000 feet. In the back, Marshall waited to slew the targeting pod towards the bridge. As he relaxed his knees from the turn, he spotted the beaten-up structure on the display and began to lock it for the bombs, deciding to go with direct mode on the. In the front, Matt's eyes swivelled to every corner of his green-tinted vision. He kept the T-99 in a moderate throttle setting, ready to hit the gas anytime if their Sentry came on the horn with bandits. After he reported hitting his IP, he made the call one last time as the seconds ticked by and Marshall relayed his progress.

 _"Picture still clear."_ The controller reported.

"Roger that. Marshall?" Matt asked.

 _"Hang on…hang on…she's locked! Drop em!"_ the man howled. Matt felt his blood rush as he pressed the stores release twice.

"Longsword 2-3, pickle, pickle." He said calmly.

The two GBUs fell away and guided towards the coordinates, freeing their mothership to pull away and go into military power. The made no sound whatsoever as they fell down from so far above terra firma. Inside the cockpit, Matt and Marshall watched the countdowns on their HUD and display, respectively. Cool sweat began to form in the pilot's hair as he waited. Three…two…one…

 _"Good hits, good hits!"_ Valentina reported, unable to hide the small bit of enthusiasm.

"No shit?!" Matt asked, looking over his shoulder.

 _"No shit!"_ His friend echoed.

The pilot guided his strike fighter to the left and strained for a view of Baroness and Moose as they made their runs. His machine felt much lighter compared to when it was weighed down with the bombs. As Valentina expended her weapons, things seemed to ratchet up with little hesitation at that point.

 _"Gatekeeper has an eye on bogeys. One group, count four. Heading 079, 120 miles at Angels 18."_ The AWACs updated.

 _"Roger that Gatekeeper, instructions?"_ Yellow Jacket lead boomed with vigor. Another pause.

 _"Yellow Jacket, you are authorized to engage if the bogeys fire or come within 30 miles of the border."_

 _"Longsword 2-4, what's your status?"_ McDale spoke up.

 _"Standby, 2-1."_ Moose said. a second later the Shanxi pilot called _"pickle"_ and let off her weapons. Matt swung to the west and looked out for the flashes. They came, and he relayed the good news to her.

"Okay 2-4, back on me, let's re-join 2-1 and 2-2." Matt said.

 _"Roger that 2-3."_ Valentina radioed, guiding her T-99 into a climb. Matt levelled out and ambled north again as he tried to catch up with the other Lightnings when Gatekeeper's voice came on again.

 _"Second group of bogeys spotted, count 068, 90 miles at Angels 17."_

 _"Roger that Gatekeeper, what about the first group?"_ Yellow Jacket Lead said with a little less enthusiasm.

 _"Still approaching on the same heading at the same Angels, greater speed. Looks like Nantex starfighter."_

Matt noted that his RWR was alert now and he went to A/A mode, setting the APG-70 to Range While Scan. He looked back and saw Valentina sliding into position off his left wing. She threw up a peace sign and he nodded.

"Longsword 2-1, 2-3 and 2-4 are joining you now." He said.

 _"Roger that."_ McDale replied.

He spotted two shapes high above and gently yanked the Lightning into a climb. The RWR's tone changed as the unfriendly radars that were present began to start directing their eyes at the Wing mates. Matt gulped and gritted his teeth.

"I'm spiked here, Baroness?" He asked.

 _"Yeah, yeah they're tracking me too."_ She answered.

The beeping changed and became more aggressive, more frantic. McDale bellowed at their controller to let the escort leave its CAP tracks to their west and engage the bogeys, but it was becoming clearer to everyone that war wasn't official in effect yet. That or the folks in Command were still desperately trying to employ the olive branch. Finally, the RWR reached its apex of panic, and Matt's HUD changed to a blood-red tone as the buzz went steady.

"Longsword 2-3's been fired on, 2-4, break formation!" Matt called.

The two T-99s went in separate directions and Patrick banked right, and then snapped up into a fast climb to get some room. Henry kept his eyes towards Geonosian airspace, straining to see the enemy missiles. Soon enough he spotted a pair of dots at their four o' clock.

"Visual on two AAMs, four o' clock. Pump chaff." He said, keeping his voice calm and controlled.

Matt let off a burst of chaff as he rolled inverted and dove, spraying the strips of aluminium all over the sky. The tone kept up its audial assault and Matt stole a glance towards the incoming threats. He rolled again and tried to out-turn the weapons, get outside their vision and make them lose track, or if they were being guided by their aircraft, jink so violently he slipped out of lock.

The game continued as Matt slammed the throttle airborne and brought the nose of his Lightning around to the sky left of the incoming.

"Marshall?" he asked under the strain of Gs.

"Keep it up; I think they're losing us." Henry replied.

He saw the dots were getting bigger, their plumes of fiery exhaust burning brightly through his NVGs. He saw no one else, though the radio was alive as the fighter-model Lightnings were getting clearance to attack the incoming bandits. He heard that the second group of six was apparently a group of Lightnings. The sentence tumbled to the back of his mind as Henry reported the weapons were still closing, though they were falling behind now. Matt dared a glance back as they passed and the RWR returned to tell him about the unfriendly radars. The missiles, a pair of AA-9s, seemed far too big to be an air-to-air missile, even bigger than the T-99s Phoenix from where he was. Shanxi made some weird things…Shanxi…Valentina! In all the excitement he'd nearly forgotten her.

"Baroness?" he radioed.

 _"I'm alive Patrick, worry about yourself for once."_ She replied flatly. He realized how many time he'd uttered the line during this sortie.

"Heh heh, roger that." He corrected himself with.

 _"Yellow Jacket, group two is pushing into Geonosian airspace, group one is withdrawing. Go get em Yellow Jacket."_ Gatekeeper interrupted.

 _"Roger that. Longsword, try and withdraw West, we'll deal with the bandits."_

"Where are they Gatekeeper? How far away?" Matt asked. His T-99's systems answered that for him.

Once again Matt went on the defensive as his APG-70 detected a pair of threats coming from the same general direction the missiles he'd just evaded. Out of the frying pan he thought as he reversed his turn.

"Marshall, talk to me here." He radioed.

 _"I think I've got two visuals; they should be coming into your view soon at your two o' clock high."_ The backseater relayed.

Matt looked out as he reversed again and saw the shape of a Nantex Starfighter as it banked at him from above. His bigger and heavier T-99 was at a disadvantage, though pilot's pride wasn't about to let him play the role of helpless strike aircraft. He was flying a Lightning. He selected his AIM-90s and heard their familiar tone.

"Yellow Jacket, where the hell are you guys?!" The pilot demanded nonetheless as he looked at the Geonosian fighter and started thinking in terms of air-to-air.

 _"Hang on, Longsword; we're getting a handle on things."_ A far calmer voice assured.

Henry was turned as far back as he could be, keeping an eye on the bandit as it worked to match Matt's manoeuvres. The pilot was more than happy to display the edge in manoeuvrability he had, but Matt was already going into afterburner as he exited his turn. The Geonosian climbed and began to pull into a loop at high speed. The Nantex naturally followed and Henry turned around again.

"Longsword 2-4, I'm engaged defensive, can you assist?" Matt spoke up as he pulled back on the stick more.

 _"Roger that 2-3, I'm trying for a shot. Standby!"_ Valentina assured.

Matt looked around as he reached the top of the loop and spotted another Lightning bearing up at the two fighters a few miles away. A light went off under its left wing and he heard a familiar voice bellow "Longsword 2-4, Fox 2!". As she did, the T-99 increased its speed and flew under them, allowing Patrick and Marshall a few seconds as the Geonosian defended against the missile.

 _"Visual, second Nantex, coming at you, 2-4."_ Marshall said.

 _"Roger, we see it."_ Moose replied.

The Nantex chasing Matt and Henry had been forced to give up the chase, and almost in unison they spotted two more familiar shapes.

 _"Longsword, the cavalry's here, bug out towards your home, we got these guys."_ Another voice piped up.

Matt transitioned from a loop to a barrel roll to level out, the OAG fighter going the opposite direction as he (and soon his wingman) dealt with the incoming Geonosian fighters.

 _"Don't let him get away, 1-3! Don't let him get away!"_ his wingman shouted as the two chased after the Geonosian. Meanwhile Matt dropped the Lightning to 10,000 feet and adjusted the power into a smooth cruise so his wing woman could catch up. He took a breath for what felt like the first time since he'd called out he was rolling in hot. But he felt no fear…he only felt a stark realization of mortality.

* * *

 _2622 December 13th Earth Standard Calendar, CDR. Luke Sparrow in geo-sync orbit over Geonosis exiting the OAG Megalodon on board a Warbird_.

The Warbird thundered through the atmosphere. The dull grey hull of the Warbird was illuminated by each strike of lightening that lit the vast desert area. The noise created by the two giant engines that powered the Warbird were almost muted as the storm ravaged the entire sea. The ride was bumpier than anyone may have liked, but having the storm to cover their approach helped calm everyone's nerves knowing the giant Warbird was flying almost silently in the storm.

As the eight Warbirds raced towards the Geonosian surface at two-hundred and fifty knots, Luke, situated in the cargo bay of the craft was deep in thought. Even with the ear-buds in his ears, the drone of the engines mixed with the rushing wind and rain created a cacophony of noise. Still, he tried to tune this out and instead, focused on running through the mission plan in his head; he was on his seventh run through.

Luke was envisioning the approach to the airfield and which buildings his team was assigned with neutralizing, when his eyes shot open after he was hit on the shoulder. He groggily blinked several times as he adjusted to the red lighted interior and looked to his right, where Hex was sitting. _What_ , Luke mouthed as he looked at the Sergeant.

Hex leaned in and shouted into Luke's ear, "You got any Fuel?"

That question caused Luke to roll his eyes in disgust, "You woke me up for that?"

"Yeah, come on man, just a few to keep me awake in this damned bird," Hex begged.

"Goddamn it," Luke grumbled as he reached underneath the red cargo netting seat to his bag. After retrieving a small bottle, he shook out several small capsules and handed them to Hex, "No more of this shit till after the op."

"Thanks Luke," Hex said with a huge grin before she swallowed the pills.

Luke put the bottle back into the bag and slid it underneath the netting before closing his eyes and returning to his thoughts. Instead of focusing on the mission, he now thought about how wired Hex was going to be since taking that damn Ripped Fuel. If Luke hadn't confiscated the bottle from her back on Courascant, Hex would be going through a bottle and a half each day. No one wanted that, especially not Luke who was going to have to deal with the hyped up Sergeant talking his ear off. Luke reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a black iPod which he spun his thumb along the wheel, turning the volume all the way up, which didn't seem like much due to the other noises surrounding him. The last thing Luke remembered was a song from the Killers called Human playing before he was asleep.

An hour later, Luke was awoken by movement around the cargo bay. The Marines of 2nd Platoon were rising from their seats and grabbing gear and equipment that they had stashed. Luke reached and grabbed his bag which he slid out onto the metal floor of the Warbird. He unclipped his M416 from the strap and slung it over his shoulder before heaving the bag onto his back. Throughout the bay of the Warbird, the other Marines were going through the same motions. Each looked like a stone cold trained killer, which is exactly what they were, the red lighting only added to the eerie effect. The ramp began to lower, blowing in a mist of sand that showered the men. Marines began walking towards the ramp in two lines, at the end taking a plunge into the desert below them. Luke felt sorry for the Geonosians they were about to go visit, they were about to be taught a hard lesson about not screwing with the OAG and that lesson was going to be dealt swiftly by two companies of MARSOC and Delta Force operators.

The sounds of rocks skidding along the sandy-rocky terrain had become a constant noise, even though Luke tried to avoid it at all costs. The desert floor was ripe with rocks, sand clumps, anything that could make a noise, was on the ground waiting for the Marines to step on and give away their position in the darkness. Hex led the team forward through the forest, aided by a set of night vision goggles that each member had. The off-shade green created an eerie feel as they quietly traversed the lifeless desert.

Throughout the surrounding area, other squads were advancing on parallel axis that would take them straight to the CIS airfield. The squads, if everything continued as planned, should be at the airfield perimeter within twenty minutes. The one good news, was that the storm which had hampered them on the flight in, was catching up to the Marines on the land, the rain beginning to slowly drop down from the sky. But before the main part of the storm engulfed the region in a downpour that was predicted, a sharp noise quickly echoed through the forest. A noise that was the last thing that Luke wanted to hear. A single loud snap echoed through the forest, stopping the Marines dead in their tracks. Luke quickly moved the several meters to Hex's side and the two crouched.

"The fuck was that Hex," Luke snapped in a low voice, assuming that Hex had given away the squad's position.

"Um, that wasn't me big guy," Hex replied as she scanned in front of her.

The response spooked Luke, who thought the noise had come from Hex being careless. Luke raised his left hand in the air, made a fist, then waved his hand side to side, signalling to the Marines behind him to spread out in a line formation. The Marines quietly moved into a wedge formation and began searching in front of them for the source of the noise.

Desperately searching the woods for movement in the dimly lit green landscape, Luke finally saw some motion in the distance. He raised his M416 and looked down the scope, spotting to his horror four Geonosian soldiers walking through the woods on a path that would take them just in front of Luke and his men.

Luke turned to his left and looked down the row of Marines to Bowren, who had appeared several meters away. Luke raised his left hand and four fingers rose into the air, covered by the black gloves he wore. Luke could see Bowren acknowledge his message, the NVG set Bowren wore moved up and down. The message was quickly and silently passed along the line of Marines and they were ready as the Geonosians approached them.

Luke drew his sight on the lead Geonosian, a portly bug with what looked to be a rugged beard. He gripping what looked to be a blaster or some variant of the ever deadly weapon. As the group of Geonosians passed a final grouping of rocks, they came into a clearing from the rock spires which was ten meters in front of the Marines. Luke took a deep breath, steadied his body, and fired.

The M416 coughed out three rounds, the gunshots suppressed by a silencer that was attached to the end of the barrel. The three rounds caught the Geonosian in the cheek and neck, sending him spinning to the ground. The sudden shock of seeing their comrade fall caused the remaining Geonosians to pause their movements for a second; this pause proved fatal as fire from the other Marine guns hit their targets. All four Geonosians were lying dead on the ground in less than five seconds from the first shot. Luke waved his arm forward, sending Bowren and his fireteam towards the dead Geonosians to search their bodies.

"Well that was close," Hex whispered to Luke.

"Damn right it was," Luke said angrily, "Thought that Ripped Fuel was supposed to keep you alert and shit."

"Dude, don't blame the Fuel," Hex said flipping her head to her left to see the green impression of Luke's face, "Those guys were ninjas sneaking up here like that."

"Well those 'ninjas' could have whacked us if we kept following your retarded ass."

Riley appeared at Luke's side, hearing the conversation between the two and deciding to join and voice his opinion, "Looks like someone's a little cranky this morning."

"That's what I'm saying," Hex pleaded with a smirk, "If you need to go have a CJ before we hit the airfield to calm the nerves, just let us know, we can spare thirty seconds."

The three Marines all laughed, letting off a massive amount of tension that had been building inside each one of them and maxed with this short ambush. Luke radioed Saber Two that they had made contact with Geonosian forces, the engagement was noted by Burris. Bowren waved at the team after several minutes and the squad continued moving forward towards the airfield, the storm now coming into full force as a wall of rain began to blanket the area, soaking the team.

lasers snapped at the ground and through the air as Luke and his team buried themselves behind the trench wall. The screeching sound of rockets roared over their position, the constant sound of shouts and gunfire lingering in the morning air. The Geonosians were trying to break through to the besieged weapons factory and retake the airfield.

"Fuck me," Hex shouted as a nearby explosion from a rocket sent her to her back, showering her body with sand.

"keep shooting Hex," Luke snapped at Hex in between two bursts from his M416.

After shouting at him, Luke ignored Hex who was on his back in the trench and focused on firing. The recently promoted staff sergeant looked as though he should be in one of those big budget Hollywood action movies. Standing in the trench, leaning his 6'5" frame against the wall, while taking aim at the advancing droid forces, Luke looked invincible. The difference however between Luke and the movie stars was that this was real. Real plasma was zipping across the battlefield, each one potentially deadly as they raced downrange. Real sweat that drenched Luke's short brown hair underneath his helmet. Real sand that was cemented against his face, mixed with his own sweat and the real blood of his fellow Marines; there was nothing fake about this. However, with all the confusion and chaos that was happening around him, Luke kept his cool, and focused on his mission, which was to hold this position.

As Hex gazed up through the smoke at her team leader firing, a thought crossed her mind that was as random as could be at a time such as this. Hex wished that she had a camera on her so that he could quickly take a picture of Luke. Something about Luke at that moment was awe-inspiring, which reminded Hex of a picture taken many, many years or so ago on an island in the middle of the Pacific that was still pretty awe-inspiring to this day. Hex figured that if she had a picture of Luke; a filth-ridden battle hardened Marine firing at enemies through a thin smoke haze, that she might be able to trade that picture to a certain female Galactic News Network reporter for a; well, it would be a hell of a trade for Hex and the reporter probably wouldn't mind winning a Pulitzer Prize for Photography. But this was all just a quick thought that Hex had and was gone in a matter of seconds.

"Hex get your ass on the line _now_ ," Luke shouted as he ducked behind the trench wall and slid a new magazine into his rifle.

Hex looked around and realized that she was the only one still lying on the sandy ground. His momentary day dream made her look like an ass in front of the team, but more importantly, took one more Marine rifle off of the line fighting against the droids.

* * *

 _ **Seven Hours Later**_

Hex quickly scrambled to her feet and rested her AC-160 against the trench as she added her worth to the gun battle. Through the grey haze, she spotted three droids darting forward a hundred meters away. Aimed fire from both Hex and Luke downed the droids in seconds, but as they fell, dozens of droids appeared from the sandy landscape. Crashing through the dunes also appeared a CIS AAT, it's deadly cannon traversing the area spilling hot laser from the barrel onto the Marine positions.

"Two-One Bravo, be advised, enemy AAT two hundred meters at your one o'clock," Luke shouted as he keyed the LASH headset.

Fifty meters to the left of Luke also hunkered inside the trench, was Sergeant Jendry and his four mandalorian man team from the Jendry clan. After finding the enemy AAT which was sitting on the edge of the woods firing it's cannon at the Marines below, one of the Mandalorians on the team retrieved the Javelin missile system. The man portable launcher was even lighter and more deadly in its Mark XV form, and that lethality was about to be put to use. After receiving a good tone from the system, the MAndalorian fired and the warhead soared into the air in an arcing flight that took it straight into the turret of the AAT. The resulting fireball lit the early morning sky as shards of the AAT were sent in all directions. No sooner had the smoke trail of the Javelin disappeared, that a dozen rockets and small arm rounds cascaded into Two-One Bravo's position.

"Good shit Jendri," Luke shouted approvingly of the wreckage burning in front of him.

It seemed that for every droid killed, two more appeared from the surrounding dunes. Unfortunately, this was not the case for the Marine companies that were under fire. There were no reinforcements to replace the Marines that were killed today.

After what was only several minutes since the destruction of the AAT, but what seemed an eternity for the Marines, Luke noticed that they were running low on ammunition. This added to the fact that the droids were slowly, but steadily advancing on their position gave Luke a cause for concern.

"Saber Two, Two-One, how copy?"

After several seconds, a reply was heard, _"Solid copy Two-One, send it."_

"Things are getting pretty hairy down here," an rocket streaked over the trench and exploded behind the team showering them in dirt, "We're getting low on ammo and the droids are taking ground, over."

 _"Roger that Two-One, wait one over,"_ after thirty seconds, Saber Two came back, _"Two-One, Two, still with us, over?"_

"Roger that, what's the SITREP, over?"

 _"Saber has ordered all elements to fall back into the compound, regroup and consolidate on our position ASAP, Two out."_

Luke motioned for the three Marines to get close, "Saber wants us to fall back, use the trenches for cover," Luke said looking at each Marine, "Hex, Riley, you're up."

The two Marines darted off down the trench back into the compound. After traveling twenty meters, the two stopped, turned, and provided cover for the other two, as the four Mandalorians bounded quickly back to the compound. As this was happening, a net call went out to the entire company recalling the Marines from their positions in the trenches.

As Luke roadie ran through the trenches, keeping his head down and out of the line of enemy fire, he heard a warning of an enemy tank through his headset. He ignored this warning and kept running. As he found a good firing position in the trench, he turned to cover Hex and Riley as they moved to regroup with him. Out of the corner of his eye, Luke noticed the hulking form of a AAT. At the same moment Luke saw the tank, a large flash emanated from the tank's barrel.

A shell from the tank streaked from the barrel and into the control tower that towered over the compound. Debris, glass, and concrete were all pushed outward as the shell exploded on impact, collapsing the top portion of the tower in a giant bloom of fire that lit the sky.

As Hex raced past Luke, he dropped behind the trench next to the him, "Shit, didn't Alpha have guys up there."

It was true, the Marine force had just lost more men that were sorely needed as the droid onslaught advanced on them now with armour support. Luke and the team hustled back into the compound interior and met with Two-One Bravo and the rest of Saber Two; at least, the Marines of Saber Two that made it through the fight so far.

"ROCKET!" Hex yelled as he dove towards Luke, tackling the him to the ground as a rocket buzzed by the squad.

The resulting explosion showered the Marines in dust as the tarmac on the runway was shattered from the blast. Gunfire cracked over their heads as they scrambled behind the cover of fifty-five gallon drums and several crates that were stacked next to the hangar.

"Thanks Hex," Luke said as he pushed Hex off of him, "But that's all you're getting from me this trip."

The two operators peered over the crates and found the source of the rocket a mere fifty meters away. Luke drew a bead on the Geonosian as he tried to race behind whatever cover remained in the charred landscape surrounding the airfield. Luke quickly pulled the trigger twice, sending two 7.62 mm rounds downrange that struck the Geonosian, sending him toppling over into the ground. Luke fired an additional round into the Geonosian's chest for good measure before he ducked behind the crate as Geonosians and droids returned fire at the Marines.

"Saber Two, Two-One, we're being pushed back," Luke calmly said into the LASH headset, " Sepi's inside the perimeter, how copy?"

The reply that came through the headset was accompanied by sounds of gunfire from Saber Two's position, _"Two copies, hold 'em off Two-One, CAS should be in the sky any minute, out."_

"Roger that, Two-One out," Luke said before he looked around at the Marines firing around him and shouted to them, "Push the Tinnies back boys, air support should be here any minute."

With that, Luke leaned up over the crate and found more CIS targets as he emptied the last several rounds of his magazine. Before he ducked back down behind the cover, he saw another AAT appear over a hill a hundred meters away with additional droid infantry advancing alongside it.

Before he could have opened his mouth, Bowren already was shouting at his team, "Take that bitch out," the Texan yelled.

One of the lance corporals quickly loosened an 84 mm HEAT round from an AT12, the rocket penetrating the armour of the AAT like a knife through butter, sending a fireball skyward and knocking the droids around the AAT to the ground. The burning carcass of the AAT continued to roll forward down the hill towards the tarmac, causing Geonosians caught in it's path to dive out of the way or risk being crushed by a fiery beast.

This small victory was quickly cut short by the cry of one of Bowren's men. A round struck the lance corporal in the collar bone, severing an artery, sending him to the grey tarmac, staining it red with his blood that was pouring out of the wound. One of the Marines next to him quickly dropped down to assist his teammate, but was also struck by a round from the droid guns.

"Simon pull him back here," Luke shouted as he saw the carnage that unfolded in front of his eyes.

Riley worked his way to the second Marine that had been hit and dragged him from the line of fire back behind better cover. The first Marine struck in the collar bone had already died from a mass blood loss, the evidence pooling around his body after each second that passed.

"We gotta CASEVAC him now Luke," Riley shouted to Luke after tearing off the wounded Marines armour to see the entrance wound.

What Riley didn't say, was that the Marine needed to be evacuated or else he was going to die. The trouble was, there was no way to CASEVAC him, and this was certainly not the place to perform a surgery even if they had the necessary supplies. The brutal truth, was that the squad had just lost two men in the matter of seconds.

* * *

 _ **Seven hours prior**_

"Two this is Two-One, we are in position on the perimeter, over," Luke said as the squad had finally reached their destination.

 _"Copy Two-One, proceed on mission, out."_

"Two-One copies," Luke said before turning to Hex, "Hex clip it."

From the rocky area that the squad was lying, hex rose up from the sandy ground and hustled to the chain link fence that separated the squad from the airfield. Removing a set of wire-cutters from her bag as she ran, Hex began the task of clipping the fence to allow the two teams to silently slip into the airfield. He hoped there were no security features on the wire, but from what they had observed, the fence was the only thing blocking them.

Luke watched Hex clip the fence that was ten meters in front of the other Marines. Her figure barely visible through the night vision, obstructed by the torrential rain that had begun falling across the region. The Marines remained almost invisible as they laid on the wet, soaking ground, only appearing for a brief moment as lightening stuck every so often. Luke remained still as Hex cut the wire, the water running off his helmet and NVG set to the ground.

After about ninety seconds, the fence was cut, and Hex was the first to slip into the airfield. Luke waved his arm forward signaling to the six other Marines with him to move forward to the slip in the fence. Throughout the airfield's perimeter, over fifteen other squads of Marines were going through the same procession of infiltrating the airfields fence protection. After Luke worked his way through the fence, he was forced to look up to work his bag through the opening, and was able to see the faint lights of the control tower in the distance as well as several other floodlights that illuminated the tarmac and the silhouettes of the Nantex fighters that were the target of this raid.

"Let's move, let's move," Luke urged as Bowren, the last man, made it through the slip in the fence.

The eight Marines split into their two teams as they began advancing across the airfield, crossing over one of the two runways that lined the base. Only several landing lights were on when they crossed, due to no aircraft currently in the air at 3:00 am in one of the worst storms to hit the area in the probably ever if the barren wasteland that was Geonosis. After crossing the first runway, Luke stopped the squad in a ditch that was between the two runways. The ditch was a low spot in a seventy meter split that separated the runways, one of them running parallel to the hangars and control tower and the second, which they had crossed, running at a sixty-degree angle from the first, forming a sort of Vee shape.

As the Marines waited on the ground, Luke could see their targeted building, a blockhouse that was located in the runway split the squad was in. This building was allegedly the fuel pumping station for the airfield, which seemed plausible because of the pipes that ran out of the building.

 _"Two, Two-One, we are in position, waiting final go from Saber, copy?"_

"Copy that Two-One," Luke knew that on the other side of the building, a squad being led by Burris were waiting for the go orders from Saber Actual to begin the assault.

So they waited in the cold rain for five gut wrenching minutes, always on the lookout for that one Geonosian that would appear from nowhere and alert the entire base to their presence. When the go code was finally passed down, Luke and the team exploded up from their position and began advancing on the two story building that sat between both runways. Sixteen Marines were assaulting this building alone, which only had seven Geonosians occupying it, five of which were fast asleep in their bunks on the second floor.

The Marines stacked up on the door that would lead them into the building. Hex was the first one next to the door, waiting for Luke to give the command to breach.

"Two, we're in position," Luke whispered keying the LASH headset as he poked his head up and glanced into the window.

On the inside of the building, Luke could see a dimly lit room, with several lights illuminating the ground floor. Two Geonosians were sitting at a table in the opposite corner of the door and were huddled around a small television screen. No other activity was happening in the room as Luke quickly surveyed the interior.

"Two in the far corner," Luke whispered in Hex's ear as he ducked beneath the window.

"I hear ya," Hex acknowledged, moving her head slightly back.

Over the headset came Saber Two, _"We're in position, killing power in, three, two, one."_

With that, the lights that shown out the window above Luke's head was immediately killed as the building went dark. Luke smacked Hex's right shoulder which sent the Sergeant into action. Hex pushed herself up from her crouched position next to the door quickly yanked the handle down, and whipped the door outwards in the other direction before getting out of the frame of the door.

As Hex swung the door open, Luke was already on his feet rushing into the opening. His night vision goggles aided him in the now darkened building. Spotting the spot where the two Geonosians were, he quickly fired at them as he moved left once he was through the door, allowing Riley and the remaining members of the squad to enter the building.

The first Geonosian was struck by rounds from Luke's M416 as he was pushing himself out of the seat that was behind the desk. The round struck him in his chest, and that was quickly followed by an additional several rounds that tore into his unprotected chest and neck. Blood from exit wounds splattered the wall behind him but weren't visible in the darkness. The second Geonosian was caught by plasma from both Luke and Riley as he tried to reach for his blaster that was laying on the desk in front of him. His body slumped forward and he died lying over his weapon, blood staining the metal barrel.

This entire encounter was over without making any loud noises, as the Marine weapons were tipped with sound suppressors and the Geonosians weren't even able to shout for help before they were cut down in a hail of fire. The remaining Marines from the squad entered the building before the last cartridges had finished rattling on the cement floor.

"Clear," Luke whispered to the Marines.

"Clear here," Riley announced as he finished scanning the room.

Luke released his hold of the M416 and raised his left hand to key the LASH, "Two bottom floor is cleared, we are moving upstairs, copy?"

From outside the building, the other squad was covering the area around the building, encase of any Geonosians trying to escape or any coming to assist their comrades.

 _"Two-One, Two copies,"_ Burris said over the radio, _"All quiet out here, make it quick, we got other objectives to move on."_

"Two-One copies, be with you in a moment," Luke finished before pointing towards the stairwell that led to the upper floor.

The Marines moved towards the stairwell and began to quietly creep up them, not knowing what lie ahead and not wanting to announce their presence to any waiting Geonosians. They moved up the steps in a set formation, staggered lines on each sides of the stairwell, thus exposing only one man to fire from either side at a time.

Hex led the squad up the stairs quietly, watching her footing as she silently crept up the stairs. He could hear no movement or noise coming from his front, which he couldn't tell if that was a good or bad thing. Hex saw the end of the stairwell mere meters in front of her, and took a gulp as he prepared for anything.

The second floor of the building was nothing more than several cots and lockers that were used by the men who operated the facility. The five Geonosians who were on the second floor were all fast asleep, oblivious to the fact that their comrades below them had been cut down moments before in a hail of gunfire.

The room was momentarily lit up by lightening that struck near the facility. With this momentary light, the silhouettes of the Marines could be seen as they silently moved about the room. One Marine moved to each cot that held a sleeping Geonosian. On Luke's signal, the silence was broken by shouts from the Marines and the rustling of the Marines grabbing the Geonosians from their beds.

Even though the Marines were professional killers, they could not bring themselves to murder these Geonosians in cold blood as they slept, even though that would have been the easiest option. So this alternative was chosen as a way to keep them alive as prisoners.

The Marine shouts woke the Geonosians from their sleep, only to be greeted by Marines grabbing them from their dreams of women, money, whatever else Geonosians dream of. Riley was responsible for one of these Geonosians, and he grabbed the Geonosian by his exoskeleton and head as he tried to force him from his bed to the floor.

As Riley rustled the Geonosian up, it quickly became clear that the Geonosian was several inches taller, and quite a few pounds heavier than the Marine. As Riley got the Geonosian to his feet, his element of surprise was lost as the Geonosian fought back, waving Riley's arms off of his shirt, knocking the lance corporal's balance off. This moment of off balance was quickly followed by a loud grunt and two handed push of the Geonosian that knocked Riley backwards, tripping over one of the footlockers that lie in front of each cot.

This scuffle did not go unnoticed by Luke and the two other Marines that were not wrestling Geonosians, instead covering the floor. After hearing the grunt of the Geonosian, Luke's vision flashed to where it came from, and he saw Riley being knocked over onto the floor.

Luke saw the Geonosian turn to face the other Marines that were in various positions of subduing Geonosians. Through the night vision optics that Luke wore, he could see the Geonosians face as he turned to reach for a rifle that was near him. Luke stopped him dead, literally, as he fired his own rifle at the Geonosian.

Three rounds were fired from Luke's M416 after he pulled the trigger three times as quickly as he could. The rounds struck the Geonosian center mass in his chest, blue circles becoming visible on his brown exoskeleton. The large Geonosian was sent spinning backwards as he fell dead over an empty cot next to him. Riley stared as the man was killed just inches from him.

Seeing their comrade killed before their eyes gave all the remaining Geonosians the incentive to stop all resistance to the Marines wrestling them to the ground. Luke walked from his position next to the stairwell across to Riley who was on the floor still, extending his hand to help the operator to his feet. The four surviving were easily subdued with flex cuffs within thirty seconds after their friend was shot dead.

"Next time Riley," Luke said as he pulled the operator to his feet, "Try and pick a guy that's smaller than you."

Riley pushed the night vision goggles back over his face as he said, "Easier for you to say, you big gooney bastard."

"Just trying to keep you alive mate," Luke said smiling before turning to the rest of the Marines in the room, who were standing over the Geonosians awaiting orders.

"What the hell are you dip-shits waiting around for, get back downstairs and linkup with Saber Two, we're not done."

The Marines all snickered as they began moving down the stairs to the main floor. Luke was known for the distinct way that he dealt with the men under him, it was what separated him from the other NCOs. He wouldn't hesitate at making you feel like a pile of shit in front of others, but would trust you with his life, and make sure that each man he went in with, came out with him. This was why Luke was one of the most revered team leaders in the company, if not the entire Unite.

One of the Marines in the squad hadn't yet adjusted to Luke's ways, Lance Corporal Josh Eckers. Eckers had transfered into the team after Santa Monica, as Heffron's replacement on the LMG-5. Luckily for Luke, he was not given a boot straight out of Parris Island, Eckers had fought in Ryloth with elements of the 3rd Marine Special Operations Battalion. As Bravo was being shipped to Courascant a week before this night, Eckers had joined Two-One.

Luke was the last to leave the building and enter the rainstorm that was drenching the area. He turned left out of the door they had just recently broken into and went to where Burris was hunkered down.

"Four tangos bagged, three put down," Luke said as he went prone next to Burris, who was lying just off of the runway in the ditch.

"Good work Sparrow," Burris said approvingly before switching subjects onto their next objective, "Right now we have Alpha moving in from the north," he pointed to the left towards the control tower and adjacent buildings, "1st and 3rd Platoons are coming in from the south and taking those hangars there, then moving onto the barracks in between the two."

"And we're charging right up the middle," Luke said dryly.

Burris chuckled, "Exactly right, we're to disable those fighters sitting on the tarmac, then linkup with the rest of Bravo, you still have the charges?"

Luke turned down the ditch and found Hex, "Hex, you still have the C17?"

"What the hell do you think is in this giant bag I've been humpin' around all night Luke."

Luke smiled as he turned back to Hex, "Yeah, we've got the charges ready."

"Good, because," Burris paused as he looked at his watch, "We're on now."

The sixteen Marines darted from their position in the ditch across the main runway. With each footstep forward, the likelihood that they were to be spotted increased exponentially; risks of the job Luke reasoned as he ran.

Luke's boots smacked against the tarmac, splashing the rain water that was pooling everywhere. As they approached the hangars and the fighters, the night vision goggles began to flare and their vision was obstructed by the floodlights that hung off of the hangars roof.

He raised his left hand and flipped the NVG optics up on the hinge that was on the front of his helmet. The cold water that fell from the sky hit his face for the first time in hours, a cool change that was welcomed as the water ran down his forehead to the tip of his nose.

The Marines kept running forward, speed was their best friend here, and they planned to be in and out before the Geonosians knew it. The shapes of four Geonosian Nantex Starfighters could be seen, tarps covering each aircraft, offering protection from the harsh environment.

As the squad closed the distance to the fighters, the tarmac around the aircraft was lit up more than a Christmas tree. They would have to move extra quick. Luke and Hex broke off from the squad and ran to the fighter that was farthest north. Riley and Eckers went to the aircraft next to them, while Bowren's team broke off into their own two-man teams and went to the remaining aircraft.

Luke came to a halt near the nose of the fighter, instinctively he crouched and began scanning the area north where the control tower and other buildings were. As Luke was scanning their surroundings, Hex already had a C17 charge in her hand. The Marine quickly flicked the transmitter on the C17 charge before he slammed the block against the nose of the Nantex underneath the canopy. The resulting explosion from the C17 would cripple the fighter, and make sure it would not be in the air anytime soon. The other three teams of Marines were also doing the same procedure as they completed their objective.

"Done," Hex said as she attached the C17 charge to the aircraft.

"Good, we're moving," Luke replied as he forced himself up from the crouch and turned towards their next objective.

As soon as their work was done, the Marines again raced from their position on the tarmac towards one of the hangars that was sandwiched between two buildings. The other squad led by Burris was moving across the tarmac with them as they advanced on the hangar from two different angles.

The hangar doors were shut closed, but through the glass at the top of the doors, Luke could vaguely see several lights on. He motioned to the squad to move towards the right side of the hangar, where an auxiliary door was that would grant the squad access to the inside. Burris led his squad to the left side of the hangar in preparation for the assault. The two squads were lit up on the tarmac for a minute and twenty seconds, but luckily, no alarms could be heard from any building.

"Two we're in position," Luke reported as the eight Marines had stacked against the door that was located on the side of the hangar.

"Two copies," Burris replied, "Hit it."

With the command, Luke, who was third in the line, hit Riley's left shoulder, who then instantly smacked Hex's shoulder. Again, the Sergeant sprang into action as she ripped open the door and allowed her fellow Marines to breach the hangar.

The hangar was dimly lit, with only several lights hanging from the ceiling that were on, shadows were casted all over the hangar. The large interior housed eight of the Nantex Starfighters, each neatly parked in a single line. Also spread throughout the hangar were several offices and near those offices, were three dozen cots, each occupied by a member of the sleeping Geonosian aircrews.

Riley was first through the door, taking one step in before turning to his right and continuing forward down the wall. He was followed closely by Luke and then the remainder of the squad. They moved silently as they entered the hangar and found the nearest cover. Luke and Riley ducked behind a tool stand while the rest of the squad found other decent cover.

Hex was the last through the door, and as she stepped through, gunshots rang out in the air. Luke turned towards Hex, expecting his friend to be on the floor bleeding out, but instead found her still standing and in the process of ducking behind an empty fifty-five gallon drum.

The gunshots had come from a different location, but now, they were compromised as one of the Geonosians, a single sentry that was above the offices on a catwalk spotted the Marines. He shouted in Geonosian as he raised his rifle and began firing wildly towards the squad.

The shout combined with the abrupt sounds of automatic gunfire woke the sleeping Geonosians as confusion filled the hangar.

"Shit," Luke exclaimed, ducking behind the tool stand as Geonosian rounds ricocheted off the stand and the ground around him, "Take 'em all out."

The thirty sleeping Geonosians had quickly become thirty armed Geonosians as they grabbed whatever weapons were around them and began shooting at the two Marine squads that were attacking them from both directions. The single sentry that was on the catwalk was quickly taken out by a burst of LMG-5 fire from Eckers, his shots adding to the echoing that rang out throughout the vast hangar.

Luke leaned out from the cover and aimed towards the Geonosians that were still bustling around the cots; either looking for weapons, cover, or Marine targets. He placed his sights across the chest of one of the Geonosians who was wearing a grey overall, one of the pilots Luke figured, and fired two rounds at him. The Plasma tore through the exoskeletons and struck flesh and organs as his kidney was disintegrated by the rounds. The Geonosian fell to the ground shrieking out in pain.

The Marines shouted as they sought to find better cover positions and angles that would lead them to the Geonosians. Across the great hangar, Burris and his squad were under the same fire as they attempted to neutralize the hostile Geonosians.

"Frag out," Hex yelled as she threw a grenade towards the Geonosians.

Several seconds later an explosion rocked the hangar as a number of Geonosians were killed by the blast the send cots and debris flying in all directions.

"Bowren take your team right," Luke shouted as he looked back at the Marines and pointed towards cover that was farther down near the wall and would provide better fire on the Geonosians. Luke turned and leaned back out of the cover and fired another volley of rounds at the Geonosians as he shouted, "Go now, go!"

The Marine fire team bolted from their cover towards the new position as Luke's team fired a volley of rounds that either killed those Geonosians still poking out from cover, or sent the rest behind whatever they could find.

Bowren bolted forward, the former college fullback was a wall of a man when he moved, but he was quick on his feet, which allowed him to traverse the distance quickly. When Bowren was several meters from the cover, he slid forward, allowing his momentum to carry him into the safety of the cover. Rounds from Geonosian blasters ricocheted off of the hangar wall and floor, amazingly, not striking any of the Marines in the squad.

"Bowren you good," Luke questioned over the gunfire.

"Yeah we're all in one piece," Bowren shouted back after accounting for all his men that made it to the cover.

"Alright, get ready to lay some fire down on my go," Luke shouted as he prepared himself to lean out of the cover, "Now!"

The eight Marines fired towards the Geonosians as one, and several more of the hostiles were cut down in a wall of lead. Luke poked out of the cover and loosened a 40 mm grenade that exploded next to several Geonosian airmen, turning the air into a pink and grey mist. The noise that echoed through the hangar made the entire situation all the more confusing, as automatic fire, screams and shouts filled the Marines' ears.

"Watch your fire left," Luke shouted after he fired the grenade, "Friendlies moving up."

Burris was leading his squad towards the remaining Geonosians, alternating between firing and dashing forward several meters. The Geonosian force was down to only a handful of men, and quickly, Burris and his squad had overtaken their position. One of the Marines was hit in the jaw by a Geonosian round as they advanced and his body laid in a heap on the floor, but this was the only casualty the Marines suffered and compared to the Geonosians, who were counted as twenty-six dead and two wounded, the Marines made out pretty well.

As the final two Geonosians were put out of their misery, Luke and his squad secured the offices in case of any additional Geonosians that may appear.

"We're all clear here Burris," Luke reported as he emerged from the offices and approached Burris who was standing over the Geonosian bodies.

"Good work Commander," Burris acknowledged before he keyed his own headset, "Saber this is Saber Two how copy?"

 _"Saber Two, this is Saber Actual, send it."_

"Saber we were just in hard contact with the enemy, most likely they know we're here, how do you want us to proceed, over."

 _"Copy that Two, we're in contact right now, proceed on next objectives riki-tik,"_ before Burris could speak, the company commander continued, _"ROE change, weapons free, all Geonosians designated hostile."_

"Two copies all, we're oscar-mike," Burris said before turning to the two squads before him, "Get those charges planted now."

Several Marines acknowledged the order and took off to plant the C4 charges on the fighters that were idling in the hangar. Burris walked from where he was over to Luke and the men of Two-One.

"Sparrow," Burris started as he passed Luke, who turned and followed the lieutenant away from the other Marines, "Cat's outta the bag, clankers heard that shit and the base is probably gonna be on full alert in minutes."

"So what do you want us to do," Luke inquired as the two Marines stopped near one of the offices, several Geonosians were lying on the floor around them pooling blood at their feet.

"Take your teams and head on to the next objective, we'll finish placing charges here and then blow these pieces of shit sky high."

"Copy that," Luke noticed the body of the dead Marine in the distance behind Burris, "What are we doing about," Luke didn't need to say his name.

"Can't hump him out now, still got objectives to move on, we'll come back for him once we've been relieved."

The two Marines began walking back towards the others who were busy policing the weapons off of the dead Geonosians and planting the charges. Luke gathered his squad and they began walking out of the hangar towards the next objective.

Turning back to Burris, Luke shouted, "Don't forget Lieutenant."

Burris raised his head and looked at Luke who was at the door to the hangar, "I never do Commander," he said, "I never do."

The rain hadn't stopped, in fact, it had gotten worse since the squad was in the hangar. The first noticeable change Luke noticed, besides the rain of course, was that there seemed to be constant thunder in the air. This thunder, turned out to be automatic weapons fire that echoed throughout the airbase.

Luke chuckled to himself, his dry sense of humour emerging, "I'd say the cat's outta the bag."

"What was that Luke," Hex questioned as she heard Luke's voice.

"Oh nothing Hex," Luke said as he moved past Hex, "Just admiring our current situation."

"Gotcha," Hex nodded his head, "Trying to sound smarter than the rest of us."

"Trying to," Luke said grinning to himself.

The eight Marines continued their bounding motions from the hangar on ward to their next objective; a guard post on the edge of the compound. The objective, was originally supposed to be easier to assault, due to the Marines advancing on it from the rear. However now that the alarm was raised and skirmishes were occurring all over the compound, the post would be well on alert for an attack.

"Bowren punch your team out thirty meters," Luke said as the Marines approached the building.

Sergeant Bowren moved his team about thirty meters to the left of Luke as the Marines continued advancing onto the guard post. The small post was dead ahead of them, the small concrete building guarding one of the three roads that led into the airfield. The two story building made entirely of concrete and steel, was lit up on all sides by flood lights and sentries were outside the building on the mounted machine guns. This was going to be difficult.

"Bowren, heavy machine guns on the flanks of the building, aim for them then work your way through the ranks," Luke said through the LASH.

 _"Bravo copies."_

Luke took the first shot, the rounds from his M416 peppered the chest of the Geonosian that was manning one of the mounted machine guns. The Geonosian next to him had enough time to look with a shocked expression as his comrade fell to the ground before he himself was gunned down. The Marines fired as they advanced, there was no time to properly bound and assault the building; speed was their greatest ally and they intended to use it.

The two teams were within forty meters of the building by the time the Geonosians had organized and directed fire towards the Marines. One of the last remaining holdout of Geonosians outside the building was silenced as Luke fired a 40 mm grenade that exploded once it made contact with the sandbag barricade. Dirt exploded into the air as the several Geonosians were shot backwards from the force of the explosion.

Luke led Hex and Riley forward towards the building as Eckers went prone into the wet sandy ground. He looked down the sight on his LMG-5 and held the trigger. Dozens of bursts sent over a hundred rounds into the second floor of the guard post, shattering every pane of glass. Luke and the two other Marines raced towards the door under the covering fire from Eckers.

As Luke slammed his back against the wall of the building, he keyed his mic, "Eckers watch your fire, we're goin' in."

The lance corporal acknowledged the order, and began to check his fire more so, firing only several more bursts into the second floor. After seeing Luke and the rest of the team enter the building, Eckers ceased his fire. Eckers slipped on the wet ground as he quickly propped himself up from the sandy ground, but regained his footing and he began trudging towards the guard post.

As he approached the doorway, he could hear the sounds of gunfire grow louder with each step. A grenade went off and showered broken glass from the second floor, just barely missing Eckers as he hit his back against the wall.

Leaning against the wall, he checked his box magazine to quickly see about how many rounds he had remaining; somewhere around fifty remained. The sound of gunfire had stopped from inside the building, in fact, there were no sounds at all, except the rain battering against every surface around him.

Eckers took a deep breath as he prepared to rush into the building, but before he could take a step, his ear piece came alive with the sound of Luke's voice.

 _"Eckers, you there?"_

Taking his left hand off the handle of the LMG-5, he thumbed his mic, "I'm outside the building Commander, need help?"

 _"Negative, we're coming out now."_

Within moments, Luke appeared from the doorway and was startled by the close proximity of Eckers to the doorway.

"All clear out here," Eckers reported as the team circled around.

"Any sign of Bowren or his guys," Luke questioned as he scanned outward, looking through his NVG set.

Before anyone could answer, Bowren appeared from the side of the building, jumping a little, surprised just as Luke had been.

"Outcrops are cleared out, had a few stragglers but we took care of em," Bowren announced as he kneeled down next to Luke, flipping his NV optics off.

"Good work gents," Luke praised, looking at each Marine, "That's it for us tonight."

"Not for those guys out there," Hex noted as the sounds of gunfire could still be heard coming from the interior of the airbase.

"That's not our concern," Luke said sternly, "Holding this spot, no one in, no one out, that's our concern Hex."

"I'm not complaining' Luke, just saying," Hex retorted as he rose to his feet.

Hex and Riley both moved away from the group and went to the other side of the building, looking towards the airfield. The rest of the squad began policing the weapons again off of the dead Geonosians.

Bowren and Luke were on the second floor, looking through papers for any intel that could be gathered when the headsets came alive, _"Two-One, Two, objective secured?"_

Luke stopped moving and turned to look at Bowren who was holding several slips of paper in his hand, "Well you gonna answer the him or should I?"

"You look busy Bow," Luke said as he turned his body to Bowren, "Let me get this one."

"If I didn't know you so well, I'd say that was almost sincere Sparrow," Bowren replied setting the paper down on the desk.

Luke winked as he keyed the mic, "Two, Two-One, affirmative, objective secured, over."

 _"Roger that Two-One, good work,"_ Burris said, _"Interrogative, why don't you take a look back at the airfield."_

"Copy Two, Two-One out," Luke said before shouting out the broken windows to Hex who was outside, "Hey Hex!"

"Yeah," Hex shouted back up at the two.

"Time for the fireworks," Luke replied as he and Bowren moved to the broken windows and gazed towards the hangars.

Several moments passed and nothing happened, but then, an explosion, followed by a dozen more shook the entire airfield. The night sky was illuminated by the blasts, as shards of aircraft were sent high into the night sky. The hangar that they had assaulted minutes before was destroyed as munitions were ignited by the blasts. The once large hangar now was a collapsed heap of metal and steel, explosions still bursting as munitions cooked off in the heat. The fire burned bright even in the heavy rain, illuminating most of the airfield.

Luke noted to Bowren, "Well if they didn't know we we're here, they do now."

* * *

 _2622 December 13th Earth Standard Calendar, Corporal Mike 'bull' Fourie_

"Let's go Bull, we're late," Don said as he flicked several switches in the cockpit of the AH-4Z SuperHornet.

"We're going, keep your pants on Donny," Bull said as he brought the helicopter to full power.

Over the radio came the voice of an operator in the Combat Information Center of the Liberator class star destroyer _OAG Peleliu_ , _"Star Three-Four you are cleared for dust-off."_

"Copy Eagle Command, Star Three-Four is airborne," Bull said as he pulled the cyclic back, raising the SuperHornet into the air.

The VTOL rose, following the procession of other aircraft that took off from the hangers of the forty ships in the fleet that were stationed in high orbit over the planet Geonosis. Star Three-Four was one of twelve SuperHornets that were based on the _Peleliu_ , and they were responsible for making sure that the Warbirds and other landing craft would make it safely to the landing zones to deploy their loads of Marines.

The heavily armed SuperHornets was topped off with a full load of Hellfire missiles and Hydra 10 rockets, plus seven hundred and fifty 20 mm explosive rounds stored under the nose in the chain gun. Bull and Don hoped that by the time they had to return to the ship, that they would be fresh out of ammo; all expended over Geonosian targets.

 _"Star Flight this is Zero-Six, go to angels two and proceed to Waypoint Charlie, over."_

"Copy Zero-Six," Bull said as he continued to pilot the attack aircraft into formation, "Jesus would you look at all that."

Don paused from checking his instruments and looked out both windows that enclosed him in the cockpit, "That's a lot of hardware goin' planet side."

Beneath the flights of aircraft, both attack and transport, an armada of ships lay beneath them. Dozens of _acclamator_ assault ships, _Liberator_ Star Destroyers, _Vigil_ class corvettes and _Gladiator-1_ class Star Destroyers. The three republic fleets that had just arrived were moveing into orbit. Emerging from the well decks of those ships, were hundreds of Warbirds and Warbird Heavy transports that carried tanks and other armoured vehicles. Pretty much any vehicle that could be launched from a ship was on it's way to Geonosis; the Marines from 1st and 2nd Division the Army 81st and 90th armoured divisions and 712th mechanized Division as well as three airborne Divisions were about to storm the beaches.

 _"Hornet Two-Two spread formation and cover the right flank."_

"Roger that Two-Six, we're on it."

 _"Star Three-Three tighten up on Three-Four and keep with 'em."_

"Copy Zero-Six."

The radio chatter was constant as the aircraft made their way to the planet, which took just over five minutes. The SuperHornets went feet dry just before the first Warbirds hit the land.

"I got something here," Don announced as he peered through the FLIR scope, "Probable tanks at two clicks, two-eight-two."

"I tally," Bull said after hearing Don's voice fill his helmet, "Star Zero-Six enemy armor two clicks out, permission to engage?"

 _"Green light Three-Four,"_ replied Zero-Six, the command helicopter, _"Take Three-Three and Three-Five, along with you, over."_

"Copy Zero-Six, Star Three-Four outbound."

Bull banked the aircraft and adjusted the course so they would fly right over the enemy positions. The two other SuperHornets followed suit as the trio broke from the main flight.

"You got a cleaner picture," Bull asked as they approached the position.

 _"Yeah, two AATs idling by some buildings, I got a good tone on one of em."_

"Three-Three you copy that," Bull asked.

 _"Copy that Three-Four, we have solid tone on the other."_

"Three-Four copies," Bull said as he tried to peer out the canopy in the direction of the tanks, "Don do it."

"Three-Three missile away," Don said as he pressed the trigger.

A single AGM-714 Hellfire anti-tank missile streaked from the SuperHornet's left wing. Seconds later, Three-Three fired their own and the two missiles connected to their targets within several seconds. The twenty-pound warhead carried by the Hellfire was more than enough to punch through the armour of the AAT MBT. The missiles hit their tanks on their turrets, creating a fireball inside the small compartments, igniting the shells and munitions carried by the AATs.

The explosions rocked the buildings, blowing holes in the walls and shaking the sand that surrounded them. Several Geonosians that were not in the tanks could be seen scrambling around in confusion as their vehicles were destroyed by the unseen aircraft. Three-Five followed the two SuperHornet over the target, firing it's 20 mm chain gun at the Geonosians on the ground. The targeting aides in the system created a clear black and white picture on a two inch display that was projected on the gunner's face mask. The targeting reticule centred in the screen followed where ever the gunner looked. When Don first tested the system several months before back in Reach testing grounds, he thought he was playing a video game it was so easy.

The three SuperHornets only needed to make one pass over the target, the tanks had been destroyed and the majority of the Geonosians that had escaped the explosions had been killed by the chain gun.

"Good run boys," Bull said as he banked the helicopter around and returned to where the rest of the flight was several clicks down the coast.

"Repeat, this is Saber Two, we are in danger of being overrun by enemy armor and infantry, we need immediate air support."

Burris cursed as his pleas went unanswered. They had been promised air support ten minutes ago and here they still were without. Now the Geonosians were about to gain the upper hand on the two under-strengthen Marine companies. Despite the fact the OAG was beginning to land, their relief force wasn't due to land for another 20 minutes. Time that they didn't have.

Alternating between firing and desperately trying to contact someone on the radio, Burris was about at his limit, "Gunny targets fifty meters right," he shouted as he saw several Geonosians weaving in and out between the buildings. Burris fired several rounds at them before Gunny had spotted them and took them down with a burst of fire.

Ducking behind his cover he keyed the radio again, "This is Saber Two, does anyone copy?"

The twelve SuperHornets were circling the invasion forces at four clicks out. There was no heavy Geonosian resistance that met them on the beachheads. In fact, the only contact they had, were the two AATs that were easily destroyed in the opening moments. Don and Bull wondered if they would get to see any real action today as they completed another loop of the beachhead.

"Star Three-Four," the radio cracked as it came alive, "Switch freq to 101.7."

"Copy that Zero-Six," Bull said as he adjusted the dial on the console in front of him.

The headset blasted noise as the frequency hit 101.7, " _Saber Two, under intense enemy fire,"_ there was a pause, the speaker interrupted by a short burst of automatic fire _, "Grid reference Alpha-Kilo-Eight-Three-One."_

Zero-Six could be heard next, _"Copy Saber Two, flight of twelve SuperCobras inbound on your location, ETA zero-two minutes, over."_

Automatic gunfire could be heard as the voice came back over the channel, _"Copy that Star Zero-Six, friendly positions will be lit by IR strobes, Saber Two out."_

"Sounds like we're gonna get some," Don commented as he began checking the weapon instruments.

 _"Star Flight proceed to grid reference Alpha-Kilo-Eight-Three-One,"_ Zero-Six stated, _"Friendlies need immediate assistance, marked by IR strobes, all weapons are free."_

The twelve SuperHornets banked out of their flight patterns and immediately turned inland towards the airbase. Their altitudes lowered as they began to skim the sand dunes, not more than one hundred meters off the ground.

 _"Alright boys, low and fast,"_ Zero-Six's voice filled the channel, _"Just like we've done, target the heavy armour first, then work your way through."_

Eleven different voices then spoke as they all copied the orders. As the flight bumped over a final hill, smoke plumes filled the early morning sky. The black smoke of smouldering vehicles and buildings rose hundreds of feet into the sky.

"How long has this been going on for," Bull questioned.

"I didn't hear of anyone going ashore before the invasion," Don answered as he stared in amazement at the signs of the battle raging before them.

"Probably some special ops guys," Bull reasoned.

"Well they sure as hell know how party," Don said before being cut off.

 _"Star Flight be advised, flight of -99s are overhead,"_ Zero-Six said with just enough time for Bull and Don to look up to see the four nimble fighters streak over the battle space.

The four Type-99 Lightnings were in and out in seconds. The jets streaked over the battle and released two munitions each. The Paveway bombs fell onto their targets, hits being visible as large explosions could be seen by the SuperHornets.

"Time to go to work," Bull said before the twelve SuperHornets broke off from their formation.

Three-Four and Three-Five broke off from the main flight and banked right as they began to circle the outskirts of the airfield. Craters, vehicle wrecks, and bodies could be seen littering the ground outside of the airfield's perimeter.

"AAT seven hundred meters," Don called out after spotting the vehicle.

"Hit 'em," Bull said an instant before Don fired another Hellfire HEAT missile, this one slamming into the AAT just under turret, Good hit, good hit."

The channel was filled with chatter as the helicopter crews found the new area to be ripe with targets. The amount of concentration that was needed to not only find, track, and destroy the Geonosian targets, but to also coordinate with friendlies and avoid collisions in the air was astounding.

"Infantry," Bull called out as he lined the SuperHornet up over a runway and began a run past it.

Don controlled the chain gun through the helmet mounted display that he had grown to love. He easily sprayed the area in front of them with 20 mm explosive rounds, that tore into the advancing platoon of Geonosian infantry. For good measure, Don also fired a salvo of Hydra rockets, that streaked towards the ground, cratering the runway and sending thousands of fragments into the platoon.

The SuperHornet continued to rocket over the battlefield as the two crewmen searched for targets and threats. Bull banked the VTOL right as they began to make another sweep of the airfield.

"We got friendlies below us," Don shouted as he saw the IR strobe flashing in the display screen, "Shit Zeus bank left, bank left!"

A CIS mobile Anti-Aircraft Artillery, commonly called a Triple A, a multi-barrelled anti-aircraft gun placed on a vehicle had appeared from behind cover and the SuperHornet was in a path to take them right over it. Bull slammed the cyclic left and the SuperHornet swerved and climbed to avoid the Triple A. The Triple A ignored them and instead drew its' sights on Three-Five.

The four barrels of the Triple A barked as dozens of rounds filled the air, tearing into the fuselage of Three-Five. Smoke began billowing from the VTOL as it began to swerve slightly in its flight, controls to the aircraft obviously lost. The Triple A fired another volley in quick succession into Three-Five, this time filling the canopy and engine with lead. Flames erupted from the SuperHornet as it spun widely out of control and crashed into the earth, landing on the wreckage of a AAT and the bodies of dead Geonosians.

Don was leaning his body against the right window, watching the destruction of Three-Five happen right before him.

"Shit they got 'em," he said as he dropped back into his seat.

"Three-Five is down, repeat, Three-Five is down," Bull relayed through the net channel, "No survivors," he said as he saw the entire wreckage burning on its side.

Bull circled the aircraft around the Triple A, who had claimed another kill as the wreckage of Star Two-Two crashed into an aircraft hangar that was already missing sections of the roof.

"I'm bringing us up behind it," Bull announced, "You tear it a new asshole."

From five hundred meters in the sky, the SuperHornet angled downward and began the attack run. The gunners of the Triple A must had seen them, for the barrels began traversing, trying to get their sights on the SuperHornet before they were destroyed. They were too and too slow late to shoot.

Don centred the targeting reticule onto the rear compartment of the Triple A and fired a combination of the 20 mm rounds and two salvos of Hydra 10s at the vehicle. The entire area erupted in a cloud of debris as the Triple A and the Geonosians around it were killed by the blasts.

Bull jerked the aircraft left and avoided debris that was flung into the air at the last second. Don continued to fire the chain gun at any unfortunate Geonosian that crossed into the targeting display. By the time he stopped firing, they were down to only seventy some rounds left in the weapon.

The SuperHornet gained altitude as they regrouped from the last attack run when the channel came alive with Zero-Six, "Star Flight be advised friendly air assets coming in to re-enforce ground elements, watch your fire."

thirty Warbirds and ten Warbird Heavy Transports could be seen on the horizon, growing larger each passing second. They were almost finished with this fight, they only needed to last a few more minutes. Bull piloted the aircraft to make another strafing run on the runway to clear it of any last CIS froces.

Don fired the last remaining 20 mm rounds and a half dozen Hydra rockets into a Geonosian position that was positioned next to a small building in the centre of the airfield. One of the rockets streaked into the building and a fireball erupted into the sky. The rocket struck the fuel pumping station, igniting the thousands of gallons of fuel that were stored in the pipes and tanks.

"Shit," Bull shouted as he tried to avoid the fireball they were about to enter.

The engine brushed the flames but they had survived the explosion. They made another half circle waiting to line up another pass on the runway.

"Watch what you're shooting at next time Donny," Bull said.

"Hey I hit the bad guys didn't-" he was cut off mid-sentence as rounds exploded into the cockpit.

A AAT had targeted the SuperHornet and the main turret was unloading into them. Bull took evasive manoeuvres and avoided the trail of rounds that chased the helicopter across the sky.

"Don, Donny," Bull shouted over the noise of air rushing through the holes that appeared in the side of the canopy as well as the rotors spinning.

There was no response, then Bull noticed the left side of the canopy, the glass painted red with the blood of his gunner.

"Oh Goddamn it," he said in disbelief, "Three-, Three-Four, I lost my gunner," he noticed that it was getting increasingly difficult to control the helicopter from going into a right spin, "I'm losing control of lateral movements, over."

 _"Copy that Three-Four, RTB now, Two-Four, ride shotgun on Three-Four."_

"Roger that," Two-Four said as they broke off from their attack run and flew towards Bull.

Bull tried to turn the SuperHornet back towards the coast, but this task was made increasingly difficult by the loss of his controls. He had to take a wide arch that brought him over the airfield once more. He could see in front of him the Warbirds that were about to land and relieve the ground forces.

As he crossed over the hangars and was over the open ground between the airfield and the woods, his radar warning began blaring. A shoulder launched rocket had locked onto him.

"Fuck," he mumbled, realizing there was nothing he could do to avoid the missile, "Two-Four SAM launch, break off."

The other SuperHornet broke off of its flight next to the wounded aircraft and cleared the area. A grey smoke trail burst from the edge of the rocky outlands, and a single missile streaked from this position into Three-Four, striking the bird underneath the right wing, tearing off the tail from the fuselage of the aircraft.

Bull felt the impact of the missile, and then really felt it as the canopy around him shattered from the fragments, showering him in glass. With the loss of the tail, the SuperHornet began spinning wildly as it dropped to the earth like a boulder.

As the air rushed around him and his vision was blurred, not able to tell what was ground or sky, Bull mumbled, "Hey Donny."

The canopy was blown off as the ejector seats blew out of the dying bird as the SuperHornet slammed into the woods, tearing down a section of rocks and sending a fireball into the air that caught the other trees near it on fire.

 _"Three-Four is down,"_ Two-Four noted as they saw the fireball burst from the trees, _"Repeat, Three-Four is down."_

* * *

 _2622 December 13th Earth Standard Calendar, CDR Luke Sparrow on airfield Bravo._

Luke poked up from cover and fired off several rounds at the Geonosians two hundred meters away, "Go, go, go."

The Marines from the Warbirds stormed forward to re-enforce the embattled soldires, as the T-600 tanks now on the tarmac firing at the Geonosians.

He turned back towards the airfield and could see the burning airfield behind him. The remaining SuperHornets in the air were still engaging the Geonosians allowing the Warbirds to unload their cargo and the drops pods that began to enter the atmosphere, their burning hulls could be seen due to the re-entry process.

Luke worked his way back towards Hex, who was already in one of sand ditches taking the opportunity that had presented itself to rest. Before he took a seat next to her, Luke saw a fire in the sand, and the wreckage of a SuperHornet in the centre of it; the SuperHornet that had saved Luke and his team from certain death.

* * *

 _2622 January 31st Earth Standard Calendar, CDR. Luke Sparrow on Geonosis on board a Warbird en route to Golbah Hive_.

The scene was almost biblical.

Not in the sense of shock, awe, and wrath of God, although that was happening somewhere to the east, just over the horizon, as OAG spacecraft pounded defensive positions set up by the some still-intact units of the CIS. Those positions were much reduced now, after several weeks of heavy air and ground attack, but they were holding for the moment. With a thunderous roar, four black silhouettes exploded over the top of the ridge. Two massive leviathans followed by two smaller ones. The four aircraft continued east-south-east towards the Hive of Golbah, flying in a standard two-down, two-up formation. Lower down, flying side-by-side were two MH-66H Warbird heavy-lift VTOL (Warbird Heavy Transports) of the OAG Army's 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, colloquially referred to as the 'Night Stalkers'. These two behemoth cargo carriers were escorted by two AH-4Z SuperHornet gunships on loan from the 331st Cavalry Division's Aviation Brigade, flying above and behind the massive tandem-repulser VTOLs to avoid their enormous roiling downdraft, their Longbow radars and thermal vision systems probing the rolling ridges and rocks of the Geonosis desert for any unwelcome visitors.

The troops inside the Warbird HLVs were not, however, all OAG. The sixteen men of Mobility Troop, Sabre Squadron Delta of Mandalor sat quietly in the four Land Rover 210 DPV Desert Patrol Vehicles, two to each aircraft, keenly aware that the long flight was coming to an end. To avoid contact with remaining CIS forces, the Warbird HLVs had looped almost a hundred miles to the west of the known enemy locations to deliver their payload behind enemy lines; soon, it would be their part of the show.

Commander Luke 'Ploymath' Sparrow was even more aware of that fact than most of these men. He was attached as the OAG's liaison to the Mandalorians Special Forces for the mission. Tonight's mission was a shoot-from-the-hip immediate action plan that he'd had almost no time whatsoever to plan. A communications intercept decrypted by the STORM TRACK listening station on a Vigil Corvette strongly suggested that a high-level meeting between several key members of Poggles regime, probably the last before they went into hiding. It was taking place at a villa on the banks of a River - designated Objective DRAGON - belonging to Tikriti, who performed a duty similar to an interior minister. According to a further intelligence brief Luke had been given before taking off, ONI was giving credence to rumours that Poggle himself might be in attendance, grading it triple-A quality intel.

Luke had fixed the briefing officer with a very pointed stare at that point. He was extremely leery of trusting ONI intel right now, as he and his troop had spent the previous three weeks running around checking out several dozen sites that 'Triple-A grade' ONI intelligence had labelled as WMD storage and research houses.

They had all been completely empty. Not some, not most. Every. Single. One. In several cases, the buildings had been abandoned for at least a decade according to the locals. Top work there from ONI.

Hawk recon drones had already been in the process of scouting Golbah in preparation for a major offensive by Task Force Atlantic, a OAMC mechanised regiment that was forming up for a northward push somewhere down near the Badlands. The drones had revealed that CIS military presence in the city itself was minimal, having been drawn off south to set up defences, which meant there was a clear shot through the city from the north-west to the manor house.

Objective: recon, then smash-and-grab for the HVI's. If the villa had too many guards for his troop, avoid contact and designate for a precision air strike before falling back into the desert for extraction via VTOL.

Luke's battered and cynical second in command, Colour Sergeant Vrotyaar Ordo had taken one look at the mission brief and immediately interpreted the 'smash-and-grab' order as the ONI's not-very-subtle way of screaming 'We need evidence on WMDs NOW, GOD-DAMMIT! Before Parliament or GNN find out we screwed up!'. Luke agreed with the experienced SNCO's viewpoint; they'd seen several other increasingly desperate attempts from 'the Company' to find evidence to support their crap intel already.

Luke let none of this apprehension show. He was an experienced SF officer now, and displaying worry would mean it spread to his men, regardless of their professionalism: if the boss starts cracking from the pressure, the rest of the unit suffers for it. From the missions when he'd operated in a team and not off on his own, his reputation as a competent commander was well established in the OAG, so he had that going for him at least.

With a sudden jerk, the Warbirds set down five miles from the outskirts of Golbah, out of audible range and hidden behind a low ridge. The loadmaster flipped out the vehicle 'planks' on the tail ramp and the four modified Wolf Land Rovers modified for desert operations surged down them before pulling away to assemble away from the dust cloud.

The Warbirds lifted off to go and tank up from an air-to-air refuelling aircraft somewhere a long way out over the desert, followed by the SuperHornets. Their fuel requirements would force them to fall back, to be replaced by another pair that would meet up with and escort the Warbirds back in for their extraction in, hopefully, about three hours. The sun rose early in these parts.

"What a lovely place, boss. I think I'll take my next leave here."

Luke rolled his eyes as he pressed the transmit button on the troop radio net - not that anyone could see, in the darkness and behind the night-vision goggles attached to his helmet. "Your funeral, Colour Ordo. This is Mike One Zero to all vehicles, sound off and give vehicle status, over."

 _"Mike One One here. Vehicle good."_

 _"Mike One Two, all working"_

 _"Mike One Three, present, same here."_

"Good. One Zero to all vehicles, proceed in file to Checkpoint Alpha. Make ready on the heavy weapons, permission to engage if contacted but not before. Call out any possible contacts as we move so we can evade. I want this fast and quiet, people. Zero out."

Above and behind Luke the gunner, Corporal Roegr Vizla, racked the charging handle on the M2 Heavy Machine Gun mounted on the Land Rover's roll bars. The HMG made a satisfying cha-CHUNK that was simultaneously comforting and intimidating as hell.

Luke switched channels as the driver - Sergeant Thiyanx - shifted into gear and pulled out, headlights off and using night vision only, for obvious reasons.

"Hello Eagle One, Eagle One, this is Mike One Zero, Mike One Zero, come in, over."

A few seconds later, the crackly response of a Vigil's communications operator came in, orbiting somewhere south of the Badlands and functioning as a relay to the J-SOC main HQ all the way back in high orbit.

 _"Mike One Zero, Eagle One. Authenticate, over."_

"Eagle One, One Zero. Authentication Zero-Alpha-Zulu-Two-Three-Tango, over."

 _"One Zero, Eagle. Authentication confirmed, send traffic, over."_

"Eagle, One Zero. Relay for King Cobra. Mike One is on the ground and moving to the objective, ETA one hour. No enemy contact at this time. Going EMCON until Checkpoint Alpha, but will break EMCON if under contact. How copy, over?"

King Cobra was the frankly rather ludicrous Hollywood-esque callsign of the Joint Coalition Special Forces Headquarters - unsurprisingly, it was an OAG-chosen callsign. OAGEF doctrine favoured bland, rotating phonetics-based designations to hamper enemy eavesdropping attempts, whereas OAA (Orion Arm Army) and OAMC (Orion Arm Marine Corps) apparently just liked sounding cool. Well, Luke could sympathise with that.

"One Zero, Eagle, solid copy on relay for King Cobra, good hunting and any further traffic, over?"

 _"Negative Eagle. Mike One Zero out."_

Luke replaced the handset and cocked the LMG-5 in front of his seat.

Twenty minutes later, the jeeps pulled up in a sandy wadi bed - Checkpoint Alpha. They were about half a mile from the city limits, clearly defined by a major road that ran along the west edge of the urban area.

They'd already crossed Geonosian Route One - the main north-south highway - two miles back. Civvie traffic had been non-existent, thanks to the OAGN's never-ending enthusiasm for hammering road infrastructure - major junctions, roundabouts, etc - with ground-penetrating ordnance to mess up the road surface and disrupt transport.

They'd had to wait a few minutes for the headlights of a north-bound military convoy to disappear, but it appeared as if all civilian refugee traffic had ceased. Luke called in the location, direction and speed of the convoy just in case some hotshot OAG ground-attack pilot had the spare ordnance to make some pretty explosions.

Anyone with sense would have left by now. It's only a matter of days until Coalition forces arrive.

Luke and the Colour Sergeant both jumped out to have a peek over the wadi's edge. They were at the top of a long, gentle slope from this angle. The wadi itself cut away south shortly ahead, which was why they had located this exit point on satellite earlier.

There was only some sort of industrial facility on this side of the main road. Lights were out, with no movement.

Then the main road. Some traffic, but nothing military as far as Luke could see. All heading north. The streetlights were out across town, as well. Also, thanks to the OAGN's predilection for breaking other peoples' infrastructure.

The run from here was a straight shot. Down the hill, across the highway and then a two kilometre road to the target by the river.

"See anything unwelcome, Colour?" Luke asked, as they both scanned the terrain in front with high powered night vision scopes.

"Actually, boss, it's ain't so much as anything unwelcome, as a lack of anything unwelcome, if you get my meaning."

"Intel did say they pulled most everything to the South."

"Oh, I know that, sir. But at the target itself, I mean. There's no vehicles, boss. Nothing obvious, anyway."

"Huh." Luke refocused on the three-story manor house. No lights on inside or around it, but that was a basic precaution during air attacks, with which Geonosians had a lot of recent experience. No vehicles in front. No men on the gate.

"Oh joy. Intel fucked up again?"

"Maybe. Or the tangos are just being smart, sir."

"True. We haven't seen much of that from them, though."

"No sir, but there's always a first time."

"We assault as planned." Luke decided. "Two Rovers in through the front, two round the back to cut off escape."

"Mega, boss. Let's get on with this and go home." There was a crackle of gunfire in the city, some distance away to the north of the objective, from the tracers going straight up.

"Someone's a bit trigger happy."

"Just hope they don't spot us, sir."

The Geonosian refugees fleeing the fighting up the Golbah road were already pretty worried, especially since the main highway was already out. The view they received now did nothing to alleviate that.

One by one, four vehicles roared out of the darkness of the desert to the West. Each was a four-by-four blocky, wide oblong military jeep, with four seats.

Fishtailing slightly as the tires protested the sudden high-speed change from sand to tarmac, the four DPVs sped across the motorway and into the city proper. The soldiers riding them must have appeared almost alien in the headlights of the surprised Geonosian drivers - bulky armour and helmets in tan-white desert camo, with 'horns' of night vision sets flipped up, goggles and black balaclavas covering their faces.

Once across the road, they activated their NV again. The headlights of the civvie traffic would have blinded them otherwise.

"Mike One Zero to all drivers, gun it lads, we don't have all night."

The drivers reciprocated gleefully, hurtling down the deserted road towards the house.

"Eagle One, Mike One Zero. Passed the line of departure, two minutes to objective. Out."

Two minutes, ten seconds later, the target compound's gate - fortunately not a properly reinforced one - caved under the impact of two tons of Birmingham's finest automotive engineering.

The house had a long oval drive that split at the gate and ended at the house. Two DPVs went down each, just in case of return fire … of which there was none yet.

"Boss!" Thiyanx yelled. It was obvious what he meant.

Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.

Two guards rushed out the front door, holding blasters. They weren't in uniform, so probably not military, just thugs playing at bodyguard. They hesitated, just for a moment, apparently unsure of which pair of Landies to fire at.

Too long.

"Weapons free!"

Roegr's HMG immediately hammered out two five round bursts of half-inch lead. The guards jerked in a macabre dance of death as the high-velocity rounds tore them apart.

Two DPVs pulled up at the front door – Luke's one with an M2, and Mike One One with the Javlin while the others sped around the back. The operators remained in the turrets, covering the gate in case any Geonosian quick-reaction forces showed up to crash their private party.

Luke jumped out and sprinted up the steps, joined by five other Mandalorians at the still-open double doors. There were some sounds, faint panicked shouting and boots on stone floors coming from inside. They stacked up, three to each side.

"Flash and clear."

Two and half seconds later, the flashbang detonated inside with a thunderous roar.

Luke was the second man in on the left. Sergeant Ordo in front double-tapped a stumbling, blinded armed man straight in front of him then turned left, covering his sector. Luke was a pace behind him, covering straight in front. His motion tracker, tracking movement in the house. Four on the ground floor, that the other team would deal with. One upstairs.

Movement. Top of the stairs.

The infrared aiming laser of Luke's M416 - brand new, 'borrowed' from a friendly OAGMC armorer - rose to cover the railing, glowing bright green in the night vision system.

A man rushed out of a room and up to the banister.

Luke fired, a three-round burst sending the target flying back.

A second flashbang announced the entry of the other team at the rear of the building.

"Clear left!"

"Clear right!"

"Clear centre!" Luke announced. "Room clear. Ryder, Jendri, Ordo, upstairs. Roegr, Thiyanx, with me downstairs."

'On it." Ordo headed up the stairs with the other two in tow.

It took fifteen minutes to clear the rest of the house. His men reported in via radio as he walked back into the lobby: six targets down, including two more the backdoor team had killed, and two HVIs captured.

"Anyone interesting?" Luke asked as the second team dragged two already zip-tied and black-hooded prisoners in.

"Aye. This one's the Ace of Diamonds, and the other's the Five of Hearts, boss."

Luke whistled. "Well, it's a good night for us in Vegas."

In the most-wanted Geonosian playing card deck they'd been issued a month or so ago, the Ace of Diamonds was Lieutenant General Tikriti, the fourth most wanted on the list after Poggle and his two sons. Tikriti had been Poggle's bodyguard, later personal secretary and head of the Special Security Organisation, a secret police outfit. He had been Poggle's right-hand man, from his home tribe, and one of his most trusted subordinates - a big fish.

The other, the Five of Hearts, was the owner of the house; Rachni. He had been interior minister until a year ago, when he'd been repeatedly shot in the leg and stomach by Poggle's son in an argument, and retired after his leg was amputated in surgery. He was a smaller fish, but a target nonetheless.

"Caught them heading towards the back door. There's a civvie Nantex out there on the lawn. Pilot was one of the ones with them."

"Escape via Nantex? That's pretty suicidal with us holding air superiority." Luke looked up. "Anything else?"

"Yeah boss." Ordo handed him a stack of files, a few inches thick. "Found 'em in an office upstairs. "You might find the top one amusing."

Luke raised an eyebrow and flipped open the top folder. He read for a few seconds, then started laughing.

"What?" Hamilton asked.

"It's a memo, in Geonosian Hive, detailing the many reasons why Geonosis should not pursue weapons of mass destruction. Including the likely increased risk of invasion by the OAG." Luke shook his head as he folded it shut. "The irony is painful, considering nobody's found a single trace of WMD's, but it's not our problem. Get these two stashed securely in the jeeps out back then bring them round to the front again. I'll call it in."

The Land Rovers didn't have much room what with all the extra weapons mounts, but they hadn't been loaded down with desert supplies this time for such a short term mission, so there was some empty space either side and behind the rear gunner's seat, to which the prisoner's wrists would be handcuffed to prevent them causing trouble or escaping. It was going to be a bumping, bruising ride for them, but they'd survive.

Luke and the men from the front ran back out to their vehicles.

"Eagle One, Mike One Zero, relay for King Cobra. Direct patch, priority message, over."

 _"Copy Mike One Zero, patching you through."_ There were a few seconds of static, then a few more of random beeping tones, like a dial-up modem as the radio's crypto software synchronised with Coalition Joint Special Forces Command.

 _"Mike One Zero, King Cobra. Eagle says you have traffic, send message, over."_

"King Cobra, Mike One Zero. Sit-rep. Objective DRAGON secured. Six times enemy KIA, two times hotel-victor-india captured. Say again, two times hotel-victor-india captured. Identities are King of Diamonds and Five of Spades, over."

There was a couple of seconds of apparently stunned silence. _"Good hunting, Mike One Zero."_ Luke was fairly certain he could hear cheering in the ops centre behind the radio operator, which he sympathised with. The Spec-Ops portion of the invasion after initial success had mostly consisted of failure after failure due to bad information on WMD locations; they could use some good news. _"Don't suppose there's any sign of the Ace of Spades as the intel suggested, over?"_

"Negative on Ace of Spades, King Cobra. Advise ground forces secure objective to do a more detailed check for intel. We've already found some good stuff just during the assault, over."

 _'Copy that, One Zero. Will relay that to Task Force Antlantic. Wait one for further orders."_

Further orders? What the hell, we just finished the mission.

Hmmm … the gunfire earlier. Someone else's team getting shot up?"

 _"Mike One Zero, this is King Cobra Actual."_

Holy shit, the big cheese.

Actual was an OAG three-star named Major General Doug Brown, the deputy commander of SOCOM and field commander of the Joint Special Forces Headquarters, coordinating the actions of the various multi-national SF groups spread all across Geonosis during the invasion phase.

 _"Priority mission tasking, approved by CENTCOM. Tel Aviv is requesting - politely - that we extract some of their operatives from Golbah. They have come under contact and have a man down, with hostile forces believed to be closing in. Since you're in the area, I want you to get to them first, over."_

Well shit, that's a first. The Israelis NEVER ask for help.

Wait, the gunfire earlier was only, what, about half an hour ago? Wow. The bureaucracy's moved fast on this one.

"Corporal, any movement out there?"

"Yes sir, got a convoy that just came into sight on the road, heading north. Two kays away, fifteen miles an hour. A technical, two ... No, four three-tonner trucks, one armoured unit at the back, can't make out the type, might be a AAT, or one of those super tanks."

Luke pressed transmit. "We have positive on enemy movement, heading north into town. Send mission, over."

 _"Two friendlies located at grid three-two-five-five-eight-two-one-niner. Tel Aviv says they've bunkered down in a building with bare cinderblock walls, with a big green sign above the front window. Challenge will be Charlie-Charlie, response is Oscar-Oscar. Get there double-time, One Zero. Readback on orders, over."_

"Copy grid three-two-five-five-eight-two-one-niner, cinderblock building with green sign, challenge Charlie-Charlie, response Oscar-Oscar. One Zero is Oscar-Mike, out."

Luke grabbed the map, quickly found and circled the Israeli's building, handing it to Thiyanx with a shouted "Get us here ASAP," above the roar of the V8s as the second team pulled around in front of the house. Thiyanx pulled out in front, as Luke pressed on the team radio's transmit button.

"Happy days, lads, the brass just gave us a new snap mission." He ignored the groans. "We're to extract a couple of Israeli operatives from a building just over half a klick north of here. Enemy forces are moving in on them. Follow my tail, weapons hot, let's make this quick; I want to get out of here before those Iraqi forces show up."

* * *

 _2262 January 31st Earth Standard Calendar, Mossad Operative Ziva David, Golbah Hive._

Ziva David, late of the IDF and very recently of Mossad swore creatively under her breath as she crouched by the window of her and her partner's impromptu safe house, and kept an eye - and her gun - on the unfortunate civilian occupants of the shop above which they'd hidden. This was not what she'd had in mind for her first mission.

They'd been tasked with assassinating a mid-level Geonosis internal security operative here in Golbah who had been a Mossad asset, or at least they'd thought he had been. He'd been a double agent, and had betrayed his handler to CIS intelligence; the handler had been captured, and later tortured and killed, and the tape sent to Mossad HQ. At first, Tel Aviv assumed it was just bad luck - shit happens, as they say, especially in a business as dangerous as covert espionage - but when intel surfaced that the 'asset' in question had been a plant all along, then it became a matter of professional honour.

No one screws with Mossad. Ever. Especially not a bunch two-bit amateurs who fondly referred to themselves as CIS Intelligence. That was just embarrassing.

While not ideal from a timing perspective, the chaos of the invasion would have made it unlikely the hit would be traced back to Mossad. Random looters or even a simple stray round would be more likely explanations in these conditions. Once the target was down, they'd sit tight and wait for coalition troops to pass by their position before getting out of town using pre-arranged covers as war reporters.

It hadn't gone down like that. While scouting the target's house, a two-man patrol of Driod soldiers had spotted them climbing a wall and had opened fire, assuming they were looters. Ziva and her partner, Eyal Lavin, had returned fire but he'd been hit in the leg, the heavy rifle round nicking an artery or something from the sheer amount of blood. If he didn't get proper medical help soon, Eyal would bleed out.

She'd dragged him back to this building and secured a makeshift tourniquet and bandage before calling Tel Aviv on a secure satellite phone and reporting in. Mossad HQ had told her to stay put, that they were going to try something a little off the wall.

Unbeknownst to Ziva, her father had called a friend and contact in the OAG intelligence community; specifically, Doug Brown, and damn near begged for help. Brown, surprised that a legendarily stubborn bastard like Eli David would beg for anything at all, cleared it with his superior, CENTCOM's commander General Franks, and checked to see who was in the area; re-tasked a nearby SF patrol, then informed Tel Aviv.

All Ziva knew was that their handler had told her that extraction was a few minutes away, and the challenge response.

The result, from Ziva's point of view?

Deliverance. In the form of four heavily armed open top Land Rovers, engines purring loudly in the quiet night, slowing to a halt outside the shop.

Then, in a British accent, "Charlie Charlie!"

With great relief, Ziva answered. "Oscar Oscar! Up here!"

The English guy continued, "Okay, I'm coming up."

A clattering of booted footsteps announced his arrival on the second floor. The door swung open, admitting a six foot five soldier in bulky armour and helmet, the desert uniform outlining him in the dark room like a ghost. A very well-armed one.

"Higher said you had a casualty. How bad is he?"

"Bad." Ziva replied, getting up from the window. "He's hit in the leg, I had to put a tourniquet on." For some reason, the guy seemed familiar but she couldn't place where ...

"Roegr, Archer! T-One casualty, catastrophic bleed, right thigh. Room at the top of the stairs."

From outside, a muffled, "Coming boss!"

The Delta commander flicked a flashlight over the room, settling on the cowering civilians, a husband, wife and two kids, in the back corner. "Oh hell. Wn'hun luun y'edyke, t'kun had'eha."

Geonosian. 'We're not going to hurt you, be calm.' Impressively fluent too.

The father still looked scared, but nodded.

Two more men burst in, both in blue and silver Mandalorian armour. One went straight to Eyal, the other started unfolding a stretcher. The first man, the commander she assumed, also joined the medic, to give him light to work with. The outburst that followed was unexpected, to say the least.

"Eyal! Son of a … wake up! Eyal!."

Wait, he knows Eyal?

Groaning, Lavin opened his eyes, drowsy from the morphine she'd given him. "Luke? What the hell are you doing here?"

"Pulling your ass out of the fire, man. I thought you were with Sayeret Matkal?"

"How about that?" Even drugged to the gills on morphine, Eyal wasn't going to give anything away, even to an apparent friend.

"Fair enough. Sergeant, how long?"

The medic finished wrapping another bandage around Eyal's thigh, and checked the tourniquet. "Seems fine. We need to get him to the VTOL ASAP, sir, before he loses his leg to the tourniquet."

"Got it. Get him on the stretcher, then into the back of Ordo's vehicle. You, miss …?"

"Ziva."

The flashlight spun to her face, blinding her for a moment. "Ziva David? I knew I knew that voice!"

Wait, what the hell? The only member of the Delta I've ever met was that guy in Eilat ...

Oh. Eyal called him Luke, so ...

"Officer Sparrow, I presume?"

"Commander now, Miss David. Jesus, it's like old home week around here."

"You know both of them, boss?"

"Yeah. Talk about coincidences. Met Ziva here during a terrorist attack in Isreal back when I joined the Military," Luke was interrupted by his radio, to which he listened for a few seconds.

"Move it lads, Ordo says he can see enemy infantry a few hundred metres back the way we came, but they haven't seen us yet. Ziva, you'll ride with me. Roegr, stay with the casualty when you've got him loaded."

"Yes sir. Archer, ready?"

"Yep, on three. One, two, three!" They hefted the stretcher and manoeuvred it down the stairs, with Ziva and her newly re-acquainted saviour following, after telling the Geonosians not to call the authorities, and apologising to them for the blood.

Of all the strange coincidences …

Luke shook his head as he slid into the driver's seat of One Zero. Very few things in the intelligence community were random events, but sometimes it was just too ludicrously improbable for anything else.

Meeting up with Ziva and Eyal - with whom he'd exchanged some emails since their joint training exercise - in the middle of war-torn Geonosis? Not even Mossad could have come up with a plan so convoluted it required one of their agents to be shot just so they could be rescued by a foreign spec ops team that might never have been sent in at all.

Still, it might become irritating. Not Ziva's fault of course, but OAG Military intelligence had blocked several increasingly Machiavellian attempts by Mossad's deputy director to find and get his hands on Luke's unredacted file in the last few months. It seemed he was an item of some interest to Ziva's father, an unknown quantity, a wildcard who might change the game.

And if there is anything spymasters dislike, it is an unknown element in their future schemes.

Luke had a feeling this little rescue op - the second time Luke had saved his daughter - would heighten that curiosity.

Even as he was putting the DPV into gear and moving out, Luke reached across to Ziva's side of the vehicle and retrieved the radio handset. Ziva herself was already manning the LMG-5 in a very professional manner without needing to be told how. No longer the shaken-up partly-trained girl like she was Eilat, it seemed.

"King Cobra, Mike One Zero. Message, over."

 _"Mike One Zero, King Cobra Actual. Send traffic."_

Jesus, the three-star's still on the line? He must be very interested in this rescue op.

"Secondary mission complete, friendlies retrieved, one wounded. Extracting to LZ Alpha now, ETA one hour, over."

 _"Copy that, Mike One Zero. Stalker One One and One Two will be at LZ Alpha in seven zero minutes, repeat seven zero minutes."_

"Copy extraction in seven zero minutes. Mike One Zero out."

Luke clipped the handset on his side, nearer to hand. "So, following in the family business, Ziva?"

"Yes," was her clipped answer. "How do you know Eyal?"

"Joint training mission with Sayeret Matkal, two years ago," Luke answered easily as he drove one handed around a car abandoned in the street. "Just before that incident in Eilat."

Ziva closed her eyes for a moment. The pain, grief and raw anger of Talia's death still remained, barely decreased. She'd channelled it into her Mossad training, which combined with the 'training' her father had given her in her childhood had accelerated her through the basic programme.

"I'm sorry about your sister, Ziva." The British officer said, in a quiet tone that barely carried over the engine noise. "I didn't really say it properly that night."

Ziva looked over at him, evaluating him properly. She'd been first embarrassed, then panicked, then grieving the last time they'd met. She'd admit the memory of him protecting her, with his own body no less, and gunning down those terrorists who tried to kidnap her had risen to the surface a few times during training, mostly when she was being introspective - weak, her father would call it - wondering if joining Mossad had been the right thing, if she'd done it for the right reasons.

She'd applied even before that bloody night in Eilat, but Talia's death had twisted her thoughts more than she'd thought. Whereas before she'd thought of joining Mossad in terms of serving her country, Ziva had come to realise she now saw it as a means of revenge, which was decidedly not conducive for a long career, or other important things, like continued breathing. She was still working through that rough patch when this mission came up; her first, with Eyal along as her training officer and partner.

She'd often wondered why Luke bothered to protect her that night. Sure, he was in the firing line too, but he'd gone well out of his way to save her, even using his own body to shield her in the street, and again behind the hotel desk. He'd had no reason to sacrifice his life for hers - hell, he hadn't even known her name for most of it, and she'd had a gun to his head! She was of course thankful, but that unthinkingly altruistic attitude had intrigued her, made her wonder if she could ever act so selflessly.

Looking at him now, it was clear he was a soldier to the core. He was in his natural element, comfortable in the directed chaos of warfare, secure in the knowledge that he knew how to manage the chaos, how to steer his team through the dangers as best he could and accomplish the mission. In fact, it was so obvious she wondered how on earth she hadn't seen him for what he was when she first caught sight of him in that club. She turned back to the machine gun.

A few seconds later they pulled out of the side streets and across the main road west of Golbah, and all hell broke loose.

Luke cursed his stupidity as they pulled out onto the road … and not twenty metres away to the left was the lead vehicle of that slow-moving Geonosian convoy Thiyanx had spotted earlier. He should have stopped short and checked the route was clear, dammit. Too late now.

"CONTACT LEFT! ENGAGE ENEMY VEHICLES!"

Thiyanx, apparently prescient, already had his HMG swung in the right direction. He immediately squeezed the double-thumb butterfly trigger of the M2, the heavy calibre rounds pulverising the engine and cab of the pickup-truck technical in the lead, with a CIS-made light machine gun mounted on its roof. The enemy gunner didn't stand a chance, as the armour-piercing-plasma-high-explosive (HEPAP) bullets punched straight through the thin metal of the unarmoured vehicle and turned the driver, the gunner and the four men crouching in the cargo bed into so much mincemeat, before moving onto the next truck.

Ziva joined in a half-second later, the 7.62mm LMG-5 spitting tracers into the driver's compartment of the second vehicle, a canvas-sided three-ton military truck. Luke was very aware of her vulnerability right now - she was completely unprotected, as the SF-modded Land Rovers had no doors, and little armour. She didn't even have personal body armour like he and his men did.

Staying professional, he issued orders into the radio net in a calm voice as he accelerated straight across the dual carriageway. There are very few things more panic-inducing to a military unit than a superior officer losing his cool on the radio, even for truly elite soldiers like the Mandalorians.

"All vehicles, breakaway, breakaway! Suppress the enemy, maximum rate fire and Stay. On. My. Six."

Thiyanx continued to rake the remainder of the convoy with HMG fire, but Ziva's dashboard-mounted LMG-5 now couldn't traverse around far enough as they had crossed the road and were heading back out into the desert.

The droids seemed to be recovering, as infantry dismounted from the trucks and spread out to either side of the road.

Their cohesion lasted only momentarily, however, as first Mike One Two, with another HMG, then Mike One Three, with the automatic grenade launcher, sped out of the side street behind the Javlin-equipped Mike One One, which, armed with anti-tank missiles, wasn't equipped for firing on infantry. The second HMG immediately started chewing up the sand and tarmac around the dispersing soldiers, while the rapid-fire 40mm grenades marched small explosions up and down the convoy.

Needless to say, the not-very-well-trained and badly-led Geonosian conscripts panicked.

The four Land Rovers sped off as fast as the terrain would allow. It was rocky, but within the tolerances of the suspension and ground clearance, which made for a fast but rather bouncy ride.

Two hundred metres into the desert, a tracer from a BIG gun zipped past overhead.

"Shit! AAT REAR! At the back of the convoy!"

"Engage with Javlin." Luke ordered. "All vehicles split up, all heavy weapons focus on the AAT to throw his aim off."

Thank god for shitty CIS equipment, Luke thought as he stamped yet again on the accelerator and spun the wheel left.

Another enemy shell chewed up the ground between One Zero and One One, now thirty metres behind and stationary to allow the anti-tank launcher to be stabilised.

A few seconds later came the 'THUMP-hiss' of the Javlin wire-guided missile being fired. Given the short range and high speed of the projectile - 200 metres a second - the missile impacted the side armour AAT before the gunner could fire again.

The first-stage charge, designed to defeat modern first-layer explosive reactive armour, punched straight through, allowing the main warhead to detonate inside the vehicle instead of blowing though the second armour layer as normal; this was about six inches away from its ammunition storage and two feet from the fuel tank.

A Deuterium fuel tank, as it happened. Very volatile stuff Deuterium.

The resultant explosion was impressive to say the least. The armoured turret blasted ten metres straight up on a pillar of white-orange fire, flipped at the top of its arc, and came down the wrong way up, next to the vehicle it originated from. The rear door and drivers hatch also burst open, and the AAT ignited in white-hot flames that would burn for days, probably.

 _"Target destroyed,"_ said a very satisfied voice on the net.

"Good shooting," Luke answered. "All Mikes, regroup at Checkpoint Alpha in fifteen, out."

Sixty-four minutes after picking up the Mossad operatives, Patrol Mike One pulled into a defensive formation a hundred metres from the landing zone.

"So, what exactly were you doing in Golbah?" Ziva asked, after he'd turned the engine and checked in with the other vehicles.

"Prisoner raid." Luke jerked a thumb at the other jeeps. "ONI got intel on a meeting at Rachni's house in Golbah, and some sketchy reports that the biggest fish around might be swimming in."

"You caught Poggle?"

"No such luck. We got Tikriti, and Rachni. No sign of Poggle."

"Damn. That would have been a good break for you guys." Ziva commented.

"True. I'm just as happy he wasn't there, really. Probably would have had better guards, and more of them. We're very good, but it only takes a lucky shot and suddenly I'm a man down with a casualty to extract. Doesn't matter how elite you are, a laser taking a chunk out of you is going to take you out of the fight."

"Yeah. I'm … familiar with that now." Ziva said tiredly. "Which one has Eyal in?"

Luke swung out. "Follow me."

He led her over to One One. "How's he doing, Sergeant?"

"Stable for the moment boss. I've replaced the emergency tourniquet with a proper, wider one of ours - tightened it before removing the first one. Blood loss is minimal; he shouldn't lose the leg."

"Good." Luke checked his watch as Ordo joined them. "Warbirds here in five, Colour."

"Great. This was easier than most, but that last bit was a tad hairy."

"It's the job we chose, Ordo."

"And I'm getting too old for it. Now what's this about you knowing our Israeli guests, sir?"

"Well, I did a joint training mission with Eyal here in Israel couple years back. I met Ziva at the end of that, on leave in Eilat down on the Red Sea, in that shootout I mentioned. Insurrectionist remnants tried to kidnap her, rather incompetently."

"Huh. Small galaxy, it seems." Ordo nodded to Ziva, then looked up and gestured to the West. "There they are."

The thudding beat of repulse engines could indeed be heard. "Okay, same two pairs as before Colour."

"You got it, sir."

A few minutes later saw the two Land Rovers driven up into the bellies of the Warbird HLV, tied down and secured. Luke and Ziva stayed in the front seats while the rest of Luke's men crashed on the deck, the two of them talking privately through intercom headsets kindly separated from the rest of the net by the loadmaster for the trip home. Four hours of flying definitely gave them time to chat.

Luke was reticent, at first, aware that his file - to Mossad, at least - was thin at best, and wanting to keep it that way. But he still opened up a bit, telling her about his life and stories from his time in the Expeditionary Force, though none of it in great detail. Ziva also relaxed quite a bit, talking about her own childhood and amusing anecdotes from IDF service. Eventually, she got around to asking something that, up until she asked it, she hadn't actually realised she wanted to know.

"Why do you do this?"

"What, soldiering?"

"Yes."

"Why did you join Mossad?"

Evasion. Answering questions with questions.

"You first."

Sparrow - Luke, she corrected herself, laughed. "Damn. Well … a good friend of mine once said I have a 'saving-people thing.' Joining the military … seemed like a logical extension of that."

Ziva looked at him curiously. He noticed. "Does that surprise you?"

"I was expecting something along the lines of 'for God, Queen and Country.'" Ziva admitted. "By 'saving people' do you mean other soldiers, or anybody?" Given his actions in Eilat, she had a fairly good idea of which, but wanted to be sure.

"Anyone," he said firmly. "Anyone who needs it, who deserves it."

"So you're judge, jury, executioner?"

He grimaced. "I suppose, in a way, although I don't usually see it like that. I just have to make my own decisions out here. On the surface, to the public back home, the world's a reasonably happy place. Government's accountable, mostly transparent, democracy rules, etcetera, etcetera. But we don't live in that world, do we? We're in the shadows, fighting battles no-one will ever hear about, in a war that will never end."

"The clone War?"

"No, not just the Clone War. Since the Insurrectionist wars, there has only been one year where no OAG soldier has died in combat with the, or perhaps more accurately, an enemy - 2601, if you're interested. History remembers the big conflicts, but the general public hasn't really recognised yet that war is no longer about states battling in the open for economic or political supremacy. The new war is in the shadows; and as I said, it'll probably never end. It may wax and wane in intensity, but for people like us, the covert warriors, there's always going to be some new threat to track down and eliminate. Doesn't matter if that's a terrorist, a drug kingpin or a black market weapons dealer - there will always be those who profit off, or find power from playing off people's misery; and most of the galaxy is pretty miserable. That produces desperate people, and desperate people often lash out or do other stupid things, which requires our governments to send people like us to deal with them in order to protect our citizens, preferably away from the public eye so the stock market doesn't take a hit, which would cause economic damage to livelihoods, and so on and so forth, since everything is interconnected these days. There's a George Orwell quote that's rather relevant to this, you probably know it."

"The rough men."

"Yep."

"Is that how you see the War? Economic and political, rather than fundamentalism? Republic vs Separatist? Jedi vs Sith?"

Luke snorted. "Jedi vs Sith? The Sith platform is phrased in traditional Sith fundamentalist terms, sure, and I have no doubt that it's not 'just for show'. But their end objective is the formation of a Sith controlled galaxy - that's political and economic, not just ideological. Nations require rulers, and budgets, and economies, and laws. Their much-beloved code or Law is by all accounts is medieval, completely outdated and frankly the top extremist Sith leaders and Sith followers have probably realised it - after all, the Sith theocracy hasn't done all that well since the Old Republic, have they? The Fundamentalists' spend as much time trying to find loopholes in or simply outright ignoring the tenets of the Sith to attack their political - and more importantly, their Sith political opponents than they do fighting us. Obviously its more complex than that, but that's something to chew on."

He turned back to her, smirking. "Red herring's over. Your turn to answer."

Ziva shrugged. "I asked because ... because I don't know why I want to do this job. Or more precisely, I'm not sure why."

"Hmm … hate and anger will lead to the dark side, you know." Luke said, remembering a brief conversation with Jedi Master Yoda.

Ziva stared at him. "How on earth did you get that from one sentence?"

"When I mentioned Eilat before, you looked … sad, I guess. Not really something I can put my finger on, I just saw it."

"You don't miss anything, do you."

"Missing stuff gets you killed in this business." Luke grimaced. "Like I should have parked up out of sight and recced the road before just driving straight across in front of that convoy like a complete FNG. You're deflecting again, give it up."

"You're right." Ziva admitted. "I haven't been able to separate Tali's death …" she stopped to take a breath, which proved her point really, "from the job. When I train, or get handed a mission, all I see is a way to hit back at the mamzers who murdered my little sister."

"And that's the trick, isn't it? Sorting out the job from the anger."

"Any ideas?"

Luke shrugged just like Ziva had done. "I don't have all the answers, and this one is yours to find. You need to sit down and figure out why you're doing this. If the answer's purely revenge, that might be a problem. If revenge is only a part of it, then you need to learn to control it; to channel it and ride the tiger, so to speak, or to block it completely. Either way, you need to recognise when you're motivated by revenge and not duty."

"Duty." Ziva repeated, thinking about it. "Strangely, I don't think I'd thought of it like that. Service to my country and people, yes. Revenge, yes. Duty … not so much. I wonder why?"

"Duty is a defined as a moral obligation," Luke looked at her piercingly. "I doubt your father cares much for ethics."

Ziva flushed slightly and looked away as she worked out what he was implying, that her father's endless lectures and 'training' of her and her sister - that she'd just told him a bit about - had indoctrinated her to a life of 'service' in Mossad and to Israel as a whole rather than instilling an ethical responsibility to the same, that would have made it a choice she'd made rather than him. A man who rose as high as Eli David in an agency famed for its ruthless devotion to Israel's security probably didn't care much for ethical quandaries in his work … or raising his children.

What does that make me? A slave to my father's manipulations?

"But that doesn't define you." Luke continued, as if he'd read her thoughts. "You're good at this, Ziva. You're well trained, cool under fire. Don't throw the idea of 'service to Israel' away just because your father put the idea in your head. Just make sure you recognise that it's a duty, as well. Make the choice to serve your own."

"What does that mean, though? That I should decide which orders to follow?"

"Yes," Luke answered bluntly, surprising her, before shrugging. "And no. We aren't mindless drones. 'I was just following orders' wasn't a defence at Nuremberg for the Holocaust, and it doesn't work now either - especially not for Israelis given the context of that example, no offence intended."

"None taken. A point well made." Ziva nodded, then raised an eyebrow. "Anything more to say? You are, how do they say, on a turn here."

"I do, actually." Luke told her mock-reprovingly. "And it's 'on a roll.' What I was going to say was that a good soldier follows orders, but in my opinion the best soldier knows when to disobey them. Orders can be illegal, or unethical, or just plain wrong if your superiors don't have all the information that you might have on the ground. So follow orders, but actually think them through too, if you have the time, which won't always be the case. At the end of the day, we are responsible for our own actions, and the consequences rest on our own shoulders, not those who give the orders."

Sunlight burst in through the left hand windows, as the loadmaster pushed up the covers on the windows. A brand new day.

"How far from Camp Udairi?" Luke asked him.

"Thirty minutes, sir."

"Fantastic, thanks." Luke turned back to Ziva.

"Found some answers, I hope? Half an hour more of free consultation time, beyond that the rates for my Dr Phil impression go up quite a bit."

Ziva laughed, a lighter, genuine laugh, feeling happier and more secure than before. She might not have the exact answers just yet, but she was a hell of a lot closer than she'd been before this mission. "Thanks. I needed that. All of that."

Luke grinned at her, the harsh scars and weathered look vanishing, leaving behind a man about her age with a wide, genuine smile. He had his secrets, she was sure, but there was no way in hell Luke Sparrow was anything less than totally honest and honourable in everything he did. Of that, she was completely certain. There was a spark there, an indomitable will and commitment to his principles she was sure nothing would ever break.

Of course, it didn't hurt he was pretty easy on the eyes, despite the tiredness and the dust.

 _Codex Update_

 _Vigil_ _-class corvette_

 _Vigil_ _-class corvette contained some weapons at the dorsal area of the ship, as well as a large dish. The command deck was flush with the hull near the main drive thrusters, providing a smaller profile. The corvettes mounted three twin heavy Plasma turrets on the dorsal hull, along with three twin light Plasma turrets. Various Plasma cannons used in an anti-Starfighter role were scattered around the hull. It has a crew of 2000 men and can carry 2000 troops with consumables for 1 year. Its main role is electronic warfare, intelligence gathering and Starfighter command and control hub._

 _Gladiator I-class Star Destroyer_

 _The_ _Gladiator_ _-class was a small Star Destroyer. A ventral protrusion on the hull appeared to cover the ship's main reactor, but was also the location of several cannons. The class had two main thrusters and no visible secondary thrusters. It possessed an array of capital-grade torpedo or Archer missile launchers and Plasma Cannon emplacements. Torpedo loading bays were located deep inside the ships, with automated loading arms controlled from a console next to the conveyor belt that fed munitions to the launchers. The total number of guns installed was 25 light Plasma Cannons, 10-point defense plasma cannons, 10 medium Archer missile launchers. The Star Destroyer class was characterized by its extensive hangar area, with an opening in the bow of the vessel, that split the forward superstructure in two. The hangar had enough room for several Starfighters to enter or exit at the same time._ _A complement of 24 fighters was usually carried to support small frontier worlds and attack pirates. It was manned by a crew of 1225 men and could carry 2000 troops. It had consumables for two years and was 500m long._

 _Warbird HT/HLV_

 _The Warbird Heavy Transport was a larger version of the Warbird VTOL. It was mainly used to transport the Vehicles of the OAG. The Warbird Heavy Lifting VTOL was used to transport either larger than normal amounts of troops or Special forces team with their Light armoured Vehicles._


	19. The Prototype

**The First Contact War**

Chapter 19

The Prototype

' _being a good person does not depend on your religion, status, race, colour, political views or culture. It depends on how you treat others'_

2623 February 22nd Earth Standard Calendar, Sergeant Ghost on OAG research facility on Algolis.

" _I need you to be strong – strong enough to do what you've never done in your life. Can you be strong enough to allow yourself to be… can you just be human?_ "

These words echoed through the head of the marine. Sergeant Ghost a marine in the Hades Corps of the OAG Corps of Engineers, a marine that was known for being cold, and somewhat sadistic, showing little to no emotion towards anything especially in battle.

These words were from a marine that died in his arms, and Ghost himself died inside. Her words echoed through his head as he vowed to avenge his entire platoon. After this disastrous event he was negatively known among the other marines.

Ghost had brown eyes, and black hair. He was wearing the normal OAG marine outfit and carried a AC160 Assault Rifle. Ghost along with other Marines from the Hades Corp were deployed to destroy navigation material and prototype weapons so it wouldn't fall into enemy hands or in this cause the Separatists.

Droid fighters flew overhead, being shot down and marines were shooting at the droids and vice versa. It was a true war zone on Algolis.

"Damn it man, what are you still doing here? Command has declared a full retreat" One marine said as the other one took cover after firing a round of plasma.

"We can't pull out. The civilians maybe on the way out of here but there is a core of engineers out there and I am not leaving them behind" The younger marine said.

"It's not up to you" The older marine of the two said. "Cole Protocol has been enacted, let's move it" The older marine said as the braced themselves from an explosion.

"The shuttles…" The more experienced marine said looking towards said shuttles.

One shuttle lifted off the ground into the skies but a shot down with a laser from one of the Separatist ships. HMP gunships flew in and dropped off their troops.

"If this fighting keeps up we are going to be good as dead" The marine told his younger comrade. "We got to stick it out and pray they get us some evac… let's go"

The marine who started walking away turned asked the younger man a question. "Who is left behind?"

"What?"

"Answer me soldier, what's the name of the group!"

"It's the Hades Corp, there are at hanger 10:30 and they say they're not leaving until they destroy the prototype of some weapon system" The marine said as he pointed towards hanger 10:30.

"Demolition squad… I should have known" The other said looking at hanger. "Ghost"

Meanwhile in another part of the battlefield a sniper took a shot at the enemy.

"If the Cole Protocol had been enacted why the hell are we stranded on the frontline?" The sniper asked the other who was firing at the enemy behind cover.

"We are pinned down here and now the Sarge is missing… we're screwed" The sniper's friend said.

"No, we were sunk from the beginning" The sniper said as his partner turned to him.

"What?"

"On his last assignment our _fearless_ leader let his entire platoon go down. They got wiped out in a single firefight, Sarge didn't even flinch"

"Yeah well I guess that's why they call him the Ghost then isn't it and why the brass always decides to put him in charge of demolition jobs because he's not even HUMAN!"

The two marines were hit by an explosion from a separatist tank. "Come on don't die on me, come on!"

The sniper took a depth breath of air. "I can't believe these sons of bitches left us behind"

The blonde marine holding the sniper looked to see a wave of incoming Separatist forces. "This is it" The marine said as the two closed their eyes and waited for their deaths however they turned towards the hangers.

An explosion from hanger 10:30 followed by something flying out of the explosion landing in front of the two marines. The two marines stared at the figure it front of them.

The figure looked like a power suit coloured black with a yellow coloured visor yellow pads. It looked similar to the MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armour that would be produced in the future.

This was the HRUNTING/YGGDRASIL Mark I Prototype Armour Defence System. It had Dynamic Local Dissipative Shield, Titanium alloy plating, Nanocomposite titanium fibres, am motion sensor of 75 meters (with an optional range of more than 400m), lock-on, and red square targeting.

Its weapons were a T261 Lucifer Arm-Mounted Gatling Gun, 5 LAU-1810/SGM-151, a M149 Magellan RCL, 6 Type 18 Magnetic/Bayonet-style Claymore, and a jetpack.

The two marines stared in awe at this towering behemoth. "I can't believe it" said the sniper.

"Oh my god" Said the other marine. "It's the prototype suit, but who the hell is driving it?"

"Ghost to Hades Corp, fall back immediately" The operator of the prototype said as the red square targeting homed in on the droids. "Ignore the CIS, I'll hold them off, nobody is dying here"

"You heard him let's go" Said the blonde marine as the other looked at him.

"You idiot" The sniper said. "He is not supposed to be testing that suit he is supposed to destroy it"

Ghost ran forward at the Wraith that was firing at him and jumped to its side and pulled out one of the Type 18 Magnetic/Bayonet-style Claymores and stuck it into the AAT and jumped away as it blew up.

 _"Can you hear me sergeant?"_ A voice asked Ghost. _"What do you think you're doing? Your orders are to destroy the suit and all related data. You are disobeying direct orders!"_

"No sir, I am following my orders" Ghost replied to the commander.

 _"Explain"_ The commander said.

"I have destroyed all the data and I am using the time left on this suit to safely evac my people" Ghost said as he brought up the T261 and began firing at an incoming fighter. "I'm not leaving until every one of my men are safely off-"

 _"That is not the plan, I am ordering you to stand down and-"_

"There's no other choice. The mission cannot be jeopardized" Ghost said as he mowed down droids with the mounted gun. "And I am still responsible for these marines"

"Wait Sergeant, Ghost! Listen to me!"

' _I lost my entire platoon, every one of my men and that's when it happened. That's when I truly became a ghost'_ Ghost said as he remembered holding the corpse of the woman. _'Just a shadow surrounded by death'_

Ghost continued to fire at the droids before him. "The suit has a staggered countdown. In order to trigger final detonation, the system requires a voice command" Ghost fired a missile from the LAU at the droid MBT.

"You designed it that way for a reason… didn't you?" Ghost rhetorically asked as he used his shield to block an attack from a gunship before firing 105mm HE Rounds from the M149 at the said gunship.

 _"Ghost…"_

"Just get my men of this planet. This is Ghost over and out" Ghost then cut off the communications as his targeting system locked onto the droids.

Using his jetpack, Ghost flew into the air as he shot two rounds of the M149 at another fighter and another at a second one that attempted to outmanoeuvre the missile unsuccessfully. Ghost flew towards a gunship and after landing on the top of the CIS ship began firing the M149 a few times destroying the HMP gunship.

Ghost stood in the wreckage and turned to see enemy fire, he used his shield to block the rocket shot from a launcher. Using the arm mounted gun to kill the clanker before using his arm to punch the top half of a super battle droid of the bottom half.

Shooting a HE Round into the neck of a spider droid he turned around to the B1 droid missing the spider droid blow up from the inside. Many B1 droids and super Battle droids fired at the marine who was using his arm to block after his shield broke and need to recharge.

After an explosion Ghost was sent flying backwards missing an arm as the droids held up their weapons before moving in on the marine.

"What's the matter Ghost? Why can't you move?" Ghost asked himself. "I made up my mind that day, the night I let my platoon die. Looked up at those moons and something died inside me, a conscience, something that gets in the way… that's all a soul is, an obstacle, something to overcome" He said as he lied there staring at the moons remembering his makeshift funeral for the marine who died in his arms.

"I can't atone for failing to protect them" Ghost watched as he saw two shuttles fly away into the sky. Forcing himself up the countdown finished and was awaiting the verbal command.

 _"Speak the voice command exactly as displayed"_ The computerized voice said. Ghost looked at the code word, Be Human.

 _He remembered the last words of the dying marine. "One last thing, what was I to you?"_

 _"A soldier with a promising future ahead of you"_

 _"And you're a ghost, aren't you"_

 _"What?"_

 _"Feelings pass right through you don't they" She asked as she looked into his eyes. "So cold and unforgiving in every choice you made in battle, you're a soldier. I think that's what let us trust you-"_

 _"Don't talk, save your strength"_

 _"I don't need it" She said shocking Ghost. "I need you to be strong, strong enough to do what you never done in your life. Can you be strong enough to allow yourself to be … Can you just be human?" She asked with tears._

 _"If not for your sake but for all of us… if you just allowed yourself to feel something maybe you wouldn't be a ghost any longer"_

Ghost looked at the code word as the words of the woman echoed through his mind. Ghost looked down before looking back up with a smirk on his face. "Voice commanded authorization. Be human" The computer registered the voice command.

"And for one last instant I'm human again" Ghost said.

The prototype suit sparked before a large explosion engulfed the battlefield as the last shuttle escaped the planet.

 _"Transmission from orbit around Algolis, Cole Protocol enforced, and accompanying navigational databases eliminated. The soldier I previously recommended for military court martial is… I redact that portion of my earlier report. That soldier is officially missing in action, lost during heavy combat on Algolis. He demonstrated honourable conduct not only as a marine but also as a human being. We're heading for rendezvous with OAG Heart of Midlothian, over and out"_


	20. Operaton Red Wings

**The First Contact War**

Chapter 20

Operation Red Wings

 _"The soldier above all prays for piece, for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war" General Douglas MacArthur_

 _2623 Febuary 26th Earth Standard Calendar, CDR. Luke Sparrow, Tarhassan FOB Athena_.

Luke was in his room, sleeping when Luke was rudely woken up by Hex. Luke felt someone grab his shoulders and shake them as Luke stuffed his head under his pillow. Luke groaned and shrugged the person off but they kept shaking him.

"Come on, Luke. Get up."

"What?" Luke poked his head out from under his pillow, keeping the warm blankets around his body.

Hex sat next to him on his bed and shoved her laptop in his face. Luke saw it was a picture of two Arabian horses running alongside the beach. Luke look at up her with an irritated expression, shrugging his shoulders and shaking his head, not knowing what she wants.

"My cousin wants me to get these for her wedding present. Should I get 'em?"

"The hell should I know? Do I look like the kind of guy who knows anything about a wedding? Jesus."

"Well forgive me for wanting a second opinion."

Luke sighed as he tossed his hands in the air. "I don't know, Hex. It would cost a lot of money but it would make her happy. If it were me, I would want them but I wouldn't get them 'cause I know I would need the money later in life for a house and stuff. But, do whatever you want, it's not my life."

"Well, thanks for not being much help." Hex mumbles as she got up and starts to walk out his room.

"Wait!"

She turned around, with raised eyebrows. "What?"

"Is that all you wanted? That's the reason you woke me up?"

"Yeah." She shrugged her shoulders like it wasn't a big deal.

Luke flipped him off and growl as she walked out, "Fuckin' asshole."

Luke raised his head a bit to see what time it was and groaned again when he saw it's almost nine in the morning. He plopped back in his bed and stuff his head under the pillow, covering himself back up with the blankets, hoping nobody else will come in. He knew it was time to wake up for everyone and breakfast was about to be served but he just wanted to sleep. They would usually go in each other's rooms and wake 'em up, not caring that they were asleep.

He was almost asleep again when the door slammed open, making him jump. He let out a small yell as he turns to see who it was but he relaxed and closed his eyes once more when he only saw Riley. He heared his footsteps coming towards him and gently shakes him.

"Come on, Luke. Time to wake up, Vode and Baatir are doin' their run and we gotta be there for breakfast."

Luke swated his hands away, burying himself further into the bed. Luke heard Riley sigh and take a few steps back. "Do I have to dump water on you? You know I will."

"Go away." Mumbled Luke.

"Alright but you asked for it."

Luke heard the footsteps fade away in the distance and felt like he was allowed to sleep again. But the second later Luke heard Riley's footsteps coming again. He was confused for a moment; _he always threatens me like this but never goes through with them_. Before he could think, a bunch of cold water splashed on top of his head, soaking him. Luke scream as he launched up to his feet, glaring at the bastard.

He was already running out of the room, laughing by the time Luke could realize he really dumped ice water on him. "You son of a bitch!"

Luke ended up getting dressed and walking out of his room but his hair was still wet. Luke met up with Vode Chorn and they walked outside together and by the time they got out there, it looked like they just got done with their run and Hex was telling them their time's. Vode spoke up first. "Who won?"

"Baatir. Baatir, barely. By one second." Hex informs us.

"Barely? Come on, Hex, you gotta be better than that!" Luke teased.

"Oh, shut up, Sparrow! How about you and me race, see who wins, huh?"

"No, thanks. I don't feel like waking up earlier than usual and running fifty miles." Luke sat down next to Riley and across from Vode as Hex kept standing and Baatir sat next to him.

Vode looked at him funny for a moment and asked "Luke, you take a shower?"

Luke turned to glare at Riley as he starts to smirk. "Close enough. I got woken up by dumbass over here, who poured a bucket of ice water on me."

At that moment, the group laughed and made fun of him for it. Luke shook his head and glared at them, crossing his arms. Once they calmed down, they went back to talking about the racing between Vode and Baatir. "Head shave?" Hex suggests out of nowhere.

"Head shave or what? I don't know, you know? It's something to think about. If I shave his head, I have to focus on his face. Face, ears. Oddly-shaped head." Baatir objected.

"Well, I don't want to be looking at him that close, either, but he has been running his mouth about beating you."

"Really?"

"Fuck, a head shave is fair."

"Riley? Better shave him!" Luke called out while Vode glared at him.

"Make him go eat with the KP, work in the chow hall until it grows back." Riley agreed.

"Frankie, what do you think?" Hex asks one of the guys in our group.

"Why the fuck wouldn't we shave him?"

"That's valid." Baatir points out. "Patton, not that we care, but what do you think? Let me see you make a tactical decision right now."

They all turned to one of the newer kids in the group, who was behind them. "Well, I could see both ways on this. He did lose but he was close. And your Baatir Chorn."

"You are Baatir Chorn. The Baatir Chorn." They all mumble in agreement.

" I would've expected a bigger separation." Patton continues.

"That is a good point." Hex and Luke agreed at the same time.

"Backhand compliment." Baatir whispers. "Patton. Grab my razor."

"Razor, copy that." He gets up and goes to leave but got stopped.

The door opens and it reveals Lieutenant Kristiansen. "Listen up! Red Wings a go. Tonight, eighteen hundred."

That was their unit. Luke nodded his head, not real excited, just like the rest of the guys. "Beautiful." Baatir murmurs.

"Am I going?" Patton asks, excitedly.

"PLO in an hour." Kristiansen continues but then leaves.

"Maybe I'll go!" Patton beams, looking at our group as we walk past him.

"It's a maybe. I'll give you a maybe. Stay optimistic." Hex rejects.

They went to the briefing room to see what the mission is. It shows a picture of an Tarhassanian on the screen, giving them all the information on him. Riley started speaking, their attention on him. "The objective of this mission is to capture and kill Kenfran Stetorr. Bad guy. Senior CIS commander responsible for killing Marines on eastern front now linked up with the resistance group known as Tali. A Tier I target. For this op I'm to be incharge,"

"If you want a positive ID, note that Kenfran has no earlobes." Riley pointed out to everyone.

The screen switches to another picture of a different Tarhassanian as Riley continues. "Taraq. His right-hand man. Seems to do most of his chief shit for him. We're going in on a five-man recon team. Baatir, you'll be point. Myself, I'll be second. Vode, comms. Hex, rear, med. Luke, you be with Hex and back up. Baatir give us our route."

"We're gonna be moving up the backside of this mountain here, which is gonna offer great concealment from the village. I'm estimating that it's gonna take us between three and four hours, depending upon the gradient of the terrain which is that crappy shale." Baatir informed, giving them a diagram on the screen. "So please lace up."

Hex then went up to the board, giving them more information. "First things first. You're gonna win the fight. No medicine in a gun fight. Two weeks ago, Team 8 was near where we're gonna be. Capelli got bit by a snake like creature. Contrary to popular belief, there is poison oak, so watch your cock and balls, 'cause that will suck."

Luke rolled his eyes at her, shaking his head. She could be so childish at time even during a serious moment. That moment, Vode stood up and joins the others up front. "Baatir got the Comms. The angle of this region is very steep. Expect typical comms problems. We're gonna be on two-hour comms windows. If we miss two windows, I'd say wake somebody up. If not, don't sweat it."

Once he is finished, Luke stood up from his seat and went up to the front. "Waypoint one is Budweiser. Waypoint two is Miller. Three is Corona. Four is Heineken. And for our OP 1, Schlitz Malt Liquor. And if and when we ID Kenfran, pass Rick James."

They all sat down once they finished talking, Dommel took their place, standing up front, next to the screen. "Gentlemen, these are your Rules of Engagement. OAG Force will comply with the Law of Armed Conflict at all times. Use of deadly force is authorized. If you do come under attack, use the appropriate force necessary to deter or defeat that threat."

Later that day after the meeting, they assembled in a small room where they went over the plan and timing. Kristiansen has four toy helicopters in his hands and show them what they would be doing are doing. "We take off here at eighteen hundred hours. Two Warbirds and two Superhornets. We fly here to the LZ, insert the five-man team right here. Then we fly thirty minutes to J-Bad. Here, we'll have fifteen team guys and about a dozen Marines standing by all night. When we hear _Schlitz Malt Liquor_ , we're heading back to Bagram for phase two. The QRF will stay here at J-Bad. Now the Superhornets stay with the Warbirds. The movement is so we can get the Warbirds back here ready to bring up to phase two, once you get eyes on Kenfran."

They all nodded to let him know that they understood and he quickly announced, "Oh! I'm bringing up tomorrow night's new guy's presentation to fourteen hundred, today so that all may revel and partake."

They all whistled and cheered, almost making fun of Patton. The look on his face clearly made it known to everyone that he was nervous and frustrated. Luke stood next to Baatir and Riley came up to us and stated, "A lot of moving parts."

"Damn right. I don't know if I'll be able to keep up." Luke agreed.

" You better be able to keep up, Luke. Otherwise one of us or all of us will end up kicking your ass." Baatir declared.

"You wouldn't stand a chance?" Luke mocks.

"One chance or one slip up is all it takes?" He smirked.

Luke pretend to gasp and act hurt for a moment. "How dare you! In case you haven't noticed, I never slip up! And I know that because I have yet to get shot."

Once they got all the information they needed about the mission, they all went outside and sat at a picnic table, eating lunch. Vode was telling them something about his girl back home and something she wants for flooring. "We were going to wait and then she gets her head into it. There's no stopping her, man. She's goin' all out."

"You know what; you should just let her do it." Riley says. "You got a handyman woman. That's a good thing."

"He's afraid of losing control over his castle." Baatir smirked.

"He's having control issues 'cause he's the one who's always made the taste decisions in the family, right?" Hex guesses.

"She's got great taste. I….I trust her." Vode decided.

"Well, what does she like?" Luke asked.

"Rose Honeydew."

"What the hell is that? A colour?"

He nodded his head and Hex objected. "You gotta control that situation."

"It's very ongoing. New grass leads to new bushes by the window, leads to new curtains, leads to new sofa, leads to new carpet, leads to new floor."

"New baby." Riley interrupts.

"Dude, she's pregnant? How far along is she? You know if it's a boy or girl?" They all questioned.

"No, she's not pregnant. She's just on a weird journey, moving through the house, one room to the next."

"Sounds expensive." Hex comments.

"Sounds pregnant." Luke laughed, the boys laughing along but Vode was glaring at him.

"What about you, huh, Luke? Why don't you have a girl, yet? Where's your Damsel?"

"I don't have one 'cause of you guys." They all look confusingly at him, not understanding. "You scare all the girls away! If it wasn't for you four, I would already be married and having children."

"What about me?" inquired Hex.

"You don't count" Baatir quips.

"Oh really? In all the years we've known you; I have never _once_ seen you with another girl." Riley points out.

"Well, then you should have seen me in high school. I was a chick magnet." Luke smirked.

"Alright, now that's the biggest load of bullshit I have ever heard!" Riley lets out.

Luke quickly turned to him, giving him a warning look. Luke shaked his head, silently asking him not to tell them the truth, that he didn't go to high school. All the other guys look between us, looking interested. "Well, then. What was he like back in high school?"

"Riley, don't tell them." Luke hissed.

"Oh, come on! It's not like it'll matter, anyway. It's in the past, they won't judge you." Riley tried to convince him.

"No! Come on, be a buddy here! Don't do it, please. I'm beggin' ya!"

Riley shrugged and looks at the other three with a smirk. "He was the loner. I swear, in school, it was like he was mute. Never talked to anyone, never hung out with anyone, nothing. The only person that would hang out with him was me. And that was because we were neighbours and we were already friends before school. Back in high school he was known as _The Loner_."

Luke banged his head on the table, letting out a big sigh. He felt like his life just got ruined. He hated it when spoke about the fabricated version of his childhood, it sounded so dumb. He felt embarrassed by it, like people would judge him because of it, at least it wasn't the actual truth.

Someone clapped him on the back and gave his shoulder a squeeze. Luke looked to see Vode, who had a kind expression. "Riley's right. It doesn't matter. Look at ya, now! You're always cussing, we can never get you to shut up, and you love to piss us off. Looks like you came a long way."

Luke smiled, knowing they were always there to cheer him up. They finished lunch with lots of jokes and laughter. Soon enough, after lunch, they all assembled in a large room, waiting for Patton to come for his presentation. Luke was sitting in between Vode and Baatir as they waited. Finally, after a few minutes, Patton walked in the door. One of the guys called out, "You're fuckin' late!"

We all sat in recliners as the kid stood in front of everyone and said, "Sir, I'm good to go."

He was about to start but Kristiansen interrupted. "No! You should introduce yourself and tell us something about you we don't know."

Patton nodded his head and started off with, "Alright. Petty Officer…"

The second he says that, everyone started yelling at him, throwing garbage and anything they could find at him. Soon enough, Kristiansen stood up and stopped it. "Hey, settle down. Remember what it was like for you."

"…Petty Officer…" he starts again.

The same exact thing happened except nobody stood up for him. But the kid was smiling as he was trying to dodge some of the garbage. We stopped after a minute and he stood there, not knowing what to do at the moment. "Mr. Patton, please."

He then turned around and music starts out of nowhere. He starts dancing around, making up dance moves. He bobs his head backward and forward like he's a fucking Egyptian. He spins himself and makes some kind of pose with his hands in the air and his ass sticking out. Luke burst out laughing and Vode covered Luke's eyes, not letting him look.

When music stops Luke heard Baatir comment, "Really, really bad."

"Dude, that was traumatizing!" Hex announces. "Look at what you did to our best, over there! He has to shield his eyes!"

Everyone laughs and Vode moves his hand from Luke's face and pats him on the back. Riley stood next to Patton and asks, "Can we vote to push him through? Because I can't see that ever again. Hands up!"

Almost everyone in the room raises their hands, agreeing with him. "Push him through!"

"I don't know. Can he say it?" Baatir questions.

"Can you say it? Prove it." Hex joins.

Patton clears his throat and they wait for him to start. He says he can say it but he hasn't. We all wait silently, watching him as he shuffles his feet nervously up front. Hex shakes her head. "Come on. No more fucking around. Come on."

Patton takes a deep breath and stares at us all for a moment before standing up straight and talks. "I am an Orion Soldier. I am a warrior and a member of a team. I serve the people of the Orion Arm, and live the Marine Values. I will always place the mission first. I will never accept defeat. I will never quit. I will never leave a fallen comrade. I am disciplined, physically and mentally tough, trained and proficient in my warrior tasks and drills. I always maintain my arms, my equipment and myself. I am an expert and I am a professional. I stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy, the enemies of the Orion Arm Government in close combat. I am a guardian of freedom and the Orion way of life. I am an Orion Soldier.."

They all cheer, clapping for him. That was way better than Luke expected. Luke thought the kid was gonna be tripping over his words the whole time, not knowing what to say. Instead, it seemed like he practiced that a hundred times, knowing every word.

 _2623 Febuary 27th Earth Standard Calendar, CDR. Luke Sparrow, Tarhassan FOB Athena_.

Before Luke knew it, we were all loaded up and in gear, waiting for the Warbirds. They all sat around on the cement, waiting when they heard the sound of the repulser engines. They looked up and saw the Warbirds where just about to land near them. They hopped into the chopper and took their seats.

Luke stared hard at the ground as they were in the air. Luke was snapped out of his thoughts by something hitting his foot. He looked down to see another foot slightly nudging his. Luke looked to see who it belonged to and saw Hex across from him, looking nervous.

Luke sent her a concerned glance but Hex merely shook her head signalling she didn't want to talk.

"Something wrong, Hex?"

Hex shook her head again, not making eye contact. Luke thought she might have pre-mission nerves but considering her track record that was unlikely. He too knew something was gonna happen this time and he didn't like it. Luke looked in Hex's eyes as he grabbed her hands and gave them a gentle squeeze as he whispered, "Hey. Hex, what's wrong? Are you ok?"

Hex then looked into his eyes and saw they were filled with concern and care. She took a deep breath before answering, "Something's gonna happen. Remember how I always get this feeling when something bad might happen during a mission? I got this feeling right now and its making me feel sick to my stomach."

"What do you think might happen? One of us gets hit?" Luke asked, taking her fear into account.

"I don't know. I don't wanna think like that but I can't think of anything else that could really go wrong."

"Well…don't worry, alright? We'll look out for each other and we got each other's back. We don't only protect ourselves but we protect the team. Don't forget that."

She smiled gratefully at him as she leans back in her seat and rests, just like the others. Luke stayed awake the whole time as the hours went by. Luke was lost in his thoughts so it seemed the hours went by as minutes. He knew he wouldn't be able to sleep even if he tried. After what Hex said, there were too many possibilities that could happen during this mission.

Soon enough, it was dark and they were getting ready for the mission. Luke was counting down the time for them to jump. One by one, each of them slid down the rope and landed safely on the ground. Once they knew it was clear, and started walking up the mountain, the mission beginning.

Throughout the whole night, they kept tabs on where we were and communicating with the base. The groups feet were starting to hurt after the sun had risen from climbing up the mountain. By the time it was noon, Luke's throat was so dry, it began to hurt and the weight on his back was starting to affect his walking. The whole time, they never talked to each other and only focused on the main task at hand but for the first time in hours, Hex spoke up. "My God, just kill me! I'm dyin' here."

"You givin' us permission to shoot you?" Vode asks, almost excitedly.

"Sure, why not? Load your gun, aim, and shoot me right in the head. That way, you won't need to have me draggin' us behind with my lazy ass." Hex said sarcastically.

"Shut up, hex. We're all tired. Just keep movin' or I'll _let_ Vode shoot you." Simon ordered.

"Fine. But if anyone is to shoot me, at least let it be Luke or Baatir so then I'll die by gettin' sniped. Quick and painless. That's my ideal way of dyin'."

"Really? You actually thought about your way of dying?" Luke questioned.

"Yeah, haven't you guys? We _are_ in the Delta Force, I think we all thought about it at least once. You can't deny it and if you do, then you're lying."

"Alright, then I won't deny it."

Luke chuckled as he saw Baatir stop ahead of them. The rest of them were pretty far behind and Luke saw BAatir was in between a clearing of trees, where he could see whatever there was beyond the mountain they were on. "Hey, Baatir! What do you see up there?"

"Nature." Was the only response Luke got.

Luke rolled his eyes and just as he was about to make a smart remark, Vode beat him to it. "No shit, asshole!"

We stand next to him and Luke saw there is basically nothing but trees and more mountains. Luke couldn't spot any kind of camp or village anywhere near them or in any sight. The five of them slowly and carefully descend down the mountain, careful not to make any bad moves by slipping or yelling so there could be an echo.

They go into our positions, separating except Luke was with Hex and Riley. Luke could hear Baatir doing a radio check through their radio, making sure they were clear. Riley was looking through the binoculars and hands them to Hex, whispering, "Take a peek."

After a second, Hex hands them to me, cursing under his breath. "Shit. Can't see half the village."

Luke looked through the binoculars and see there is a village up ahead, at the bottom of the mountain but the trees were covering most of it, what he could see were a few brick buildings and some people moving around. "God damn it."

Luke handed them back to Riley and he looks through them for a moment before putting them down and sighing. Hex gives him a look, almost taking off her sunglasses. "Find a new spot?"

"Let's try to make that peak." He points over our shoulders and when Luke turns, he saw another mountain, bigger than the one they were already on. "See if that's not better."

"Sounds good." Hex agrees.

"Yeah, if you wanna die by climbing up Mount Everest. That's what it feels like right now, climbing a hundred miles up." Luke retorted.

"Hey, Luke?" Luke turned his attention to Riley, wanting to glare at his friend. "Looks like you're getting in that fifty miles you said you didn't want to run."

"Wow, you're funny. That was so good, I almost forgot to laugh."

The guys chuckle as they all group back up and started walking again. They went up the mountain and after another few hours, they eventualy got to the top. They got to their positions and started to disperse from each other, listening to Rilkey from their radio. "Hex, on me. Vode, take our six. Inform command of our new position. Baatir, eyes on. Luke, look around the village, see if anyone has weapons and make sure nobody is near us on the mountain."

Luke looked around the village and saw a large group of men carrying guns, some of them had knives too. Luke dropped his binoculars and grabbed his radio to contact Riley. "Shit. Riley, it's like an army down there. They all got guns and knives. It looks like they got ready for us, man."

"I know, we see 'em. Make sure nobody is near us, got it?"

"Copy that."

Just as Luke was about to take his binoculars out again and search, he heard Riley on the radio again. "Baatir, you're on surveillance. Vode, fall back to OP 2 and get me some fucking comms. Collins, stay on watch, you see anything suspicious, contact us and start heading down to see what it is."

Luke sighed, leaning against a tree. He look around the mountain and see nothing. All Luke saw was trees and rocks. Everyone in the village is staying in the village. Luke didn't see anyone outside except the men who had the weapons. Maybe the civilians were scared of them or they were all threatened. Luke wondered about them when he heard Baatir through the radio. "Riley, I'm good here. I'm going to break down OP 1."

"Copy that. Listen up, if you can, move to high ground and make comms. Hex, Baatir, shut her down. Vode, you got security. Rest up, gents…and Luke."

He smile as he close my eyes and slouch, finally being able to relax. His peace was interrupted by a noise on the radio. It took him a minute to realize what it was and by that time, he heard Vode on the radio. "Can you get off the radio while you're chewing? You're making me nauseous."

Luke rolled his eyes at Vode as he heard him. "How did you know it was me? It could've been Luke for all you know." Baatir responded.

"Luke isn't as obnoxious and stupid as you, Baatir. It's just a fact, don't cry over it. Also, I didn't specifically say your name, I was just telling whoever was chewing to get off the radio and you're the one who answered, which was a dead giveaway."

"Dude, what the fuck are you even eating?" Luke asked.

"Chocolate."

"You wanna come over to my station and give me some?"

"No, it's mine, get your own!"

"I don't have any chocolate, dumbass. And in case you didn't notice, we're on a mission so I can't get up, go to the base, and get chocolate." Luke snaped.

"What do you want me do?"

Luke groaned, throwing his head back. "Just save me some, will ya?"

"Fine."

"Thank you!"

Luke got back into a comfortable position and closed his eyes again. He took a deep breath and let it out, relaxing and feeling at peace for once after what felt like days but was actually only hours. Luke stayed like that for hours, just sitting there and resting, none of them talking or making noises on the radio. He was actually almost asleep when he heard something. Goats.

Luke sat up and looked around. He nearly yelled when he saw a goat looking creature standing next to him but he kept his mouth shut and slowly got up. He stood up and carefully walked backwards, making sure he didn't trip or make any noises. Soon enough, he heard voices following the goats. He looked and saw Sheppard's coming their way.

There were three of them, the group made no noise or movements as to not be discovered. Two young boys and an old man. One of the older boys was talking and walking backwards at the same time but jumped when he stepped on one of the boys. Luke looked and saw Hex holding her foot and as the boy started running, Baatir tackled him to the ground. They all ran out of our hiding spots, showing their positions.

Luke tied the old man to a tree as Hex tied up the youngest boy. She looked up at me and explained, "Stepped right the fuck on me!"

"I know, I saw."

Baatir was trying to contact someone on the radio as we tied the three people to trees. Luke banged his head against a tree nearby, cussing under his breath. Of all people, this had to happen to us. It turned out, Baatir's radio wasn't working and Riley was getting more pissed by the second.

"So now I'm going to be that guy calling on an unsecure sat line because your shit ain't functioning."

"Talk to the mountain, sir." Baatir responds.

Riley got a connection to base and waited to talk to Kristiansen. He was trying to get their situation across but before they knew it, the line was dropped. He started to try to dial the number again but it wouldn't work. The signal out here in the mountain sucked.

"Well, we could light the goats on fire, smoke signal our way outta here." Hex suggests.

"Yeah, I could walk down to the village, ask to borrow a ship." Vode adds.

"You'd get some interesting tile ideas down there, bro. Dirt Brown, Goat Skin Blond. Shit, she'll dig that a hell of a lot more than, what is it, fuckin' Honey Cream?"

"Not the time to joke around, guys!" Luke warned.

At that moment, the older boy got up and starts to run but Baatir throws him on the ground once more and up against a tree, closer to the group. Luke looked towards Riley and wondered what he had for ideas as leader. "Way I see it, we got three options. One, we let them go, hike up. We'll probably be found in less than an hour. Two, we tie 'em up, hike out, roll the dice. They'll probably be eaten by fucking wolves, or freeze to death."

"Three?" Vode asks.

"We terminate the compromise."

It was silent between the five of them, thinking of the options and what would be best. Baatir was the first to speak his mind. " Kenfran's down there. We let them go, we're lettin' him go. Mission fails."

"No, Riley." Hex objects. "I don't like it. I don't fucking like it at all. What are we gonna do? We gonna kill them? Huh? Ok, we kill them, right? What, then what? Fuckin' bury 'em? They get found, then what?"

"Then what?" Baatir repeats.

"What do you mean, then what?" Hex challenges.

"And then what?"

"What do you think? This shit's gonna be private? Huh? It's gonna be out there for the whole fuckin' galaxy. GNN, ok? _OAG Special Forces kill kids_. That's the fucking story forever."

"It's nobody's fuckin' business what we do up here. We do what we do. What we have to do." Vode jumps in, looking at Riley. "This is the fuckin' EF and you're the fuckin' boss, so you make the fuckin' call, sir."

"Guy's calm down." Luke tryed to stop. "We need to stay calm right now and try to make the most reasonable choice, here."

"Hey, you know what? You have no say in this, Sparrow! This is all your fuckin' fault, anyway!" Hex yells.

"My fault? How is it my fault that three Tali's wandered up here with their goats?!"

"You were supposed to be on the fuckin' look out! It's your fault because you didn't do your fuckin' job! If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't be in this situation right now!"

"I'm sorry but we were all exhausted! It seemed like everything was fine and I never saw anyone near the mountain! I thought we were clear!"

"Yeah, well, clearly, you thought wrong!"

Luke closed his eyes and take a deep breath, clenching his fists and see the guys watching me, waiting for his next move. "What do you want me to do, Hex? Shoot myself as fuckin' punishment?"

"You know, that's a wonderful idea! That would solve a hell of a lot of problems that we have right now!"

He stared at her hard as she glares at him.

"Alright, that's enough, you two! Let's focus on the task at hand here." Riley interrupts.

Thankfully, Baatir stepped in and continued with the main situation we had. " Kenfran killed twenty Marines last week. Twenty. We let him go, twenty more will die next week. Forty more the week after that. Our job is to stop Kenfran. Why do these men have the right to dictate how we do our job?"

"Rules of Engagement says we cannot touch them." Hex quietly says.

"I understand. And I don't care. I care about you. I care about you. I care about you. I care about you." Baatir says, motioning to all of us. "I don't want your mom seeing your head, your decapitated head on this planet's equivalent of Al Jazeera. That is Kenfran."

"I don't see it that way." Hex damn near whispers.

"Where do you think he's running to? Two hundred friends down there."

"Got guys in Leavenworth doing twenty for taking home trophy guns. What do you think they're gonna do with two fucking kids and an old fucking man?"

"Fucking look at them, man. They fuckin' hate us." Vode adds.

"Look at him." Baatir gestures to one of the kids. "That's not a kid, that's a soldier. That's death. Look at death."

"We can't do it. Look at the soldier. They are unarmed prisoners." Hex objects.

"And the second they run down there, we got two hundred Haji's on our backs."

"Tie 'em up. Tie 'em up. Let's get the fuck outta here."

"We can't just fuckin' leave 'em, let 'em go!" Vode shouts.

"I thought you were standing by waiting for your fuckin' orders." Hex points out.

"I am standing by waiting for my fuckin' orders." Vode argues. "Luke, what do you think?"

"Does it really matter what I think?"

He looks at me with a sharp eye, almost glaring at me. "Yes! You're still on this fuckin' team whether you like it or not, whether Hex likes it or not! You're still on the team and we stick together! I'm not letting you take yourself out just because of some fuckin' things that were said, got it? Now, Luke, what do you think?"

Luke almost smiled at the protection and care in his eyes. He knew he was looking out for me and what he said was true. "We can't let 'em go 'cause then we'll be tracked and followed. I don't wanna die up here but I don't wanna kill them. Lives are still lives. Just tie 'em up; let them die on their own. That way, we aren't responsible for them and we don't get tracked."

"What do you think that radio's for?" Baatir snapped. "They're not calling Domino's pizza!"

"I know what the fuckin' radios for!" Hex rolls her eyes.

"That radio's fuckin' Tali." Vode informs.

"It's a cell phone to the Tali." Baatir points down to the village.

"So you just think it'll be our little secret? Huh?" Hex questions.

It was then Luke realized, Riley hasn't said one word throughout this whole argument. It looked like he was thinking about the options and the best choice. Baatir shook his head, getting more irritated. "That's a warrior. Schwack 'em."

"We can't do that." Luke said softly.

"This is a soft compromise."

"You want to go to Leavenworth?" Hex questions.

"We don't know how many fuckin' Haji's they have down there, man!" Vode argues.

"Don't let him influence you."

"Hex, I'm just saying, you can't just say—"

"Look at that child." Baatir cuts Vode off.

"Make up your fuckin' mind and don't let him influence you." Hex orders Vode.

"Schwack 'em." Baatir repeats.

"Riley, it's your fuckin' call. I ain't fuckin' voting." Vode shouts.

"This is not a vote." Riley announces, stepping up and making everyone go silent. "This is what we're gonna do. This op is compromised. So we're gonna pack up everything. We're gonna cut them loose and we're gonna make this peak. When we make this peak, you're gonna get comms up. When we get these comms up, we're gonna call for extract and we're going home."

They all nodded their heads, letting him know they knew what their were doing. They cut their ties and helped them up. It seemed they were all confused but once they saw them letting them go, they slowly started to walk away. They watched them descend down the mountain and once they were out of sight, they began climbing up.

It was silent the entire time they walked up the mountain, nobody talking, nobody making any kind of noise. Before he knew it, they were already almost to the top, thankfully. His feet ached but he kept going, just like he was trained to do. Once they finally reach the top, he dropped to his knees, near Hex as she swore. "Fuck! This is a false summit."

Luke looked around and saw she was right. Luke suppressed a yell and instead he groaned and face planted in the dirt, lying down and resting for a moment. He heard Vode trying to contact base, raising the satellite around, trying to get a good connection.

"So, what do you wanna do?" Hex asks.

"Go home, get in bed, watch Anchorman." Riley answers.

"Yeah, roger that. What do you think?"

"I think we did the right thing. I think we let our love light shine. I mean, isn't that how things work? Good things happen to good people?"

"This is a bad spot." Baatir comments under his breath, looking through his telescope.

"Vode, I got nothing here on sat. Give me something." Riley orders.

"I got fucking shit."

Riley stands up and turns to all of us. "Let's fall back to that tree line. Wait 'till sundown. If we can't make comms, we're walking home anyways, guys. Let's get some rest. Pack up, let's move."

They made it to the tree line and they set up camp on a pile of rocks and trees, disguising ourselves, keeping a lookout. Luke stared out in the woods, through the trees, wondering if there was anything out there. He couldn't help but wonder if Hex was right. _Would we be in this position right now if he was paying attention and saw the three merchants coming up the mountain? Is this entire thing really my fault? Did she mean everything he said? Would it solve a lot of problems if I were to die?_ Many other thoughts ran through his mind, making him confused and curious.

"I'm going to do some recon. Be back in two minutes."

Luke jumped and pointed his gun at the person behind me, getting ready to shoot. He met with a pair of shocked eyes of Riley, who was staring at him and the gun. Luke breathed a sigh in relief and put his gun down, shaking his head to clear it. Riley gently puts a hand on his shoulders and barely whispers, "Are you alright?"

"Fine."

"Are you sure? You can take a break off watch for a while and get some rest."

"No! I can't rest, I need to stay on watch."

"Luke, if this has anything to do with what Hex said—"

"I'll be fine." Luke cut him off, looking back to the region where I'm supposed to watch. "Go. Do whatever you have to do."

He looked reluctant and does as told but very hesitantly. Luke went back to searching the woods and out of nowhere, he heard a twig snap. He didn't know if it was Riley or not but he got ready. Luke raised his gun and looked through the scope, trying to find the source of the noise.

For a mere second, Luke thought he saw something black go behind a tree but he wasn't sure. He kept his eye on that tree for a few moments but he didn't see anything. It must've been his imagination but he was still on alert. Luke looked to his right and saw both Baatir and Hex had their guns drawn and were searching around, same as him. Maybe he wasn't imagining things.

Luke was about to jump but contained himself when he heard someone appear right next to me. Luke barely moved his head and out of the corner of his eye, he saw it was Riley. Riley leaned down and whispered in his ear, "We're about to get contacted."

"Shit." Luke moved up and behind a tree, making sure he was covered. He put himself against a tree but between two large rocks.

Luke peered over the rocks and raise his gun once more. He looked around until he spotted something. Luke looked and see someone standing behind a tree, raising their own gun and aiming. Luke didn't know who it was aimed at but he knew it was aimed at one of his boys. Luke cocked his gun and made sure he got a good aim. The second he was sure of it and the man came out just a little further away from the tree, Luke fired. The Plasma bullet shot the man in the head, making him drop instantly to the ground.

Luke was breathing so lightly; He couldn't even hear himself breathe. He heard two other snipe shots in the distance, not far from him. He quickly looked and saw Hex shoot another man down. It was silent for a moment in the woods when out of nowhere, a loud gun sounded, lasers flying.

Luke got up from his hiding spot and pushed forward, making sure he kept Himself hidden. He heard more plasma being shot and some yells from men who were shot. Thankfully, he didn't hear any of the yells coming from his own men. He dropped to the ground and crawl behind a stump, getting good aim. He looked and see someone running towards him. Luke aimed for the chest and shoot, and then the man drops dead.

"Moving!" Riley orders all of us.

Luke got up again and to go behind a large boulder as the othera go behind trees, branches, or other rocks. Luke took a deep breath before coming over the rock and shooting any man he could out there, making sure they're dead. Luke saw the others moving forward and he followed them. Luke had his gun ready as they do also and push forward.

Luke saw a small group coming toward them out of the corner of his eye and quickly turned to shoot. The second he shot at them, they returned fire. Suddenly, he felt a searing pain on his face and he dropped to his knees, letting out a yell, clutching the side of his face. "Luke!"

Luke was about to get up when a pair of arms pulled him up and made him look at the person. Riley looked at him with concern and when they heard another laser fly past them, Riley pushed Luke back to the ground. "Are you alright?!"

"Fine! Just got a graze!"

Riley nods and gets back up, helping Luke to his feet. Luke whipped his cheek and see a smear of blood on his sleeve, the laser hadn't cauterised the wound like it was suppose to. He growled and tried to ignore it, going back to the fight. Luke heard some yelling and saw a man on top of Hex, trying to reach her gun. Luke grabbed his gun, aimed and try to not hit his teammate. They both kept moving so much and he didn't want to hit Hex. The second he got a clear shot, Luke fired, hitting the man in the head.

Hex pushed him off and quickly turned around to find the source of who saved her. She spotted Luke lowering his gun and she gave him a slight nod in thanks. Luke did the same and turned around to find Vode shot in the hand. Luke quickly made his way over to him and grabbed an extra canister of healing gel out of his pocket. Luke took Vode's hand in his and applied it on the burn; making sure it was successful and would lessen the burn.

Luke ran back over to the others and see Baatir, Riley, and Hex in a small group behind a large rock. Luke joined them and trying to catch his breath for a moment. Hex looks over at him and her eyes widen. "What the fuck happened to you?!"

"It's just a graze, don't freak out."

Hex faces forward and peeks over the edge of the rock. "Riley. Left is good. I say again, left is good." The very second he finishes talking, a machine guns come out from the left side. They all took cover and slide further behind the rock, not taking any chances. "Riley! Left is not good! I say again, left is not good!"

"Roger that! Push right!"

Luke looked to the right whilst they are still taking cover and saw nobody on the right side. He turned back to his team and called out, "We're good right!"

Riley went on the radio and tells the others, "We are good right. Push right. Push right. Push right."

Riley stands up but out of nowhere, a gunshot goes off and hits him in the side. Hex quickly pulls him down next to her, taking cover. After that, he heard Riley on the radio. "Right is no good. Right is no good."

Luke started running through the woods, dodging trees and jumping over rocks. A sudden impact smashes into him, throwing him on the ground. He looked up and saw a man on top of him, raising a knife. Luke quickly grabbed his arm and tried to restrain it from coming down on him and killing him. The man got his second wind and brought the knife down, hard and deep into his shoulder through a gap in the armour.

Luke let out a loud, long yell, unable to contain it. He punched the man in the face, making him bleed. He yanked the knife out of Luke's shoulder and was about to stab him again but Luke gripped his arm and tried to stop it from doing him any more harm. He heard two or three gunshots near him and the man stopped fighting Luke, his eyes wide.

He dropped on top of Luke and he pushed the body off himself. Luke grabbed his shoulder and felt the blood seeping through his hand, the pain growing. Footsteps ran his way and when he looked up, he saw Hex crouching next to him, looking at his shoulder as Baatir helped him sit up. Luke grunted as he held his shoulder, the pain officially burning.

Hex gently removed Luke's hand from the wound and quickly put dirt on it to lessen the bleeding. She ripped off part of a piece of cloth she had in her pocket and put it on his shoulder, tying it around his arm. Luke winced as she made it tight, securing it. Luke kept hearing more shots flying all around, the gunshots ringing in his ears.

"Hex, on me!" He heard Riley yell from a distance.

Before she moved, Hex grabbed both sides of his face and forced Luke to look at her. "You're gonna be fine. We're gonna get outta this and you're gonna be just fine. Got it? Baatir, take care of him!"

Once she got up and left, Baatir helped Luke to his feet, supporting Luke as they went to take cover. Rockets kept hitting everywhere near them, making dirt explode all over them, throwing them around in the air. Soon enough, we heard Riley yell, "Baatir! Baatir, Luke, on me!"

Baatir pulls Luke close to him as they make it next to the group. Luke saw they were at the very edge of a cliff. Luke eyes widen as he realized what they're about to do. Another rocket hits right behind them and they all jump, getting prepared for the impact. The second Luke hit the ground, his knees give out and collapse, his body flying down the hill. He kept rolling, dirt flying everywhere, his shoulder flaming with pain whenever he rolled on it. He fell back down on to the rocks, his body aching. He couldn't see anything, his world still spinning. He banged into a tree and he hoped to stop but his body swings itself around the tree and keeps going. Somehow, he can barely hear the noises of the others still going down, somewhere near him. his face smashed into a rock and he felt blood splat all over as he kept going. He assumed that his nose had just been broken.

He didn't feel rock anymore but he kept hitting trees and dirt, sometimes smacking into stumps and flying off of them. Luke smashed into branches as he kept rolling, wanting to stop but his wish doesn't go answered. Luke didn't care how he was stopped, as long as the pain was gone. He rolled down another small cliff and went down hard on a rock, crushing his wounded shoulder. Luke let out a loud scream as he kept going.

What felt like hours later, his body slammed itself into a rock, a sudden yet painful stop. He stayed still, not wanting to move and cause more pain to himself. His head was still spinning and his body ached now more than ever. He'd been through a lot of shit in his life but so far, this experience is by far, number two. He whimpered as he raised his head and opened his eyes to see the others not too far away from him but not the closest, either.

Luke saw they were all gathering behind a large rock and tree so he used all his strength to push himself up and get to his feet. Luke slowly made his way towards them and when he was about halfway, Luke felt someone come up behind him and quickly but gently helped him to his feet. Vode gave Luke support as they climbed up towards the other two.

Luke was at the edge of the rock when Hex moved from her place and grabbed Luke's hand, pulling him up and close to her. The same moment Vode and Luke joined the group, Baatir did too. "That sucked."

"I couldn't agree more, bud." Luke moaned.

"They fuck….they fucking shot me." Vode announces.

"Livin' in the past, Vode." Riley said.

"We're all shot, bro. Can you fight?" Hex asked.

"Messed up my drawing hand, that pisses me off."

"Luke, you alright?"

Luke lazily looked over at Hex and saw she was truly concerned. He looked around for a moment and saw they were all looking at him. Luke smiled and started to softly chuckle. "Those fuckin' assholes gotta throw a lot more than that to get rid of me. I still got some fight left in me, give me all you got."

They all smirked his way, happy with his answer. "We just gotta get to flat ground, then we can take these motherfuckers, that's it." Hex encouraged.

Before any of them could make another move, Luke heard a couple more shots passing by as Vode got hit in the foot. They all peeked over the rock and started shooting, trying their best to stay covered. He heard Vode cuss as he got shot again but this time, in the shoulder.

"Vode, you alright?" Luke yelled.

"Yeah, I'm fine!"

Luke turned back to fight and just as he was reloading, a laser went into him, wounding him. Grazed his leg, blood immediately slipping down his shin, an intense feeling going out through his body. He hissed in pain but kept fighting, not turning away from the damn fight, no matter what. He went to crouch down and reload again when he heard a yell, "Peel left!"

They ran from the rock and into the trees, taking cover by the woods. We make our own trail, all five of us struggling to keep themselves up and not collapse or fall behind. Luke was right behind Hex and Riley was right behind him. They kept going, pushing himself as he felt himself losing more blood from wounds and making him weaker. Luke's foot got caught in a tree root and he slipped and banged his head on the ground before scrambling to his feet. He heard buzzing in his ears as he still hears gunshots in the distance behind them but the noise was coming closer. Vode fell and couldn't get back up but he saw Hex grab his should strap and drag him the rest of the way.

To make sure they were safe, Luke fell back a bit and pushed Baatir and Riley further ahead of him, telling them to go faster. He wasn't gonna let them get hit, not if he could somehow stop it. They both start running but he couldn't, the pain in his body restraining him. They kept getting further and further ahead until he lost them completely, both of them gone through the trees. Luke stopped for a moment, trying to see if I could hear their footsteps or their voices but he got nothing. All he could hear was his own heavy breathing and the buzzing in his eyes, the pain in his head making it harder to concentrate.

Luke pushed himself more, grunting every now and then, going forward. Before he knew it, he came upon a clearing. It looked like another hill they had just came from but a little less rocky, more boulders, and more dirt. For a moment, he thought he heard one of the guy's voices so he nearly killed himself by putting one foot in front of the other and started running. Luke wasn't looking where he was going; all he knew was that he had to find the others.

Luke didn't know how long he was going on for but soon enough, he ran off a little rock ledge and since he wasn't expecting it, Luke didn't jump. Instead, he fell straight down and prepared himself for another rolling adventure except he didn't hit dirt or rocks. Luke landed on someone, making that person and a few others yell in surprise.

He quickly looked up to see the person he had landed on and was shocked to find Riley. The four of them were just as shocked but Riley grabbed Luke by his shoulder strap and yanked Luke up next to him, against the rock wall. "Luke, you alright? Jesus, we thought we lost you!"

"Don't worry about me." Luke said in a low voice.

Hex leans forward and looks past both Vode and Riley to look Luke in the eyes. "Telling any of us not to worry about you is like telling you not to fight."

Luke couldn't help but almost smile at the comment. If anyone would tell him he couldn't fight, he'd probably kill them. _It's good to know she still cares even after everything that's been said and done in the past few hours_. He realized they were all out of breath and trying to regain their strength in the small moment they got.

"Hey." Luke heard Hex but nobody turns to her. "Hey." Luke looked over at her and so does Vode and Riley. "This is bad, here. This is a fucking problem." She then turns to the most wounded of the five of them. "You're ok, right?"

"Shot me up pretty good." Vode stated.

Hex started to put some dirt on his leg wound and he saw Vode trying to suppress a yell, a tear slipping down his cheek. Ignoring his own pain and torture, Luke crawled over Riley and sat next to Vode, keeping a hold on his hand, giving him comfort. He squeezed Luke's hand with nearly all his strength, making it almost hurt but comforting to know he was still there with him. Once Hex was done she moved to Riley. This experience has been the worst one they'd ever been involved with and none of them knew what to do.

"Luke, come here." Hex ordered.

Luke let go of Vode and faced Hex. She carefully grabs his leg and looks at the wound, wiping some blood from it and making Luke wince. She grabs a handful of healing gel and shoves it on the wound, making the burn stop a little. The sting intensifies as Luke cranked his leg backwards, trying to not make a noise. Someone puts their hand over his mouth and lets him yell as loud as he wanted and thankfully, it came out muffled.

"Riley, how'd they get us so fast?" Vode asks, real loudly.

"SSHH! Shut the fuck up!" Hex quickly hisses, turning to the most wounded of them.

"I just don't understand how fucking fast they were, man. Oh, fuck. I just…fucking faster than we are?"

"They're not faster than us." Baatir whispers, not too reassuringly.

"I was fucking talkin' to my mom. She didn't fuckin' say nothing about…she didn't fuckin' say nothing!" Vode looks at his hand that was wrapped in a now blood red cloth. "Oh, fuck, such vivid reds. Oh!"

"We gotta move, Riley." Hex informs and the second the words leave her mouth, gunshots start firing their way once again.

Riley gets up and runs somewhere behind us but Luke heard his voice yell, "Baatir, smoke! Smoke up! Smoke 'em!"

Baatir throws a smoke container and they ran to join Riley and Luke saw they were are at the edge of another ledge, but he didn't see any kind of dirt on this one. "We're not fuckin' doin' this again, are we?"

"Damn right we are!"

Hex throws Vode on her shoulders and they start to take turns jumping. Riley jumps first, Baatir follows, then Luke, and then Hex and Vode. Luke didn't even try to stand or stop himself from rolling down, he knew it was pointless. The second he landed on a rock, he went tumbling down, the rock smashing into his shoulder and his entire body.

He kept rolling but thankfully, it didn't last as long as the last time. All he did was roll down the rocks and every once in a while, get thrown in the air. he went down a small hill of rocks and the small of his back smashed into another rock, making Luke yell out in pain. Luke's world was spinning, seeing nothing but blurs of green and grey and sometimes blue. Just as soon as the rolling started, it stopped and he landed at the bottom, against a tree.

He laid on his back, trying to catch his breath and remain still. Luke held his stomach as he coughed up blood, nearly throwing up. His ears started buzzing again but he faintly heard Riley say, "RPG."

Before he could register what he was talking about, an explosion hit close to them, dirt flying everywhere. They all took cover in different spots but they were all still close together. Luke's eyesight started to go in and out, things becoming fuzzy and blurry one moment and then the next, they're clear. He crouched down in a ball behind the rock, not taking the chances of getting hit.

"Where's Vode?" Luke heard Baatir ask, his voice sounding like it was underwater to me.

He look around and only see there were four of us. Baatir, Riley, Hex, and Luke. No Vode. Luke frantically looked around, even standing up, trying to find his brother in arms. Luke turned to Hex, who was with him last and yelled, "Where is he?!"

"He's up top."

"What? He can't be, he came down with you!"

"He's up top. He got…he got hit. In the head."

Luke shook his head, not wanting to believe it as he still stood but quickly shot back into cover quickly next to Riley and Hex. Hex turned to the others and tried to convince them, "We gotta get 'em! We have to! We gotta get 'em! Now!"

Riley grabs both side of her face and makes Hex look at him, him looking sternly in her eyes. "We are, alright?! He's gonna be fine and so are we! Calm down and we're gonna get him, got it?"

Luke nodded his head, believing him with everything he had. "We get up there, we get him, get him down the hill, and then we take 'em on flat ground. We can take these bastards on flat ground."

Baatir tried to come up to where we were but it looked like his legs were failing him so Luke jumped up and went to his side, supporting half his body weight and helping him up. Riley and Hex grabbed his arms and pulled him up, then they did the same to Luke. Another explosive almost hits them and they all flinch, trying to cover themselves better.

"We're gonna go get Vode up top and then we're gonna come back down and fight on flat ground, we're gonna kill 'em all." Riley ordered. "Hex, you good?"

"I'm good!"

"Baatir, your security, Luke, you come with and try to cover us. Let's go!"

Baatir hid behind the rock and started shooting the men at the top as they came out and started running, going forward. Luke saw a shot almost hit them and Luke quickly stopped, finding the shooter and killing him. Luke went back to catching up to the others but he saw they had stopped and hid behind a large boulder.

Luke ran towards them and crouched down just like them. "You guys good?! None of ya are hit?!"

"No, we're good!"

"I don't think we can get up from here." Hex claimed. "We ain't out-fuckin'-flankin' 'em, Riley! We gotta find another way!"

"I'm going to make the call to QRF." Riley announced.

Luke quickly turned to him, knowing what he meant. He looked in Luke's eyes sadly and gave me half a smile. Luke simply nodded, knowing what was about to happen. Hex didn't understand and objected, "You ain't making no fuckin' comms with that sat phone, Riley."

"Look at me." They both looked at their leader, wondering what he would say "I'll make the call."

He gestured the highest and clearest point closest to them. Hex's eyes became wide as she finally understood. "No, no Riley. No. Fuck that!" Next thing Luke knew, Riley throws a mag into his lap and shoves one in Hex's face. "No. No. Fuck that, Riley!"

"Take it. You fuckin' take it."

"I'm sorry, Riley."

"For what?"

"That we haven't killed more of these fuckers." Hex growls as she keeps shooting.

"Oh, don't be fuckin' sorry. We gonna fuckin' kill way more of 'em."

Luke took a deep breath before saying, "Hey Riley, stay low, go fast"

"Kill first, die last,"

"One shot, one kill,"

"No luck, all skill."

"Hex!" she turns around to face their leader, not wanting to say goodbye. "Never out of the fight."

Luke looked up at His friend and his brother in arms with deep respect and admiration. He gave both Hex and Luke a nod, in respect or goodbye or both. Riley raised his gun and Luke that meant to go back to business. Hex and Luke peeked over the edge of the rock and start shooting, giving Riley some cover as he made his way to the tree line.

Luke faintly heard Baatir yell, "What's he doin', guys?!"

"Riley's movin'! Riley's movin!"

"Where is he going?!"

They kept shooting, trying not to let any bastards hit their leader. An explosive hit right behind them, making Luke flinch and Hex ducked down into cover. Luke kept shooting at anyone he could find, Several of them dropping dead.

Every few seconds, Luke would take a quick glance towards Riley, seeing if he was doing ok and if he needed help. Luke didn't want to look at him one moment then find him dead the next, Luke wanted to try to keep him alive for as long as possible. It wasn't because Luke wanted him to make that call, it was because he was a friend and Luke wasn't going to let him die that easily.

As Luke was grabbing a fresh mag, he saw an explosive almost hit him and Luke ended up standing up and shooting. Every time Luke hit the trigger and shot someone, Luke couldn't help but let out a yell. At this moment, he was thriving to kill them. He _needed_ to kill those bastards. They killed his brother in arms Vode Chorn and soon, they would kill another one of his other brothers, Simon Riley.

Luke looked up again and see Riley at the top of the hill, making the call. Luke smile but it dropped the second he saw some men trying to climb the rocks, up to Riley. Luke took aim and started shooting, listening to blasters being shot and explosives smashing into the ground near them. Hex was yelling at him to get down before he got shot but everything seemed to be in slow motion for Luke.

Everything was fuzzy and all sounds sounded distant, like they were miles away. Luke looked back at his friend and his eyes widened as he screamed out his name, pleading for it not to be true. A few men were behind him, shooting him in the back. Riley dropped to his knees and it appeared as though he was stareing out in the distance, in the sunset before slumping down, not moving.

"Luke, come on! We gotta move! Get back to Baatir!" Hex's faded voice met his ears.

Luke nodded his head, realizing she was right. They started climbing down to Baatir, everything silent. There were no gunshots, no lasers flying, no explosions, nothing. The air was thick with death as everywhere you looked, there was someone dead. Luke saw Hex swallow a lump in her throat, not knowing how much more she could handle.

Hex and Luke dropped down next to Baatir and tried to catch their breath. All three of them sat there for a moment, trying to take it all in. "Where's Riley?" Baatir questions after a minute. They didn't answer him and he asks them again. "Where's Riley?"

"Up top." Luke cringed at the words, knowing that was exactly what Hex said about Vode.

"Where up top?"

"He's gettin' the QRF."

It was silent again and he saw Baatir look around, trying to see if he could find Riley. "Where exactly is Riley?"

"If I knew exactly where the fuck he was, I would tell you!" Hex snaps, looking him in the eye. "Is he squared away?"

Baatir looks down and Luke saw one spot on his head was covered with blood. Luke nudged Hex and points at it. "Oh fuck! Here, come here. Let me see you."

Luke looked at it before pulling another extra cloth out and putting it on his head. He replaces his hand with mine and looks at us. "Did they really shoot me in the fucking head?"

"Yeah, buddy."

It was silent between the three of them, their breathing becoming quiet. Luke leaned his head against the rock behind him and closed his eyes, Baatir quietly inquired, "Are Riley and Vode really dead?"

"Yeah." Lke barely made out.

"Are we dead?"

"Negative." Hex chokes.

"We're good, right?"

"Fuck, yeah. We're solid."

It was silent once more for a few seconds before Baatir speaks again. "If I die, I need you two to make sure that Cindy knows how much I love her."

"She knows." Hex quietly says.

But Baatir didn't stop, he kept talking. "And that I died with my friends with a full fucking heart."

Luke looked at his teammate and Baatir looking back at him with a smile, as if he was happy to think about leaving this place. "You're not gonna die, Baatir. We're not gonna—"

Luke was cut off by a bomb hitting right next to them, all three of them jumping behind a rock and huddling together. "We gotta spread out! Get yourself some real estate."

Before Luke could stop himself, they were separating from each other, going in different directions. It only lasted for a second but once it stopped and Luke looked around, he saw he was all alone and there was no sight of either of his comrades. Luke looked around and called out their names quietly but loudly, not risking to get shot. In the distance, He heard a Warbird and when he looked up, there it was. Two of them.

Luke couldn't stop smiling, realizing they were being rescued and Riley accomplished his goal _._ Riley kept his promise. They were going home. Luke kept cheering, waving his arms and yelling for Baatir and Hex, knowing they were saved. Luke watched the Warbird hover above ground but Luke saw a trail of smoke coming towards it.

Luke realized what it was the second it hit. An RPG. It hit the Warbird and it exploded, killing everyone on board. Luke's eyes widen as he stared at it, not believing it. "No. Please, God, no!"

The Warbird preceded to go down and ended up smashing into the mountain, destroying Luke hope's. Luke quickly turned his attention to the other Warbird and saw it was turning back, leaving them. Luke damn near cried, yelling for it to come back. Everything he hoped for and thought of that moment was wrecked in the fraction of a second.

Luke started looking around once more, screaming and pleading for Hex and Baatir to answer him. Wherever he looked, he saw nothing except trees and rocks. The adrenalin was wearing off and he could finally feel the pain again in his neck, face, and shoulder, everywhere. he kept walking, falling down hills, tripping, and even trying to run in a certain direction.

Luke was trying to get down the mountain, away from the area where he lost his squad mates. He didn't know how long he was on his feet, going forward, if it was minutes or hours but eventually, he collapsed. he fell to his knees and laid down, not wanting to move. He didn't know if Baatir or Hex were alive, he didn't know if they were hurt, and he didn't know where they were. He felt like giving up and surrendering.

He kept his eyes closed and rested, listening to the wind rustling the trees, the birds singing, and gunshots so far in the distance, He could barely make them out. His whole body jerked when he heard footsteps coming his way, twigs and leaves crunching. Luke tensed up and lifted his head, only to find more Tali's. He sighed, and brought his head back down, waiting for them to kill him.

The one in the front of the group carefully made his way towards Luke and crouched down. He looked at him and saw he was wearing a clean, white robe and he had a kind face, unlike the others. He had a child and a few others behind him. The man pointed to Luke's uniform and questioned, "OAGeee?"

Luke just nodded his head, still on the ground. "Yes, I am Orionian."

The man then gently grabs Luke's arms and helps him to his feet, confusing Luke. Another man comes to his other side and they throw Luke's arms around their shoulders, and wrapping their arms around his waist. They started taking him down the mountain, being careful and gentle.

"Why are you helping me?" Luke asked, weakly. "You are helping me, right?" The man with white nods his head, looking straight. "Why are you helping me?"

"OAGee."

"I am Orionian, yes, we've established that. Do you speak English?"

The man shakes his head but says, "Little."

"But you can understand it well?" He nods his head once more, looking confident.

Luke sighed in relief, thanking God that he understands him and he's helping him. Luke knew he shouldn't trust the man but he was his only hope to surviving and if he killed him, Luke wouldn't be bothered. They kept walking for a long time, Luke lost track of how long but they entered a small village and Luke realized it was the same village they were looking at, earlier today when it was the five of us.

"What's your name?" Luke asked, becoming more tired each second.

"Gulab." The man pointed to the young boy by him and said, "Turan. You?"

"Luke." He whispered, his head leaning on Luke's shoulder.

As they made our way through the village, Luke got many strange looks but he paid no attention to them whatsoever. They kept walking and they led Luke into this small house, setting him on a bed. He looked at Gulab and gestured for food and water. He understood immediately and said something to the other men, shooing them away.

The men from earlier came back but they brought a water bottle and a plate of food. Luke knew that if he got up, he would collapse again so Luke just waited until they handed it to him. Luke started eating it as fast as he could, desperate for the taste of food and the strength he would get back. Luke opened the water bottle and drank about half of it in one swig. He didn't realize Turan came back until he felt something cold against his neck.

Luke jumped and looked to find Gulab still in front of me and Turan behind him, with a bowl of water in his hand and a wet cloth in the other. He realized he was trying to get the blood off him. Luke hesitantly let him as he continued eating the food like a hungry animal. A small hand stopped me from eating and Luke saw the young boy there, smiling at me.

He said something in his language and made a slow gesture with his hand. He was trying to tell Luke to slow down. Luke smiled gratefully at him and did what he said. A sudden burning sensation hit Luke like a brick in the face as he hissed in pain and gripped his neck, knowing he had touched the part where the shot had grazed him. Gulab looked sorry that he had hurt him but Luke tried to smile and shake his head, telling him he was fine.

Before Luke knew it, he had all the blood off him and they were handing him a fresh pair of pajamas. He took hold of them and thankfully, some girls in the village helped him into the clothes, guiding his arms and legs in the clothing because of his wounds. Luke had a patch or a cloth over almost every wound or scrape he had.

Luke was led back to the room he was in and laid down on the bed, some women coming in at times and giving him food or water or giving him another blanket or even just sitting there next to him, not letting Luke be all alone. Luke was grateful for these people, if it wasn't for them, he'd be dead for sure. It was night by the time he had everything he needed but Luke could barely move.

Gulab came in and put a candle on the nightstand next to me bed. Just as he was about to leave, Luke called out to him and gestured towards his uniform and he picked it up and gave it to Luke. Luke looked in all his pockets and thanked God that he still had it.

Luke handed him a picture he always carried with me. It was the five of them on a normal day, them standing in front of a Warbird of them smiling. Luke gestured to Baatir and Hex and slowly said, "Go back to the mountain, please. If you see these two, bring them here. They're with me. Tell them that you know me and I'm here. Understand?"

He nodded his head and he continued. "If they point a gun at you, hold your hands up and slowly take out this picture and show it to them. Please. When you come back, I need that picture back."

He nodded again and smiled at Luke who smiled back and lay down, resting his head on the pillow, and covering himself with the blankets.

 _2623 Febuary 27th Earth Standard Calendar, CDR. Luke Sparrow, Tarhassan, Tarhassanian village._

Luke woke up late the next day. It was bright and sunny, as if nothing was wrong in the world. Such as false belief. Everything was wrong in the world. Luke grunted as he tried to sit up, his shoulder aching as he used its strength to push himself up. Luke's ribs were sore, as well as every other part in his body. He looked at his nightstand and saw there's a plate of food and another water bottle.

Luke smiled as he calmly ate his food and drank his water. Just as he was finishing up, two men came in the room and forced him to his feet but carefully. They dragged him outside and into another building, being quick but trying not to hurt Luke. Luke grunted in pain every few seconds but he pulled through.

As we came close to one house, Luke heard a familiar voice yelling, "Where is he?! Where's the boy?! Tell me where he is! You said he was here!"

At that moment, Luke walked in the house and see a face he thought he lost. All the breath left his body as they stare at each other, Hex sitting on the bed and Luke still standing in the doorway. Luke swallowed a lump in his throat as he slowly and carefully made his way towards her. She watched his every move as he walked forward. Luke stopped in front of her and stood there before she took his hand and led him to sit next to her.

She stares in his eyes as Luke put a hand on the side of her face, stroking her cheek with his thumb. He paused for a moment before quickly yanking Hex close to him, her arms tightly wrapped around his shoulders. Luke threw his arms around her waist and her hands formed into little balls of fists, gripping tightly to his robes. Hex rested her head on his shoulder and I realize her whole body is shaking as she holds me.

She starts to silently sob in his shoulder and Luke starts to rock her back and forth, stroking her hair. "It's ok. It's ok, I'm here, now. We're both gonna be ok. I'm right here, Hex."

"I thought I lost you, Luke. I thought you were gone, too."

As they stayed in each other's arms, they started to hear many yelling and barking coming from outside. Turan looked out the window as they stared his way. Luke gently pulled away from Hex and looked out the window and saw Tali's wandering around the town with guns out. Before he could register anything, Tali's came in the house we were in and dragged them out. Hex and Luke were struggling but both weak from their latest experience.

They got outside and one of the leaders punches Hex in the face, causing her to fall to the ground. Luke struggled even more, yelling and cussing at them. Luke broke free and punched the leader but he quickly turns Luke's way and fires his gun. Hex looks up quickly, yelling, "No, Luke!"

He looked down and saw a hole in his shirt but it was a baggy shirt and it went through, not hitting him. They picked Hex back up and drag them to some log that had one large spot of blood. It hit Luke, then, what that was for. He start struggling more, as well as Hex.

They force him to his knees over the bloody spot on the log. I realize that the leader was Taraq. He bends down and starts slapping him in the face. Hex looked at him and yelled, "Fuck you!"

"Fuck you, Orioner! Cry, motherfucker!"

He slapped and punched Hex more and more, everyone yelling and screaming. Hex spits blood out at Taraq, shocking him. "Fucking do it! Fucking do it, you fuck! Fuck! Fuck!"

Taraq grips Hex's hair and yanks on it, making him look at the bastard. "I'm gonna cut your heads off and send it to your fucking Orion…" he starts rambling in his own language, trailing off.

He stands up and raises his knife, getting ready to kill Hex. The men hold me back as Luke tried to make it to her, screaming her name. The second he was about to bring the knife down, a few gunshots were heard, close to us. Everyone stopped and looked to see who it was. There was Gulab and many other men behind him; all had blasters in their hands and pointing them at the Tali's.

Gulab and Taraq started yelling but Taraq and his men began leaving, so Luke was able to run over to Hex and crouch down next to her as she was trying to control her breathing. Once they were away from them, the village people came over to the two and helped them to their feet, being firm but gentle with our wounds.

Hex got up, out of breath and asked, "Why are you doing this for us?"

Gulab began saying, "Fuck Tali! Fuck Tali!"

Luke smiled at him, knowing he felt the same way as them. They brought the two back in the house and then left except Turan. He stood there and watched them as Hex was breathing heavy and loud, panting and sweating as Luke leaned against the wall, trying to remain calm. Hex looked at the boy and tried to say nicely, "I need a knife. Knife. To cut." She began pretending to cut her hand, using an invisible knife. "Knife. You know, knife? Cut? Ok? Go get a knife."

Turan stared at him hard and began to slowly say, "Knife."

Luke smiled at the little child, being so young and innocent. "Yes! Yes, a knife, to cut. Ok? Go. Go get me a knife. Please? Please."

He left and it was just the two of them. Luke stared at his friend, scared he might lose her. "What's wrong? Where are you hurt?"

She lazily looked up at him and swallowed. "Everywhere, what do you think?! Right now, it's my leg."

Luke carefully bent down to the floor and rested on his knees. He looked at her leg and saw rock chunks stuck in her leg, bleeding. Luke flinch at the sight but he turned around when he heared a 'quack'. Luke saw Turan coming back, looking timid while holding a duck. Luke almost smiled at him, seeing this boy clueless. Hex sighed and desperately said, "No, I….I said a knife. That's not a knife."

"Knife." Turan said.

"No. It's not a knife. It's a fucking duck! I need a knife. You know, knife? To cut."

"Knife." The boy insisted.

Luke actually smiled and chuckled at the scene. Hex quickly turns to him, her eyes filled with anger. "What, you think this is funny?! You try having pieces of rock in your leg, see how you feel! Jesus Christ!"

Luke looked down, ashamed. At that moment, Gulab slowly walks in and looks between us. Before Hex can say anything else, Luke took a small step, careful of his leg and wounds and announced, "Gulab."

He looks at Luke for a moment before asking, "Luke?"

Luke smiled, knowing he got it right and they're on understanding terms. "We need a knife. Please, a knife."

"Chaku." He nods in understanding and leaves the room for a moment before coming back with a large knife in his hand. "Chaku?"

"Yes!" Luke limped over to him and took it from him, walking back to his wounded friend. Hex tried to take it from his hand but he gave her a warning look. "No, I got it. Focus on your breathing and try to think of something else. It'll be over soon."

Luke ripped open her trousers where her wounds were and he took off her coat. "Dinner and a movie first," Hex said smirking.

"God damn it Hex" Luke sighed.

He gave her the sleeve part and she took it in her mouth, to bite on and not to yell out. Luke took the knife and carefully but quickly took the small rock piece out of her shin. Hex's breathing became loud and uneven, her face becoming redder by the second. Luke grabbed one of her hands in his free one and she took his free hand in both of her's, squeezing it tightly.

Luke took the next one out, the second one taking more time. It flies to the floor once Luke got it out of her knee. Her breathing becomes worse and Luke worried she might pass out. Luke run his thumb against one of her hands and quickly whisper, "It's ok. It's gonna be ok, we're almost done. One more, alright? One more and then we're done. Just hang in there."

She took the sleeve out of her mouth and bit down on her dog tags instead. Luke realize the last one is gonna be harder and more painful. Luke took the point of the knife and carefully dig it in her skin, right where the rock was. Luke lifted the torn skin and by then, his hand was shaking. He needed his other hand to take the metal out but he knew she wasn't going to let his hand go. Luke gestured for Gulab to grab it and thankfully, he did.

When Luke looked up, he saw that she had passed out but it was like he was having a seizure with the way she was breathing. After he was done and threw the metal away, me, Gulab, and Turan began to clean her. Luke was wiping the blood away, Gulab was patching up her wounds, and Turan was putting her in some clothes, similar to mine.

That night, every man and most children walked around the village with guns, looking out towards the mountains for protection. Luke stayed in the room and watched Hex as she slept, it bringing him comfort as he watched her chest rise and fall while she breathed. Luke sat on the floor and let Turan have the other bed during the night but he was surprised when he climbed out of the bed and sat next to him.

He curled up against his side as Luke threw his arm around him, pulling him close. He'd been here for about a day or two now and He'd never seen the boy with another woman, such as a mother or sister. Luke wondered if his father was all he had. He was broken out of his thoughts as he spoke, pointing to me. "Name? Luke?"

Luke smiled at him, giving him a squeeze. "Yep, Luke."

He looks up at me with big, brown, childlike eyes. "Luke?"

"Yea, there you go."

He smiled back at me, wrapping his arms around his waist as Luke's were still around his shoulders. "Luke." He closed his eyes and rests his head against his chest. He sighed, closing his eyes and leaning his head back on the bed that was behind him. Luke fell asleep with the faces of Vode, Baatir, and Riley in his mind.

 _2623 Febuary 28th Earth Standard Calendar, CDR. Luke Sparrow, Tarhassan, Tarhassanian village._

Luke was being woken by someone shaking his body, gently. Luke groaned as Luke wanted it to stop but it continued. Luke opened his sleepy eyes and found Turan there, looking at me with innocent, kind eyes. "Up." He tugged on his shirt, trying to get me to stand. "Up."

Luke smiled as he carefully and slowly got up, the pain becoming not as bad but still sore and painful. Luke saw hex sitting up and eating and drinking water as if she hadn't had any in weeks. Luke understood her pain, it was him earlier, but he had food and water yesterday and the day before. Luke hesitantly sat next to her, not knowing if he and Hex were ok.

Gulab pointed to the single star on his uniform and asked, "Orioner?"

"Concordia." Hex nodded her head, looking at him.

"Orioner?" he then pointed to the Orion Arm flag.

"Yes, Concordia. Orion is Concordia, yes."

"Concord." Turan said.

"Concordia." Luke corrected, smiling at him.

"Concordia." He smiled back, eager to learn new words it seemed.

Hex stared between the boy and father and questioned, "Why are you doing this for us?"

The moment he asked that question, the wall they were next to, exploded, throwing them in the air. Gulab grabbed Hex and got her out of the house as Turan helped Luke up and did the same for him. He led us to an abandoned house and let Hex fall on her back, on a pile of carpets to let her take a breather.

Luke heard a noise and saw someone right behind him. Turan ran in front of me and yelled something at the man but he smacked him. Luke grew angry and charged after the Tali and tried to tackle him with all his strength, no matter how weak he was, he was going to defend and protect Hex and Turan. The Tali quickly threw Luke against the wall and his head smashed into it, making everything go black.

When Luke woke up, he felt his body being grabbed and lifted from the ground. He looked up and saw soldiers all around him and Hex. OAG soldiers. He groaned as he was lifted and Luke heard an unfamiliar voice say, "It's alright, Luke. You're safe now, you're going home."

Luke was being carried out of the house by two soldiers, as was Hex. Luke passed Gulab and his son but he quickly turned around, giving them a nod, "Thank you! Thank you."

He was about to turn around but Turan quickly runs towards him and hugs his waist, tightly. Luke hugged him back, not wanting to let go. He'd only known this little boy for a day and he felt responsible for him. As he let Luke go, he put something in his hand. Luke looked at it and smiled as he realized it was his picture of the five of them at the Warbird.

Luke turn to Turan and quickly say, "I'll see you again! I promise I'll see you again!"

Luke didn't know if the boy understood him or not but he knew he would see him in the future. They took them to the Warbird and he couldn't help but close his eyes. Was this for real or was he dreaming? Would we be shot down and have to fight again? Are they really going back to base, where it's safe, where won't be in combat? Luke didn't want to believe it but it was so hard not to. It was real. They got Luke seated onto the Warbird where he let the exhaustion claim him and fell asleep.

 _2623 March 1st Earth Standard Calendar, CDR. Luke Sparrow, FOB Athena, Tarhassan._

Luke had been feeling depressed since he had gotten back. After getting off the Warbird he and Hex had been rushed to the Field hospital where they had gotten patched up. Vode's and Baatir's bodies had been found and recovered and given to clan Chorn for burial. A member of clan Chorn had visited both him and Hex and invited them to a Mandalorian Death Ceremony, Hex hadn't been able to go due to a broken leg and her injuries but Luke had been cleared to attend so long as he didn't exert himself.

Now he was standing outside one of the mess halls in the Mandalorian section of the base, to the left he saw what could be only described as a funeral pyre. As he approached the entrance to te building he could her singing.

 _Kandosii sa ka'rta, Vode an._

 _Coruscanta a'den mhi, Vode an._

 _Bal kote, darasuum kote,_

 _Jorso'ran kando a tome._

 _Sa kyr'am Nau tracyn kad, Vode an._

 _Motir ca'tra nau tracinya._

 _Gra'tua cuun hett su dralshy'a._

 _Aruetyc runi solus cet o'r._

 _Motir ca'tra nau tracinya._

 _Gra'tua cuun hett su dralshy'a._

 _Aruetyc runi trattok'o._

As Luke entered he saw the few members of clan Chorn that were station on Tarhassan with the OAG. Luke found them not mourning in the traditional OAG fashion of wearing black, church service body laid in a plot or cremated. Instead he found them drinking, sparring and swapping stories of their two brothers who had just died.

"Ah so I see you came, Fenn Chorn." A Mandalorian in classic gold clan Chorn armour. He stood at about 5 foot 9 and had grey hair and eyes.

"Luke Sparrow, pleasure to meet you. I wish it were under better circumstances."

"As do I. Can I offer you a drink?"

"That would lovely."

 _Kote, darasuum kote._

 _Te racin ka'ra juaan kote._

Fenn returned with some alcoholic mandalorian beverage. Fenn explained what life was like growing up in a Mandalorian clan. How they were trained from a young age and the values of the clan and Mandalor instilled into them and Luke explaining life in the Orion Arm.

 _Taungsarang broka jetiise ka'rta._

 _Dha Werda Verda a'den tratu,_

 _Coruscanta kandosii adu._

 _Duum motir ca'tra nau tracinya._

 _Gra'tua cuun hett su dralshy'a._

 _Kom'rk tsad droten troch nyn ures adenn._

 _Dha Werda Verda a'den tratu,_

 _Coruscanta kandosii adu.._

 _Duum motir ca'tra nau tracinya._

 _Gra'tua cuun hett su dralshy'a._

Luke watched as the bodies of Baatir and Vode were taken outside and placed on the pyre and set ablaze, the flames licking their corpses. He noticed that the assembled Mandalorians had all joined in the chant now.

 _Motir ca'tra nau tracinya._

 _Gra'tua cuun hett su dralshy'a. Taung!_

 _Motir ca'tra nau tracinya._

 _Gra'tua cuun hett su dralshy'a._

 _Aruetyc runi solus cet o'r prudii an._

 _Kandosii sa kyr'am ast,_

 _Troan teroch jetiise a'den,_

 _Duraan vi at ara'nov._

 _Vode an, ka'rta Tor._

 _(whispered) Kote._

 _2623 March 2nd Earth Standard Calendar, Gracia Riley, New Port council estate, Arcadia._

Gracia Riley had known what she was getting into when she had a brother who joined the military. Her friends had spoken of boyfriends and fiancés who had been in the military and gone to war. They never came back. But God, Simon was _different_. Simon had a lucky streak a mile wide. He wasn't like his friend Luke, career soldier who could survive anything thrown at him.

But she did. She worried just as much as the next person with a loved one in the military. Because things had been changing. She wasn't sure how she knew, or how she understood, but she did. Something was wrong. _Nobody_ was safe.

And that was why she issued her warning as she watched Simon tuck her daughter in before he left for the Clone War.

 _"Just...be careful."_

Then she watched him leave, not realizing at the moment that it would be for the last time.

A year later found Gracia sitting up in bed, looking through an old photo album. It was almost sunrise, and Riley still wasn't home, the war still raging on. He was, Gracia mused as she found a picture of him sleeping on the couch, baby Elycia resting on his chest, probably fighting on some distant battlefield. Gracia smiled as she ran a finger of the photo of the two people she loved most. Despite everything, she would always worry. It was her job as a mother and a sister.

After all, the galaxy they lived in was far from perfect.

 _Ding-Dong_

The ring of the doorbell echoed through the house. Gracia looked up from the album. "Good grief." She muttered, still smiling. "Maes wasn't supposed to be here until this afternoon?"

She made her way downstairs and unlocked the door, saying, "Maes, I told you to-"

She stopped as she opened the door. It wasn't her Neighbour standing on the steps; it was, however, two military people, a man and a woman, though Gracia didn't recognize them. They were watching her solemnly. "Hello." She said carefully. "If you're looking for my brother, he isn't home right now."

"We know." The woman said. "That's why we're here."

And as usual, not knowing how, Gracia knew. She knew something was wrong.

"Mrs. Hughes...your husband was killed in action three days ago on Tarhassan. He was shot."

 _2623 March 2nd Earth Standard Calendar, Elycia Riley, New Port council estate, Arcadia._

Elycia Riley was only four years old, but she had a lot to be proud of. Her Uncle was a military man. He did a lot of work and he helped save people. And Elycia was proud of that. When the kids at school asked her what her Uncle did, she would say in a proud voice, "He works for the military."

She was too young to understand how truly dangerous this job really was.

Which was why she didn't understand. She didn't understand why two people her Uncle worked with were standing at the door, looking so serious, or why her mommy was crying. She didn't understand why her Uncle wasn't home yet, or why he hadn't given her a kiss on the cheek after being away fighting the Big meanies.

"Mommy?"

She was standing at the top of the stairs, and her voice was quiet, but still her mommy heard it. She looked up, quickly wiping her tears away. "Elycia...what are you doing awake?"

"Mommy, where's Uncle?"

Her mother was wearing a look similar to the one Elycia had worn once when the two had been separated at a store. Her mommy looked lost. But why?

Elycia didn't get her answer. Her mother turned back to the military people. "Thank you," she said quietly, "for telling me."

"We're truly sorry." The woman said. The man nodded in agreement. "Your brother was...a good man."

"I know."

Elycia's mother closed the door as the two left. Elycia still didn't understand. She repeated her question.

"Where's Uncle?"

Her mother beckoned for her to come downstairs, and she obeyed. They sat down on the couch, and Gracia took Elycia in her arms. "Elycia...Uncle's not going to be coming home."

"Why, is he busy?" Elycia asked, remembering what her Uncle had said the night before. "Does he still have a lot of work? Is that why those people were here? To tell you he can't come home because he has too much work? He said he has a lot of work."

"No, Elycia." Gracia said quietly. The small girl saw tears in her mother's eyes. "Uncle...had to go away somewhere."

Elycia didn't understand. "Well where did he go? When will come back?"

"He's not coming back, Elycia. He's gone."

"Gone where?" Elycia was quickly becoming frustrated. Why was her mommy so sad? They were supposed to be proud of Uncle, because he worked so hard, not sad. So why was Mommy sad? "Why can't he come back?"

A tear slipped down Gracia's cheek. Elycia reached out a small hand and wiped it away. "Mommy?"

"Oh Elycia." Her mother wrapped her arms around the small girl and held her tightly. And still Elycia didn't understand. Where was Uncle?

 _2623 March 9th Earth Standard Calendar, Gracia Riley, New Port Military Graveyard, Arcadia._

Gracia slid the brush through Elycia's hair, barely noticing that it was already as smooth as it was going to get.

"Mommy, why do I have to wear this dress?" Elycia asked, looking back at her mother. "Where are we going? Is Uncle going to be there?"

Everything she said ended with something about Riley these days. It had been a week since Gracia had received word of her brother's death. And for everything she had done, she couldn't make Elycia understand that Uncle wasn't coming home.

"Yes, sweetie." Gracia took Elycia and pulled the small girl into her lap. "Uncle will be there." Elycia's face brightened. "But not the way you're thinking. He's not going to be able to hug you or kiss you or play with you."

Elycia didn't like that. "But why not? Will he be really busy?"

Gracia sighed. She had tried explaining to Elycia what it meant to die. But the girl was only four, she couldn't be expected to understand that.

It was, Luke supposed, a nice church. Not that he had been able to go to one for a while now, despite the economic headway the OAG businesses had made in the wider galaxy religion hadn't been as successful. But still…it was a nice church. He just wished he could have been there for a better reason than his friend's funeral.

"Luke."

He turned around. Gracia Riley was standing behind him, clutching her daughter's hand. Elycia was looking around, confused.

"Where's Uncle?"

The words tore at Luke's heart. He was good at hiding it though. "Hello Gracia. It's good to see you."

"And you." Gracia looked down at Elycia. "Elycia, say hi to Luke. You remember him, don't you? Uncle's friend."

Elycia looked up eagerly on the word 'Uncle'. Her eyes found Roy. "Hi. Do you know where my Uncle is?"

Luke looked at Gracia, who shook her head. "I just can't make her understand. In all honesty…I don't think she _wants_ to understand."

Luke nodded. He could understand that. "Sir." A marine approached him. "It's time to go in."

"Right." He turned away from Gracia and Elycia, following the marine inside. The military personnel had their own section.

"Mommy, is Uncle sleeping?"

Gracia couldn't bring herself to answer the girl. She as too busy staring at the body in the coffin at the front of the church. There was no way possible that was her husband. Not bright, lively, talkative to the point of annoying Simon Riley. It just wasn't possible.

"Can we wake Uncle up?"

Gracia shook her head. "Come on Elycia. Let's find our seats."

Elycia stared at her Uncle, waiting for him to wake up. Why wasn't he waking up? Why was Mommy crying? In fact…Elycia looked around. _Everybody_ had tears in their eyes. What was going on?

 _"Uncle's dead, Elycia."_

The words rang in the small girl's head.

 _"When you're dead, it means you go somewhere you can't come back from."_

But he was _right there_. If he was there, then he couldn't have possibly been 'dead'. Elycia didn't believe it. Her Uncle hadn't gone anywhere. Why would her mommy lie about it?

There was a strange man standing in front of them, saying things Elycia didn't understand. Were they talking about her Uncle? None of those big words sounded like Uncle. Big, fun, loud, happy… _that_ was how they should have been describing her Uncle. None of those silly words that the other man was saying.

Luke watched as the soldiers carried Riley's casket to the plot. The way his daughter Elicia cried to her mother. "Mommy, mommy. Why are they burying Uncle?" the child cried. "I don't like it! Stop them mommy, if they bury Uncle he won't be able to do his work when he wakes up!" Riley's sister, Gracia bent down to comfort the child. Many of the soldiers cried, including Hex. Some barely knew him other than professionally and yet they were crying while he, his best friend, couldn't squeeze out a single tear. He thought to himself, mentally talking to Riley _. 'You're the first to fight, you're way too loud. You're the flash of light on a burial shroud.'_  
There was a voice inside his head that day. It said: _'Save your tears till the day when our pain is far behind.'_ He liked to believe it was Riley, talking to him, but that was probably just a delusion.

After the funeral Elycia was mad at Gracia. It wasn't even a mother's intuition. It was obvious from the way she folded her arms and pouted out the window on the drive home that the little girl was very upset.

"Elycia sweetie, what's wrong?"

"Why did you let them do that to Uncle?" Ah. Gracia had a feeling it was something to do with Riley. "What's going to happen when he wakes up?"

"Oh Elycia-"

"I want Uncle to come home."

"I know honey. So do I."

At home, Gracia helped Elycia out of her dress. As she did, she noticed the smaller girl kept squinting her eyes and sniffing a lot.

"Are you all right?"

"Uncle's not coming home, is he?"

Gracia, realizing that Elycia was finally starting to understand, nodded, and reached her arms around the girl's small body, wrapping her into a hug. Both of them shook with silent sobs, letting the tears fall.

 _Song Translation_

 _One indomitable heart, Brothers all._

 _We, the wrath of Coruscant, Brothers all._

 _And glory, eternal glory,_

 _We shall bear its weight together._

 _Forged like the saber in the fires of death, Brothers all._

 _Those who stand before us light the night sky in flame._

 _Our vengeance burns brighter still._

 _Every last traitorous soul shall kneel._

 _Those who stand before us light the night sky in flame._

 _Our vengeance burns brighter still._

 _Every last traitorous soul shall fall._

 _Glory, eternal glory._

 _The stars pale beside our might._

 _The ash of the Taung beats strong within The Republic's heart._

 _We are the rage of The Warriors of the Shadow,_

 _The first noble sons of Coruscant._

 _Let all those who stand before us light the night sky in flame._

 _Our vengeance burns brighter still._

 _The gauntlet of The Republic strikes without mercy._

 _We are the rage of The Warriors of the Shadow,_

 _The first noble sons of Coruscant_

 _Let all those who stand before us light the night sky in flame._

 _Our vengeance burns brighter still._

 _Those who stand before us light the night sky in flame._

 _Our vengeance burns brighter still. Taung!_

 _Those who stand before us light the night sky in flame._

 _Our vengeance burns brighter still._

 _Every last traitorous soul shall kneel in our shadow._

 _As ruthless as Death itself,_

 _The pitiless face of The Republic's wrath,_

 _Let us look down on all who come before us._

 _Brothers all, one heart of justice._

 _(whispered) Glory._


	21. Operation Falleen Freedom

**The First Contact War**

Chapter 21

Operation Falleen Freedom

 _"History has taught us over and over again that freedom isn't free. when push comes to shove, the ultimate protectors of freedom and liberty are the brave men and women in our armed forces. Throughout our history, they've answered the call with bravery and sacrifice" Tim Pawlenty._

 _2623 March 30th Earth Standard Calendar, CDR. Luke Sparrow, Falleen, Falleen System_.

" _Listen up Marines! Spotters have a possible fix on Wilhuf Tarkin head of the Commerce Guild in a building in the west of this town! We're gonna move in, secure the perimeter, and grab Wilhuf Tarkin. Oo-rah? Lock and load!"_

CDR. Luke Sparrow narrowed his eyes through his goggles, as he stared out of the window of Black Super-Four-One. He brushed a hand through his hair, and licked his dry lips, before replacing his MICH helmet back onto his head, moving the goggles back over the top of the headgear. He took a deep breath, and steadied himself against the side door the vehicle, taking in the breath-taking view on in front of him. Since he had returned from Riley's funeral he had thrown himself back into the fight with a new determination, he had also began to worryingly enjoy combat a little more than he should do.

They were flying over crystal blue ocean, the sun reflecting gloriously off the water, casting glittering diamonds of foamy spray as the draft from the repulser engine tore through the liquid. It was almost beautiful, had it not been for the twenty-four Warbirds, twelve SuperHornets, and eight Republic LAAT gunships that screamed overhead, loaded up to maximum on weapons or men carrying weapons.

The invasion had begun. A Coalition, consisting of OAG and Republic forces had been waiting in a massive naval fleet for the better part of a month now, off the Falleen Gulf. Plans had been drawn up in record time to facilitate this latest invasion of the Mid-Rim system. And once again, Luke was being sent to take out yet another CIS dictator.

Checking his M416, rigged with an M203 and EOTech, he looked out of the porthole of the Warbird as a SuperHornet hovered into view next to them. The gunner looked up from the controls, and Luke could see that it was a woman there, and thus, was probably the SuperHornet callsigned "Vicious". The only other SuperHornet he knew piloted by a woman was callsign "Deadly".

"Well, hello there, Vicious." Luke murmured to himself, taking a sip from the Camelbak on his back as he did so. "And how are you today? Are you going to be giving me cover fire as I hoof it across the ground and hold down the Grid Squares that you remove from the map?"

Of course, there was no reply. The Gunner simply frowned behind the sun visor on her helmet, and gave a cheery wave, which Luke and Hex, who was sitting with her legs dangling out of the edge of the helicopter, returned. Hex was their SMAW woman, though they had elected to leave the SMAW behind for this mission, as intel hadn't reported any armour in the area, and besides, they had the SuperHornets. The Hex clutched onto the rope that they would be using to descend to the street floor once they reached their location. First Squad had an important job, as they would be the ones kicking down the door of where Wilhuf Tarkinwas supposedly staying. They would have to be quick. They knew there were Anti-Aircraft defences on the shoreline, so once they reached that, the word would quickly pass around that the OAG were coming, and thus, Wilhuf Tarkinshould get the hell out of that building if he wished to remain alive.

The plan was reasonably simple. Delta Force would head into the town, and kick the door in, and that would give them enough time to secure the house and await support from other units. Six of the LAATs contained members of the Republic Commando section of the Special Forces Support Group, and would take and hold the harbour in preparation for their armoured support to arrive. The remaining two LAATs were transporting Republic's elite, the ARC Troopers, further inland, so they could rendezvous with other elements of Delta Force and SEAL Team Six, and begin their push to the capital city, wiping out enemy positions along the way. If DF actually found Wilhuf Tarkinthough, then hopefully, any further incursions would be unnecessary, and they could pull out within the day.

"HQ, this is Outlaw-One-Two, we have reached the shoreline." Luke heard the voice from the cockpit over his headset, and turned to check. Indeed, they were just about to head over the shoreline. As the massive assault force got ever closer to their target, Luke was reminded of October 3rd, 2622. "The Battle of the Bakali Market". "Malinti Rangers". Whatever one called it, the situation was uncannily similar. A modern, heavily-armed OAG Assault Force was screaming their presence deep inside enemy territory they weren't completely familiar, surrounded by a civilian population would most likely side against these invaders, despite the fact that the OAG and their allies were here to help them. Everyone dreaded those two words that would signal the end of the mission, and the loss of the initiative. Warbird. Down.

He turned, and looked inwards at the Marines that sat inside the belly of the Warbird, awaiting their chance to get into the fighting. Most carried the AC30 carbine, with M68 Aimpoint or EOTech red-dot-sights. Some had M203's. Others carried M1200 Shotguns, that they would use to breach through doors. Luke and three other men had M203's mounted to their weapons, and two men carried LMG-5 SAW's. They should, by all rights, have been carrying the AC160 rifle, the standard issue OAG weapon, but the Squad had insisted they be given the shorter, more compact AC30, especially in close-quarters such as this. One or two men had NLAW rockets as well.

Each man wore a set of Desert issue MARPAT, or Marine Pattern Camouflage. Over the top this, most had the Marine brown-grey Beskar armoured plating. The main components of the Beskar armour include an armoured vest, a helmet and large shoulder pauldrons. The chest armour also has an extension to provide protection to the groin. The shins aren't armoured like in the Marine BDU, with only dust-grey combat boots and black kneepads on the lower leg. The thighs have attachment rigs for equipment much like in the other versions. On the waist is a utility belt used for storing equipment. The armoured chest piece also has pouches to store clips and grenades.

The only man still to carry an AC160 was Lieutenant Vasquez. A big, hulking Latino bear of a man, Vasquez sat, squashed into the front of the Warbird. His body armour was a myriad of pouches, containing mostly ammunition and his two water bottles, plus his HF Radio that allowed him to get in contact with HQ, as well as his own men. On his back was a sawn off M90 shotgun strapped through the back of his body armour. He wore no CH252 helmet, only the metallic coloured Beskar covering, with several little chalk lines on the back, in groups of five; the number of people he had killed over his years in the Marines. The number was surprisingly small, considering the fact that Vasquez was thirty-four, quite possibly the oldest Lieutenant in the world, though no-one was sure if this was because he was passing up promotion or being passed over. Either way, many were just happy that he still remained as their CO. He was tough, fit, and an excellent leader, and Luke was proud to be his number three on this op.

An RPG streaked past the helicopter, the signature trail of smoke lazily wafting through the Repulsers. Luke began patting down his gear, making sure all his buckles and pouches were done up, everything was still attached to his vest, his weapon was cocked, with rounds in the chamber and in the magazine. Across from him, the LAATs flared as they stopped above the harbour, ropes quickly being dropped from the inside. A Republic Commando, with no helmet, leapt from the LAAT, clutching hold of the rope, and swinging down to the ground, his DC-14 strapped tightly over his front. More men followed, these ones wearing helmets, and Luke could only assume that the first man had been an officer…a nutcase. He shrugged it off, and turned back to his own men.

"Alright, here's the plan, one last time." Vasquez leaned forward to speak to his other men, his AC160 now in his hands. "We rope down into the street and head to the target building. Second Squad are hitting the front. We're hitting the rear. We clear through while Third and Fourth establish blocking positions. Then we hold down and await further orders. Oo-rah?"

"OO-RAH!" They all yelled, the bravado coursing through their veins. The Warbird was suddenly filled with the sounds of weapons cocking, and shouts of encouragement and excitement from the men of First Squad. They saw another Warbird across from their own begin to hover, and dispense the Marines inside, roping down the fifteen metres or so onto the sandy ground beneath them. This was it.

The Warbird pilot pulled back on the controls, pulling the Warbird's nose into the air, and slowing it to a halt. Hex wobbled slightly from her precarious perch on the side of the Warbird, before she pushed her coiled rope out from the side, and it plummeted to the surface, curling slightly at the bottom as the excess hit the ground.

"Green light!" The crew chief yelled, still holding onto his M137 Minigun, actively hunting out targets. Luke took a moment to grin at the chief's aviator shades, before slinging his weapon over his front, and pulling his gloves tighter over his hands. "Green light, go, go, go!" The Chief patted Hex on the back as she slid out onto the rope, holding on tight at first, and then reducing her grip, allowing herself to slip down. Moments later, Luke was right behind her, his goggles keeping the sand and dust from entering his eyes as he carried on down, before his Converse boots made contact with the sand.

He instantly dropped to one knee, bringing his carbine up into his shoulder, eyes narrowed, teeth gritted, and aiming down the street. He could see Super-Four-Two deploying it's own men about two-hundred metres up, through some alleyways, and then Hex darting in front of him, AC30 on her shoulder, heading down the street. Luke nodded, before getting to his feet. The young Sergeant had her head screwed on right, that was certain. Jogging slightly to catch up, and leave as little a gap as possible (a more desirable tactic during OBUA), the two proceeded down the side of a wall, though not completely pressed up against it, with Hex covering the front, and Luke pointing his weapon slightly to the right of her.

Some movement just at the edge of his vision made him shift his aim to across the street, but as the people got closer, he identified them as Corporal Thompson and Private Zampella of Third Squad, pulling a massive coil of barbed wire behind them, several metres long. Another Marine knelt by the corner, covering them as they pulled it across the street.

"GO, GO!" Lieutenant Connor yelled as he emerged from the alleyway, covering the other arc, down from where First Squad had come from. "Set up the blocking positions, let's go!" They knew the barbed wire would do nothing against a vehicle, but they weren't expecting any trouble from that. First Squad turned around the corner, and out into a courtyard, surrounded by wooden fences and covered in scrub.

"There's the target building! Stack up!" Vasquez jabbed his hand in the direction of the doorway as they picked up pace. Private Anderson slung his AC30 his back, and instead took his M1200, pumping it to bring a round into the chamber. "Left side door breach!"

They did as ordered, with Vasquez taking the first position, Anderson second, and Luke third. Hex, Hobbs, and Walker turned to give cover, and they would hold down the door of the building while the other three went inside. Vasquez turned, and nodded at Anderson. The Private stepped forward, and placed a small, C17 breaching charge on the handle of the door, before returning to his position as the second man.

"Standby." Vasquez readied his AC160. "Standby…execute." Anderson clicked the detonator in his hand, and the charge exploded, knocking the door in, splinters of lock and door spraying around. "Breaching, breaching!" the Lieutenant cried as he entered the room. Anderson followed quickly, and Luke heard seven shots, before silence. By the time he had gotten inside, the first two men had already cleared the room, and were standing on opposite sides of the door, checking for more targets. Three dead Falleen, heads wrapped in multi-coloured shemagh scarves, lay on the floor, with blood and brain spattering all across the wall behind them.

"Clear?"

"CLEAR!" Luke responded. There was a single door to the right of where they had entered, and the three men stacked up once more, as their remaining fireteam piled inside to secure the door and cover their six. "Let's move."  
"Jackson, take point." Vasquez ordered, and the Sergeant moved to the head of the group, patrolling through carefully. There was a staircase leading downwards, with an open door at the end, where they could hear shouting and the sounds of weapons being loaded.

Luke knelt down once they reached the base of the stairs, and peered carefully around the corner. The room was larger than he could see from where he was, leading off to the right, with several tables moved edge to edge. He could see one Falleen, with a red beret on his head, stacking magazines. His sleeves were rolled up, and he had a pistol strapped to his belt, probably a DL-44. Luke's eyes darted about, taking in other details. There was another door, this one to the left, and some crates just inside the door they were about the go through which could provide some decent cover. He fumbled around on his body armour, before finding the PTT for his radio, and clicking it down.

"I've got contact. I have eyes on one Tango, but I can't see the rest of the room. There are some crates to the right of the doorway, and a door in the far left hand corner. There's shouting, so there's gotta be more men inside."

"Roger that." Vasquez swapped positions with Anderson, coming down to Luke. "We're going to move in and clear the room. Throw a grenade, but be on the lookout for Wilhuf Tarkin. We'd rather have her alive."  
"Yes, El-Tee." Luke nodded. "Flash or frag?"  
"Frag." Luke grabbed one of the grenades from his thigh rig, and removed the pin carefully, his M416 dangling to his right.

"Ready?" He looked behind him. Vasquez nodded grimly, before shouldering his AC160. "Then let's go." He tossed the explosive into the room, before turning, and slamming his back up against the wall, loosening his jaw. The vibrations the grenade could cause would rattle his teeth enough loosened, if he kept his jaw clenched then there was no telling what might happen.

The explosion caught the man loading his magazines unawares, and he was sent flying forward, slamming the bridge of his nose onto the table from the force of the grenade, before being killed by the bursting shrapnel of the grenade. Luke burst in, kneeling by the right hand side of the door, and aiming, eyes wide, hunting for targets. One man burst through the door to the right, blaster in his hands, firing wildly, before he was put down by a double-tap from Luke's M416. Vasquez was next in, kneeling by the left of the door, killing two men who tried to approach from the opposite end of the room. When they were certain the room for the moment was clear, they moved forward, Luke leaping over the crates, assaulting it from both sides. He swapped hands with his M416, leaning out to the left around a corner, and getting his first glimpse of the rest of the room. There was a fire extinguisher on the wall, as well as two more doorways, and the tables ran all the way to the end. He stood up to get a look at them, and found huge quantities of small-arms and tactical gear, even some old M69 Flak Vests. Luke made a mental note to mark the building for a more thorough search later, as there was no telling what else could be in the upper levels.

Regrouping, Luke, Vasquez and Anderson shuffled down the wall, listening to the hushed whispers that came through both of the doorways.

"Sparrow, throw a flashbang." Vasquez ordered. "That should put them on their asses."

"Roger that." Luke turned to Anderson, who passed him the distraction device, and he flung it into the room, where it detonated instantaneously. There were screams and shout from the men inside, as Luke slipped through the doorway, moving as far right as he could, until he reached the corner of the room. Two enemies were stumbling about that he could see, and he hurriedly thumbed his weapon to fully-automatic, depressing the trigger, and dispatching his foes with several accurate shots. He knelt down, and leaned around another corner, in time to see another Tango's head explode from the force of one of Anderson's shotgun shells, before all was silent in the room. The smoke was still clearing as Vasquez loosely held his weapon by the pistol grip, using his other hand to depress his talk button on the radio.

"All Callsigns, check the bodies. We need a positive ID on Wilhuff Tarkin."

Luke rolled over the nearest corpse to him, pointing his M1911 pistol into the body's face. The man's greenish-blue features and shaven chin were most certainly not those of Wilhuf Tarkin, and he seemed a bit too tall in any case. The three men worked quickly, turning over all the people they had encountered so far.

"Negative here sir." A Marine informed them as they checked the last of the people in the basement.

"No sign of Wilhuf Tarkinhere, sir." Vasquez looked visibly disappointed.

"Fuck." Was all he said as he kicked a discarded helmet across the room, and holstered his MEUSOC back into the pouch on his thigh rig. He brought his AC160 back into his hands, and reloaded the magazine, putting his empty into the dump-bag on his left leg. "Command, this is Red Dog. Target building is secure, but we don't have Wilhuf Tarkin. Over." He turned, and began heading up another set of stairs to the rear of the building, back up to the surface. Luke and Anderson looked at each other, shrugged, and followed him quickly. _"Roger that HQ. Out."_

"Heads up! I just got word that Wilhuf Tarkinis broadcasting at a TV station half a click west of here. We're gonna move in on foot, and take down the package. Move it." They emerged back into the blinding sunlight, and Luke suddenly realised that his goggles were still pressed down firmly over his eyes. He pulled them up and onto his helmet, and wiped away the rings of sweat on the back of his glove. "Fall in, we're moving to regroup with Second Squad back on the crossroads." The three elite soldiers fell into line, joined a few seconds later by the remains of the squad, who dropped into position on their tail. The crossroads were back the way they came where Third had established their blocking position, and the enemy had obviously counter-attacked as they had gone into the building. Vasquez led the way, back across the courtyard, and through a mesh gate which he kicked open with his foot. His huge frame had to turn slightly in order to fit through, and they followed on in awe of their officer.

Things weren't looking very good as they reached the stronghold. Lieutenant Connor was firing his AC30 slowly, on single shot, with a nasty looking wound in his shoulder. Next to him, much to Luke's dismay, lay two dead Marines, both staring up at the sky, sightless eyes taking in the clouds and Warbirds that spoiled the beauty of the blue sky. Luke and Vasquez knelt next to Connor, and began helping him, as First, Second and Third Squads commenced the defence of their objective.

"Sitrep." Vasquez ordered. Connor stopped firing, and turned to look at the older Lieutenant.

"They came out of nowhere, sir, honest to God they did. They took out Marvin and Carlton, and we've got Jamieson and Parker wounded down the street."

"I see. OK, here's what's going to happen. Wilhuf Tarkinis broadcasting at the TV station, to the East of here. You and Lieutenant Wilson of Second are going to hold this position until reinforcements arrive, Command ETA's they will be here in twenty, both OAG and Republic. Once that has happened, you will provide dismount support for the armour." Connor nodded, and fitted a new magazine to his weapon.

"What about you?"

"Second Squad will ride the initiative and make the push towards the TV Station. We will link up with the other men of our Squad with Staff-Sergeant Griggs."

"Roger that."

"We'll flank around to the right down this street." Vasquez indicated to both Luke and Connor. We'll clear the area, house by house if necessary. I'll call in some air support to give us assistance as we go. Jackson, prep the men. Connor, pop smoke."

The Lieutenant lobbed the Smoke Grenade over their heads, and it landed a few metres down, while Vasquez spoke frantically into his radio headset, kneeling down behind a wrecked car.

"Roger that…I understand…OK, Dragon-One-One, roger." Just as he spoke, a SuperHornet roared overhead, firing a salvo of sixty-millimetre rockets and cannonfire. The ordnance tore through the buildings down the street, taking out many enemy sniper positions. A few survivors tried to fire RPG's, but to no avail, and they were cut down having revealed their positions to fire. Vasquez gave a thumbs up to the gunship that was rapidly moving away from them. "Thanks for the assist Dragon-One-One, we owe you. Red Dog out."

"Alright, let's move out Marines. Griggs is waiting for us." Luke waved his hand above his head, and leapt over their cover, breaking right down the alleyway as soon as possible, Vasquez and the rest of Second in tow.

They twisted and turned down alleyways, being given a little guidance by aircraft in the area, but for the most part, they were on their own, Vasquez guiding their route with his Garmin GPS. Luke wasn't afraid to admit that, for the most part, he was absolutely terrified. Enemy fire could come from any angle, and a single RPG or trip-mine could take them out in seconds, rendering the assault force down an entire squad.

"Griggs, this is Vasquez. What's the situation?" The Team Leader spoke over the mic in a whisper. The tones of their second-in-command, Staff-Sergeant Griggs, who was currently on the other side of the city with the second half of First Squad.

"We're movin' in on the target building, sir. We'll wait for you before we go in."

 _"Red Dog this is Command, are you the callsign moving East down an alleyway, over?"_ Vasquez didn't bother stopping as command interrupted, just thumbing his pressel.

"Roger that Command, Red Dog is moving East." Only gunfire for a moment. Then…

 _"Red Dog, be advised, possible spotters tracking you, we have multiple enemy contacts moving parallel to your position and establishing ambush points along the way."_

"Sparrow, hold up." Vasquez stopped the Commander, who nodded, and pressed himself into a doorway as far as he could go.

"Say again, Command."

 _"Red Dog, you have multiple contacts moving parallel of your position in the street over to your left, in preparation to ambush."_

"Roger that command, please advise, over." Luke listened to his Lieutenant as another Warbird flew over, and sand swarmed around them for a second.

" _Red Dog, there is a small shanty town approximately one hundred metres in the direction you are heading, you should be able to sweep through and eliminate the ambush from there. If we can we'll get some air support over to you but don't hold your breath as a lot of other units are bogged down worse than you, over."_

"Roger that command. What's the ETA on our armour?"

 _"We're having some trouble off-loading the tanks right now, apparently Captain Carr and his Commandoes are taking a lot of fire."_

Vasquez called a quick huddle with Luke.

"Command says the tanks are going to be a little while longer, and there's a possible ambush site up ahead. We're going to move in and take up firing positions along the edge of the shanty town, and press through from there. With luck we should be reinforced by members of Second Platoon after that, and then we'll press on to the TV Station."

"Roger that. Actions on reaching the shanty town?"

"Hold your ground, and three-by-three advance once I give the order. Move 'em out, Commander Sparrow."

"Yes sir." Luke turned, and pointed at two Marines, before waving his hand in the air, signalling for them to follow. The fireteam quickly sloped off further down the street, stopping at the corner. Luke could see a mass of corrugated iron walls surrounded by more permanent looking buildings. Anderson moved up another few metres and knelt down, aiming through a tear in the iron, as the rest of Fireteam Alpha got ready, narrowing their eyes, reacting to every little movement or sound across from them. Vasquez checked his M203, before sliding the barrel shut again, and getting the rifle comfortable in his shoulder.

There was nothing. Not a sound, save for the crackle of gunfire around them, and the occasional yell. Luke's face was twisted into an expression of readiness and determination, his fire-retardent finger gently stroking the trigger on his weapon, pushing it tighter into his shoulder with every passing second. He caught a glimpse of a boot in a doorway, before it disappeared back into the darkness.

"Possible hotspot. Doorway on the right."

"I see it." Anderson nodded, but didn't look. He was busy covering his own arcs.

The first rattle of blaster fire came from a balcony above them. Luke cried out, turning to his left, and aiming up, pushing the safety of his M203, and hammering the grenade through the window. It exploded, sending a huge cloud of dust out, followed swiftly by the remains of an Blaster.

There was a huge cry of "FOR FALLEEN!", and insurgents came flooding from doorways to their front and rear.

"Shit! Return fire! Head to the centre, find some cover!" Vasquez yelled. He put a powerful boot into the nearest bit of corrugated, and it flew from it's post on the ground. The officer leapt into the centre of the shanty town, find a bit of cover near a mound of sand there, also protected by the rest of the sheet-metal.

"You heard the man!" Luke yelled. "Get to the centre, find some cover! Anderson, GO!" Luke grabbed Hex's Weesatch, and sprinted off as fast as he could, favouring his M1911 over the M416 so as to fire accurately. He missed most of his shots, but a single plasma round ricocheted through the cheek of one of his targets. He dragged the confused Hex over to Lieutenant Vasquez, and put her down behind a wrecked car, even pointing out the targets to him, before going around and ensuring everyone else was in a good angle to begin their defence. Luke had to admit, it wasn't looking good right now. Six men versus they didn't know how many. He scanned the rooftops for hotspots, and exit positions.

"What now, sir?!" Luke shouted. Vasquez didn't reply. "SIR?!" Luke turned to yell again at his CO, before realising that the Lieutenant was deep in conversation with someone on the radio, once again. Which was exactly what they needed right now. Some support. Preferably not "Broken Arrow", but some more CAS would be good.

Luke left Vasquez alone for the moment, instead focusing on his own problem; remaining alive, and keeping his squad alive. He fired his M416 until the bolt rang out with a satisfying "clink" as his magazine emptied, and he quickly swapped it, stuffing the empty in the drop-leg pouch on his thigh. He slapped the bolt home and resumed shooting.

"RPG!" Someone yelled out, and Luke instinctively turned to look. Sure enough, on the rooftop, was a man dressed in brown fatigues, kneepads, and Arktis tactical vest and a Shemagh scarf. "Get down!" the man launched the rocket, and it whooshed down towards them. Luke ducked down, curling up into as small a target as he could as the missile burrowed into the sand in front of him, before exploding, sending the grit all over them. Luke suddenly wished he still had his goggles on as it sprayed into his eyes, and then down the front of his jacket and up his sleeves.

"Fuck!" someone yelled out, and Luke hurriedly shook himself down. He forced himself back up onto one knee, and he and one other Marine fired relentlessly at the RPG man. His chest convulsed and was sent back and forth, before he fell forward, off the roof, and onto the ground.

"Sir, we can't sit here much longer!" Hex yelled over at her Lieutenant. "We're takin' a beating!"

"I hear you, Sergeant!" Vasquez pointed down towards an alleyway, through the centre of the shantytown. "Everyone, follow me! Break for cover and occupy that building!"

Vasquez got to his feet, and patted Luke on the shoulder, before hurrying down the thin corridor of iron. Luke ensured that all the other men got to their feet, and he sent them down the right direction, following their officer closely. Bullets impacted into the metal with high-pitched whines and sparks, but none made contact with any of the Marines as they forced their way down their perilous cover, holding their own against their enemy with accurate, well-placed rounds.

"C'mon Hex!" Luke yelled. Hex was struggling, he could see. "C'mon, we gotta be less than two-hundred metres now, we gotta keep moving!"

"I hear ya sir."

"Don't call me sir, Goddamit!" Luke screamed.

That earned a laugh. It was important for them to remain as at ease as possible in the combat situation. Luke ran towards a doorway, and planted his foot against the wooden door, before piling straight in. There was no-one inside, luckily enough, so there was no need to shout and plasticuff civilians, or shoot anyone else.

"Inventory." Vasquez commanded. "How are we doing for ordnance?"

They sounded off their ammunition statuses, and redistributed as necessary, before heading outside to the end of the houses, back into the blinding sunlight. The dust swirled in the air, and Warbirds and Starfighters soared over the rooftops, barely clipping the tiles and bricks. The squad spread out into a line, before going prone in a dip just behind a tarmac road. They could see the top of the TV station off in the near-distance, but between them and it was a myriad of other buildings, no doubt filled to the brim with enemy contacts.

The sound of a MG firing made them all look off to the right, and a flatbed truck came haring towards them, crewed by three men; driver, passenger, and gunner. The passenger was leant out of the window with a blaster pistol, firing wildly and with abandon.

"Incoming technical!" Hex yelled out, ducking down just as one of the massive rounds shattered a mud brick just to the left of her head.

"Sparrow, let's get him!" Vasquez raised himself up on one knee, and fired his 203, with Luke following moments after. The first grenade hit the vehicle as it went to turn a corner, and the gunner was blown from his perch, flying forwards from the blast, and in front of the vehicle. Before he could get run over, Luke's explosive nailed it right through the back window, into the inside, and exploded as it made contact with the dashboard, peeling back the roof and sending it across down the main street.

A flash of blaster fire caught Luke's eye on top of a small building, topped with some sort of fuel container. More contacts were now visible, and the squad was spoilt for targets. The choice was made them for quickly enough, however, as a SuperHornet sprayed the road with it's cannon and rockets, taking out a large proportion of enemies, leaving the route reasonably clear for the Marines to proceed. Vasquez got onto his feet.

"On me, Ladies!" he waved his hand, and ran across the road towards one of the buildings.

"C'mon kids, hustle, let's go let's go let's go!" Luke watched each man go across the road, before following, his M416 up in his shoulder, fumbling to reload his 203 as he went. Arriving on the other side of the road, they saw clouds of dust approaching from what was now the left-most side of the road. "Hell is that?"

"HQ this is Red Dog. We have visual on approaching vehicles, possibly armoured, down the road advancing on our position, please identify, over."

 _"Copy that Red Dog, we have ID'd them as Charlie Squadron QDG, that is British Forces inbound to your position."_ They breathed a sigh of relief. Friendly armour, with Bushmaster cannons and more infantry.

They twisted and turned through the back alleys of the buildings, before the rest of the squad came across two Marines holding down the edge of an alley, weapons pointed up at the TV Station. Luke dashed towards them, and tapped one on the shoulder, leaning behind him, and aiming his own carbine.

"We got the whole place locked down. Wilhuf Tarkinis inside."

"Roger that. We have armour moving in as we speak. Republic and OAG."

"Orders?" Luke asked.

"The rest of you will stay out here. First Squad will move in and link up with team two."

"Alright, stack up." Luke voice suddenly lowered secretively, and he hunched himself over, moving from cover to cover towards a small side-door on the edge of the building. The TV station was the only modern looking building he had seen so far, made of concrete and glass instead of simply brick. It was grey instead of sandy and sun-bleached, and the cars were different colours other than white and rusty orange outside. The rest of the men followed him, and stacked up on the left hand side of the door.

"Standby, Standby…" Vasquez gave a hand-signal, and a Marine from another squad shifted forward, quickly moulding the C17 charge to the doorway, before tucking himself back in amongst the squad. "Go. Breaching!"

The familiar procedure, drilled and rehearsed countless times, was carried out again. The charge detonated, the squad moved in, and the corridor into the TV station was clear. Luke gave a quick hand signal. _Move up._ He and the rest of the group moved forward, slowly and steadily. This was different to the buildings they had cleared before; this one had been fortified and prepared specifically for an assault of this kind, and would no doubt be mined and booby-trapped to hell. A certainty that was demonstrated barely moments after they had entered.

"Hold up." Vasquez whispered. "Eyes-on. IED. Microwave, left of doorway." Luke moved across so he could get a better look. Sure enough, a hastily prepared IED had been slapped down on the side of the door. Anyone who would approached it from the left would surely have missed, and thus tripped it, setting off the explosives.

"We can skirt around." Luke indicated another door about halfway down the corridor that Hex was near. They opened the door slowly and carefully, moving through.

"It's too quiet." Luke whispered over the squad net as they headed through another door, and went into what appeared to be the main, central area of the building; a vast open room, dotted with tables and cubicles which would normally no doubt be busy with journalists and news staff collating news reports and filing them, ready to be broadcast on a Falleen Network.

"Spread out." Vasquez gave a couple of hand-gestures, and the Marines spread themselves across the wall of the office, aiming directly ahead. "Move forward, clear out anything you come across."

"Roger that El-Tee."

Luke moved forward slowly, keeping an eye on the ground in front of him for tripwires and microwave emitters, as well as an enemy that had almost as many hiding places inside this room than he had outside. He absent-mindedly checked his safety catch, before doing a running total of ammunition in his mind. He couldn't have had more than three magazines left, and a couple of forty-millimetre grenades.

"Shhh…" a voice whispered over the net, the entire section stopped. Luke looked around, to see West holding up a clenched fist. "I hear something."

Over the noise of the incoming vehicles and sporadic gunfire outside, they listened.

"I hear nothin'…" one Marine complained, turning around, his shotgun scanning the adjacent rooms for targets. "Just stuff that's outside."  
"RPG!"

"RPG!"

Like the buildings they had cleared before it, the entire news centre exploded into a hail of blinding light and deafening sounds the Marines saw the three men on the upper balconies armed with RPG's.

"Motherfucker!" Luke cursed loudly as one the RPG men fired directly at him. The Commander yelled out, and ducked down, instinctively dropping his weapon, and curling up into a ball on the floor of the newsroom, inbetween two of the cubicles. "Fuck-fuckity-fuck-fuck-fuck!"

"Fire your weapon Sparrow!" Vasquez deep, commanding voice screamed out of nowhere. Luke quickly pushed himself back onto his feet, covered in foam and bits of plastic, and regained his composure, bringing his weapon back to bear on the nearest enemy. "I have multiple contacts to the right!" he yelled, as more targets appeared, flooding from the doors on the outside of the room. He stood as high as he dared behind his flimsy cover, somewhere in-between crouching and standing, so that just his head and weapon was pointed over the top. He half wished that he wasn't carrying the M203 so he could get even lower, but no such luck. Within moments, he had a two people either side of him, firing their own weapons in support of one another. Glass shattered all over, and the previously cool interior of the building was now stiflingly warm, filled with smoke and flame as the carpeting caught fire.

"Not good." Someone murmured as the flames began to spread, the enemy fire slowly becoming less and less constant. The militia fighters were simply outclassed by the OAG Marines, and they were once again back on track, heading towards the upper levels of the TV station.

"Get that door down." Vasquez ordered, and Luke dashed towards the double set of doors, and slammed his foot against it. It opened easily, banging across on the wall that it was bolted to, and Jackson was through, almost running, rifle at the ready, as aggressive as he possibly could be. They came out into an open reception area, well-lit and almost entirely glass.

"Those are our boys!" West yelled out in jubilation, looking out of the windows as three Titan MBT ploughed into view. Their heavy armour and size belied their speed, and they tore across the car park, crushing and pushing other cars out of their way. They were followed on soon behind by a pair of Marine LAV's, and six Trojan Armoured vehicles, which stopped in a combat line, and released their cargo of Royal Marines. The twelve or so men from each IFV took up their own defensive positions, as Luke and the others move on across the reception area.

"Hold up." A dark, African-American sounding voice ordered through their headsets. Griggs. "Friendlies comin' out, hold your fire." Luke and Vasquez looked around the room.

"There." Hex indicated with her hands, and a door next to the front desk opened. Eight more men, dressed in desert MARPAT, moved through, led by a well-built black man carrying an M249.

"Staff-Sergeant." Vasquez nodded in greeting as Staff-Sergeant Griggs moved towards him. Griggs was a relatively young Staff-Sergeant, and as such, still retained a lot of the rebellious traits that he had had when going through basic training. His moustache was untidy and thick, adorning his upper lip, and he wore no shirt underneath his body armour, completely bare skin, with his pilot gloves covering his hands. He had aspirations of becoming a rap artist, and would often subject the almost always unwilling members of Second Squad to his lyrics.

"Situation Report?" Griggs asked, coming to kneel down next to his officer.

"Nothing in the rooms back there, we think he's upstairs. Armour has the entire area outside locked down, we're gonna move in and take the position upstairs."

"Roger that. Team two, fall in with team one." Griggs waved a hand in the air as if to illustrate his command. "We'll follow you on sir."

He turned, and he seemed to notice Luke for the first time. "Hey, Paul, you alright man?"

"Always, braw." Luke slapped Griggs' helmet playfully as they passed each other to move into position. "You watch my back, oo-rah?"  
"Oo-rah." They formed up in a line again, with Hex taking point up the stairs, and clearing the route forward. They met little resistance as they hit the upper levels, though a few remaining bad guys had tried their luck with the Royal Marines outside. It had not gone well. Luke paused for a moment to watch as seven soldiers had charged the British soldier's position, and had been met with a hail of machine gun fire from two GPMG's, what the OAG's would have called LMG-5's. He gave a slightly morbid smile, before continuing. Zeros screeched overhead, leaving vapour trails in the sky, on their way to bombing runs elsewhere in the city.

"We're getting close." Vasquez informed them as they headed onto the roof. "Intel says that the transmission is coming from this corridor here."

There was only one door as they went inside, and instantly, every one of them fell completely silent. Luke and Vasquez took point, with one of Griggs' team with them acting as their shotgun man.

"This room." Vasquez barely whispered. "I can hear 'em."

"Copy that." Luke replied, shifting forwards. "OK, stack up and standby." Hex darted to the other side of the doorway, her weapon in her shoulder. "OK, one my command, you're gonna hit the door. Hinges and the lock. Hex, Flashbangs. We'll break left and right as we go in. I'll grab the bastard and flex-tie him, get him on the ground while the rest of you keep me covered. Oo-rah?"

"Oo-rah, Sergeant." The Marine with the Shotgun nodded, and gingerly stepped in front of the door. He was particularly exposed now; if the enemy heard them and opened up, then the poor guy would be screwed. Luke hoped he was quick with reloading his shotgun. "Go."

The Marine fired his first round on the hinge, and blew an entire chunk of the door away. He quickly pumped the action on the bottom of his weapon, and fired again, this time aiming low. Another chunk was blown in, followed swiftly by the lock and handle on the door. Not bothering to reload again, he twisted, pressing his back up against the wall, his shotgun pointing down at the floor. "GO GO GO!" Luke yelled. Griggs tossed his flashbang, and it detonated as he and Hex burst through, scanning their sectors. Hex fired at an enemy as she broke right, Griggs heading left. Luke was third in, followed swiftly by Vasquez, the four of them moving to the corners of the room, firing on fully automatic on anything that moved or possessed a weapon.

"Clear right!"  
"Clear left!"  
"Room clear!" Vasquez yelled, and Luke sprinted forward, kicking bodies over carefully, keeping his M416 pointing at them at all times. "Anything?" Vasquez asked as he rolled the last one over.

"Nega-" something caught Luke eye, and he looked up at the TV Screens. Every single one of them possessed Wulhuf Tarkin image, speaking in his deep voice, yelling in Falleen. Luke shook his head in disgust, as if he'd suddenly realised what was going on. "It's a fuckin' recording!" he yelled, kicking a discarded helmet across the floor. "Fucking son of a bitch…" he slung his M416, and wiped his face with his hands.

"Motherfucker…" Griggs pulled off his helmet, indicating for his men to do the same. One by the one, the men of First Squad became a little more human as they unclipped their MICH's and strapped them to their belts.

"Command, this is Red Dog." Vasquez muttered into his radio. "We've cleared the TV Station, but no sign of Wulhuf Tarkin. It's a fake. Further orders…Griggs, turn that shit off."

"Roger that. Got something better anyways." Luke watched as Griggs reached into his pocket, before his eyes widened.

"Oh come on Griggs, fuck no man, not now."  
"Shut it Sergeant." Griggs ignored him as he placed the CD into one of the players in the room. A moment later, and Wulhuf Tarkin was gone, replaced with Griggs voice, singing one of his rap songs.

"Fuck no…"

"Aww, come on Staff-Sergeant."

"Shut up, all of you!" Vasquez turned, hefting his AC160. "Command wants us to re-arm, reload and then commence foot patrols on the streets. The Commando's are gonna set up in here as our Forward Operating Base for now. JLTVs are en route, Hex, you're back on the SMAW."

"Oo-rah." Hex nodded, leaning back and taking a breath. Luke checked his gear. Four mags left, three two-oh-threes.

"OK, Team One, get out link up with the Brits. Rest of you, reload and rehydrate, we move out in six-zero Mikes."

 _2623 April 1st Earth Standard Calendar, CDR. Luke Sparrow, Falleen, Assualting the Capital with elements of the 75_ _th_ _Ranger Regiment_.

"RPG!"

Darkness surrounded Luke, as his Oshkosh Light Combat Tactical All-Terrain Vehicle (LCTATV) or Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV), rolls over from the powerful blast of the rocket-propelled launcher. His Delta unit, along with an entire platoon of O.A.G. Army Rangers, were on the outskirts of the Badlands, a dangerous territory that no one dared to enter, unless they wanted to face the wrath of the Fist's of Falleen.

To Luke's credit, he wasn't even afraid of blaster bolts whizzing past his face. And a bunch of insurgents didn't scare him either. After how long he'd been doing this combat had started to become mundane. He still got the rush of adrenaline from the action, but it no longer fazed him.

Gunfire and explosions is what awoke Luke from his knockout slumber. He looked around the JLTV to see that it was on its side. Moving up to the front seat, he noticed the passenger was still there. Luke quickly inspected him... "Dammit." He said. Broken neck. The man was dead.

"Help me!" Someone in the JLTV cried. He turned to see another Ranger next to him, stuck in his seatbelt, crying in pain, as he had a broken arm from the crash.

"Hold on! I'll get you out of here!" Luke told him as he climbs through the wreckage to retrieve his M416, followed by his CO Miller opening the door from the top.

"Sparrow! Get your ass out here! We need to provide some covering fire if we want to get across that bridge!" He yelled, forcing Luke to hurry up. He switches to his KABAR to cut the man loose, then carefully slings him over his shoulder, and carries him to the top. Upon exiting from the JLTV, Luke and the young Ranger hop down from the vehicle, then he gives the man to another Ranger to take him to a medic. Undaunted by the last few minutes of horror he just saw, Luke puts a magazine into his M416, before running up to a set of rocks.

"Rangers! We gotta protect the demolition crew from getting slaughtered by those Fist's of Assholes, or else we're swimming, hooah?" Lt. Washington explained to the Rangers, as the demolition crew up on top of a bridge was trying to fix the broken down road. Their only option to get across with the tactical vehicles was to blow pieces of the bridge to make it into a makeshift bridge road.

Luke slides across the ground, avoiding gunfire as he rejoins Miller. "You hear that? Either we drive into town or we're swimming across!" Miller said, firing his AC160 with ACOG sights with a burst.

"I ain't swimming with the fishes today!" Luke replied, setting up his sights on the oncoming forces of Tarkin's men, who were trying to fire several shots into the Rangers and the Demo crew up above on their upper right. As soon as one rises to fire an RPG, Luke places the sights on his head, pulling the trigger, sending it across the lake, and into the man's skull, forcing the dead man to turn and fire a rocket at the incoming Fist of Falleen soldiers..

"AH!" An explosion erupted, killing a group of soldiers.

Luke smiled over that shot, before he fires more and more plasma at any of Tarkin's soldiers, before reloading.

"We got hostile's on the bridge!" Washington yelled, forcing them to turn their fire up to the bridge, as a truck arrives, carrying a squad of Tarkin's men. They were determined to make sure Tarkin's land, his home, and his most powerful city, wouldn't fall before O.A.G. feet.

Luke, Miller, and the Rangers changed that. Luke switches his optics by lifting up the scope, allowing a better zoom on the holographic sights. He switched the gun to semi-auto, and fired one shot at a time, either wounding, or blowing the brains and hearts out of the Fist of Falleen troops.

With too much to handle, they began to retreat. "They're retreating! Let's move up men!" Washington cried.

"The battalion is Oscar Mike!" A trooper yelled, before they ran back to the bridge, just as the Demolition crew set up the C17.

"Get back! Get back! We're gonna blow the bridge!" They cried as one pulls out the detonator, presses the switch, and watches a portion of an upper bridge collapses on the missing section of the lower bridge, allowing the Army to advance into the city.

"Yeah! Whoo!" Rangers cried in excitement as they went to their respective vehicles.

"Sparrow, your with me." Miller said as one JLTV with a minigun attached to it drive up to the two. The doors open to show a couple of familiar faces.

"You guys start the party without me?" Said Sgt. Damien "Hound" Carlyle, another member of Team Onyx, older than Luke, but not older than Miller, Caucasian, dressed in a similar uniform to Luke, but instead had a cap on instead of a helmet. He sat in the backseat, chuckling over the sight he just witnessed.

In the driver seat was a Japanese-Reachian, dressed in the same uniform as Miller, had goggles and a scarf covering his face. This man was also a friend of Luke, as they go way back since joining the OAGEF. SSGT. Bryan "Wraith" Lee, with his trusty M14EBR sitting next to him, ushers both Miller and Ocelot to enter. "You gonna stand there or what? We got a job to do!" He asked.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world." Luke said, climbing into the back and mounting onto the minigun. "Let's rock and roll!"

Wraith immediately pressed the gas pedal, driving all four into the entrance of the Badlands, surrounded by only their allies.

"Yes?" Miller asked while tapping into his comms. "Yes sir. I understand." He looks back at his squad. "Listen up guys. Until we're close to the crash site, we can't fire unless we're fired upon. You understand that?"

"Are you shitting me?" Luke asked.

"The boss is never wrong Sparrow. So keep you finger outside the trigger guard for once." Said Hound.

"...My thumbs are on minigun button triggers you moron." Luke grumbled as they moved into the city. Just before Wraith can advance further, Miller taps him on the shoulder.

"Just got some more orders... we're to link up with a Marine 1st Force Recon unit in the heart of this city. Apparently they're looking for something very important." He said. "Wraith, get a move on."

"Roger that." Wraith said, speeding up a little, then separating from the rest of the Rangers,

Luke kept a good grip on the minigun, scanning each section, corner, and door on the street, scanning for each sign of Tarkin's soldiers. "Let's just get through this, quick, and clean..." He muttered... then caught something in the corner of his eye. He turned the turret to the roof, which showed three armoured looking soldiers standing on top... without guns. "Miller. We got three guys on top, 11 O' clock. Think their Tarkin's men?" He asked.

"Are they armed?" Miller asked.

"No. But their staring at us..."

"Doesn't mean we can't shoot them..."

One top of the roof, the man in the middle pulls out a radio. "Kill them." He uttered.

"Sparrow, keep your eyes focused on the-" But Miller stopped upon a bullet striking the glass, but thankfully they were bulletproof. "CAN YOU SEE THEM?! CAN YOU SEE THEM?!" He yelled.

"SNIPER! 3 O' clock!"

Hound looks up to Luke, yelling "LIGHT IT UP!"

Instantly, the minigun spools up, then releases a chain of Plasma bullets, which hail down on the small building containing the sniper. He attempts to keep his scope trained on the Delta Force using the minigun, hoping to kill them for Tarkin... but quickly, the room, his gun, and his face became mangled over the shots.

With the sniper's death, Fist of Falleen forces instantly pop into the streets, firing blasters at the JLTV. Luke quickly turns and fires, killing four before they take cover. Wraith steps on the gas pedal, sending the JLTV down the street. Luke turns the minigun down an alley, where several contacts await to fire their guns at him. But they don't have a chance to pull the trigger as Luke guns them down first.

"We gotta get off the streets! Their's too many of them!" Hound cried.

"I'm trying!" Wraith shouted, swerving the vehicle to the left, before coming across a group of Tarkin's men. "Shit!" He doesn't stop, and instead of letting Luke handling them, he runs them over, but causes the JLTV to bump into a light post, knocking it over.

"Shit! Wraith, you suck at driving!" Luke yelled, exiting from the gun and kicking the doors open, before taking his M416.

"Oh go suck someone's dick asshole!" Wraith replied, before exiting from the driver's side.

"Get a grip, both of you! We have to get to those Marines. Get your gear and move your ass's." Miller ordered, forcing them to shut their traps and move into the streets... until Hound points to the road.

"Uh, guys..." He said, as all four look to see several of Tarkin's men, guns ready, fingers on triggers, ready to kill... and started to rain fire... on TArkin's men. "Whoa! What the hell?!"

The sudden gunfire drops Tarkin's men on the ground, dead... leaving the group of Onyx confused. "Who's doing the shooting? Who's doing the shooting?" Luke asked. His answers were about to be met, as several Marines step out from an alley.

"You guys alright?" The head of the unit, tall, African, walks up to Miller.

"Yeah, thanks for that." Miller replied. "Master Sergeant Miller. Delta Team Onyx squad leader." He said giving the man a handshake.

"Staff Sergeant Sharp of the 1st Force Recon unit." He said, accepting the handshake. "What brings you guys out here?"

"Here to aid you. Though we have no clue on what you guys need help with. Care to fill us in?"

"Well, General Cunningham has tried to get his hands on this city for days, since it's a gold mine for intel he needs on finding Tarkin. One of our own from our unit got separated and caught by those Fist of Bitches." Sharp explained.

"So, this is a rescue mission?" Luke asked, walking up next to them.

"Yes. And we could use some help." We've heard about your unit Master Sergeant, and we could use your team's talents to help rescue our comrade."

"Where do you think the Marine is?"

"Somewhere next to town hall... or what's left of it."

"Alright... let's get a move on. Sparrow, Hound, Wraith, up front. Sharp, you're on our six. And don't worry, we'll get your man out."

"Words won't cover it. Actions will. Let's move."

 _2623 April 1st Earth Standard Calendar, General Cunningham, Falleen_.

Somewhere close to the edge of the battlegrounds near the city, an extraction Warbird was making its way into the city, with a medic crew and more Rangers set inside, with one mounted on a Mk. II grenade launcher.

"Sir, we just got word that Team Onyx has linked up with SSGT. Sharp's Recon unit. E.T.A. 20 minutes." The Pilot called.

"Good. Let's light the place up and get those men out of here. They've gotten this city under control, and all they have left to do is rescue one of my men..." The man replied, smoking a cigar. 'And see if this Commander is worth it for Honour Team...' He thought.

 _2623 April 1st Earth Standard Calendar, CDR. Luke Sparrow, Falleen_.

Near the centre of the city, close to city hall, Luke and Wraith quickly inspect their scopes to scan the streets. "All clear. No sign of those Fist pricks." Said Wraith.

"Something's off. Why are there no sentry's or nothing out here? This city is that important to the Fist of Falleen. Why does this feel easy all of a sudden?" Miller asked.

Wraith, however, was about to find out the truth. "RPG!" He cried, firing a shot.

The Fist of Falleen trooper, looking through the scope of his rocket launcher, fired the rocket at the Delta's and Marines... then was met with a bullet striking through the glass into his eye, forcing him to fall off the building.

"MOVE!" Sharp screamed, forcing them to make a sprint for the centre of town. The rocket impacts behind the squad, but luckily, no one was caught within the blast radius. But a bigger problem emerged for the joint team: an ambush.

"TARGETS! LEFT SIDE! LEFT SIDE!" Miller cried.

"AMBUSH!" A Marine cried, forcing the squad to duck for cover, as the Fist of Falleen begin their assault, as automatic gunfire rain over the squad, with one unlucky Marine getting struck a few times. "AH!"

Quickly, Sharp pulls the bleeding man close to him. "Man down! You! Keep a good pressure on those wounds! Everyone! Return fire!" The squad begins to retaliate, firing back at the number of Fist of Allah troopers.

As the fighting intensified Sharp knew that unless they had immediate air support, they could be overpowered. "Command this is Staff Sergeant Sharp." Sharp yelled over the comms.

"Go ahead Staff Sergeant."

"We have been ambushed and are under threat of being over powered, I request immediate air support!" Sharp yelled.

"Roger that a chopper is already in the vicinity, ETA 2 minutes." was the response he got. Knowing that in two minutes everything would hopefully take a better turn, Sharp reloaded his SAW and opened fire upon any enemy combatant he could see. After what seemed like an eternity they heard the familiar thump thump thump sound of a Warbirds grenade launcher, followed by an explosion from where the enemy troops had been positioned. If that wasn't good enough, extra backup, in the form of additional Rangers had arrived to help clear out enemy troops.

"Sharp were is this captured Marine supposed to be?" Luke asked Sharp.

"Somewhere within the west wing of the building. She is a Sergeant, and her name is Kelly Burns."

was the response that Sharp gave him. At that being said Miller and the other Deltas moved cautiously into the west wing. Sharp and his Marines had been ordered to help secure the area, so they were having to move down the hallway cautiously, that was until they found a door that appeared to have people on the other side.

"Hound, place a charge on that door!"

"Roger that." Placing C17 on the door, Hound steps back from the wall and places himself against the wall. "Sparrow. You ready?"

M416 ready, Luke nods. "Ready."

"3. 2. 1. Ka-Boom."

BOOM!

The walls send debris crashing into a contact, before they were met with heavy force from the two Delta Force operatives, dying before they could get a shot.

"Clear!" Lukw called, checking the room for any sign of Fist of Falleen.

"Clear!" Hound repeated, spotting nothing... except for what they're looking for.

Luke immediately went up to the objective. Sitting in the middle of a room on a broken chair, tied, cut, and beaten, was a woman, wearing Marine tactical pants, combat boots, and a tan shirt. She had a messy black hair with a front bang, nearly covering her eyes. Her blue crystal eyes were mesmerizing, but it looked strong inside of her. Even though there was bruises, her face was adorable.

Luke already knew who this was. Sgt. Kelly Burns. And he wasted no time in cutting her loose. "Can you hear me?" He asked with concern in his voice.

Kelly, though dazed and confused, nodded.

"It's okay, you're gonna be alright. We're getting you out of here..." He placed her arm around his shoulder, then helped her up to her feet.

"Who are you?" Kelly asked, since the sun from outside blinded her for a second.

"CDR. Sparrow. Delta Force Team Onyx... we're getting you out of here." He said, just before the sounds of Warbird's engines filled their ears. "What the hell?" He wondered as he carefully helped Kelly exit from the building. Suddenly, her legs gave out, but Luke quickly keeps her standing, then lifts her legs into his arms, carrying her in his arms, while watching the Warbird land before them, along with more and more Rangers filling in the area, covering, and securing the LZ.

Stepping out the doors was the man everyone knew well. The same man who would not stop until Tarkin's head was on his desk.

"General Cunningham?" Luke wondered.

Quickly, he walked up to the two, before waving his hands to two Rangers. "Get her on board with a medic ready!" He said, as the two Rangers appear, taking her from Luke's arms before heading to the VTOL.

The General, on the other hand, walks up to Luke. "Gentlemen, good work on taking the town." Then he turns and looks straight at Luke. "CDR. Sparrow. You'll be taking orders from me from now on. I'll brief you in the Warbird. Let's go." He said, with a silent and surprised Luke following him.

"The battalion is Oscar Mike!" A Ranger called.

 _CODEX UPDATE_

 _Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV)_

 _JLTV traces back to 2615 but publicly emerged in January 2616, with early government requests for information noting: "In response to an operational need and an ageing fleet of light tactical wheeled vehicles, the joint services have developed a requirement for a new tactical wheeled vehicle platform that will provide increased force protection, survivability, and improved capacity over the current Up-Armored High-Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (UAH) while balancing mobility and transportability requirements with total ownership costs." The joint service nature of the effort was assured through Congressional language in the Fiscal Year 2616 (FY16) Authorization Act, which mandated that any future tactical wheeled vehicle program would be a joint program._


	22. Between Midnight and Dawn

**The First Contact War**

Chapter 22

Between Midnight and Dawn

 _"People are more important than hardware, SOF cannot be mass produced. Competent SOF cannot be created after emergencies occur. Quality is better than quantity." U.S. Special Operation Forces._

 _2623 April 4th Earth Standard Calendar, CDR. Luke Sparrow._

"Commander this is Captain Pershing, Sergeant Carver and Private Griffon" General Cunningham explained, each one nodding at Luke as their name was mentioned.

"Gentlemen, you have been handpicked because you are the best at what you do. About a week ago, a bounty hunter known as Cad Bane assaulted a lone Star Destroyer, the _O.A.S. Solace_ , with a company of Commando Droids and overran the Bridge. While control of the ship was regained it was not before the Co-ordinates to O.A.G. space

"Bravo team, the intel on this op comes from our informant in the CIS." Captain Pershing bleared through the radio to his team. "The package is aboard a medium freighter, Corellian registration number 52775. there is a small crew and a security detail on board, it is currently on a moon mad entirely of water in the Cyrillia System"

"Rules of engagement sir?" enquired Gaz

"Crew expendable." Pershing responded. With grim determination.

 _2623 April 13th Earth Standard Calendar,_ _Cyrillia System,_ _CDR. Luke Sparrow._

. . .The merciless wind  & rain assaulted Luke's cheeks like a hail of tiny bullets. Below them, the sea raged like a stressy teenager. He sat in the open chopper opposite Captain Pershing, who was smoking a fat glowing cigar. He breathed out a heavy cloud of smoke that would have gone in Luke's face were it not for the onslaught of the weather conditions. Luke tried to avoid eye contact with him. It made him feel uncomfortable.

 _This better be interesting, or I'm gonna be pissed!_ thought Luke.

 _"Baseplate this is Hammer two-four; we have visual on the target. E.T.A, sixty seconds."_ announced the Pilot's heavy American accent over the radio. _"Copy two four"_ replied the mission comlink at control. The team had been briefed the following night on the nature of their mission: they were infiltrating a cargo ship bound CIS space believed to have set off from Corellia two days prior.

"Thirty seconds. Coming dark" Luke looked out to the right of the chopper, and the vast, hulking expanse of a ship came into view. Luke could see its main deck caked with containers, some of them spilled over with their contents scattered around the place. He saw all manner of foreign writing on the containers, on one of them it was Galactic Basic.

"Ten seconds." The sea raged harder now, causing the chopper to bounce dramatically. Luke looked out at the ship when he suddenly saw something glowing flung out of the window, he looked around and saw Captain Pershing, having flung away his cigar, was getting up and putting on his gasmask. Luke followed suit.

For a brief moment, a dramatic darkness crept in.

Then the goggles came into his line of sight and the world came back.

"lock and load!" said a now gas masked Captain Pershing, slinging the rope down onto the deck of the ship. Luke prepared his gun. "Here goes" he muttered under his breath.

"Green light! GO GO GO!"

Captain Pershing led the way, private Griffin, another squad mate, followed the Captain, then Sergeant Carver, then lastly it was Luke's turn. Each man deployed himself onto the deck and took a window of the bridge. inside, five dark figures dropped what they were doing and began to stare at the four black-clad, gun-wielding figures

"Weapons free."

Luke took aim with his G63C carbine.

Within seconds, the five men inside were dead and they were moving on round to the door.

"Bridge secure." reported the captain. "Hold your fire. Gaz, stay in the bird until we secure the deck. over."

 _"Roger that."_ Gaz responded. The four men surrounded the door, guns at the ready, Captain Pershing kicked it open with an angry grunt. Griffin took point, followed by Luke, flanked by Pershing and Carver, they spread into the room checking for any survivors.

"Squad on me!" ordered Pershing, heading for the stairs on the right heading down. The two men followed the Captain, to the stairs, where they checked for hostiles.

"Stairs, Clear! Sparrow Take point!" the Captain barked, Luke headed down to a doorway on the left. As he turned into the corridor he heard a miserable moaning noise. he turned to the left again to see a drunken crewman stumble out of a door at the far end of the hallway on the right. The poor man was a miserable sight, he stumbled around wildly, muttering indecipherable phrases in what sounded Russiany when said out loud, and carried an obese bottle of some alcohol type drink probably.

No remorse.

Luke snatched out his M1911, to save ammo in the event of a firefight, and dispatched the man with three shots to the chest. He slumped lazily to the floor with little noise but a drunken grunt.

"Last call." Joked Griffin.

"Hallway, Clear!" shouted Pershing.

Still brandishing his pistol, Luke turned into the room from where the man had just come. Inside he saw a three-man bunk bed with two men dozing on the two bottom bunks. Luke took them out silently.

"Sweet dreams." remarked Griffin looking over Luke's shoulder, in a far more disturbingly evil and sinister tone than before.

The man clearly had a twisted, sick habit of making jokes about and at those killed at the hands of him and his squad mates. Luke was never keen on the idea of killing a person, but he was beginning to warm up to it.

"Crew quarters clear! Move up!"

 _"forward decks clear! Green light on Alpha! GO!"_ commanded the Pilot.

Luke moved down onto the cargo deck from the bridge down a flight of stairs, and was immediately soaked by a wave erupting onto the ship. Ignoring this aquatic assault, Luke moved on, the rest of the squad on his tail. Luke took in his surroundings; they were surrounded by crates, however there was space to move along the ship between them, his military instincts told him that the rest crew may be alerted to their presence, and this was the ideal place for a setup. Luke replaced his pistol's vanguard position with his G63C.

"Ready sir" said Gaz who had joined them along with the rest of the squad.

"Fan out. Three meter spread!" directed price.

The men stealthily sifted through the mess of crates, alert and ready. The attack of the weather and violent rocking of the ship doing nothing to deter them. They came under a large observation platform and proceeded through the crates, they soon came in view of another platform, this one with two men minimalistic and lazily patrolling along the top. Luke judged by their lack of alertness that they still were unaware of the men's presence.

"Got two on the platform." whispered gaz.

"I see 'em, weapons free!" answered Pershing.

"Roger that."

They all decided at once that it would be impossible to pick them off at this range without advertising themselves; they moved into a clearing of the crates for a better shot. Now it was the others' turn; Luke had time for one shot before the guards were down, which he missed, and they continued moving along the cargo deck.

"Target down."

The others moved along in dead silence, Luke followed Pershing into an empty container, though still adhering to the three meter spread. The ensuing darkness caused their black kits to blend in, meaning Luke lost sight of the captain for a moment. However, within a second he could see him ducking behind a crate in front of the container. Luke was about to join him when Suddenly something slammed into his chest and forced him down onto his back. He was too confused at first to tell what was happening, but having been knocked down by the impact, Luke realised he had been shot. It was disorientating and vision blurring before the pain came, but when it did, he felt like he had been punched by God.

Clutching his chest tightly, he aggressively grunted in pain, but the Beskar armour had done its job.

"Fuck yeah body armour"

"Get your act together!" Snapped the Captain, grabbing him by the collar of his vest and hauling him behind the crate with him.

"And get used to it!"

"We got company!" said one of the team.

 _"no shit!"_ Luke wanted to say.

Breathing heavily Luke checked himself to find three scorch marks on his armour, they hadn't penetrated his sternum. He was fine. He had been shot a few times in his years of service, and Luke remembered that these hadn't been from a mounted light machine gun, thus hurting a mother load of a lot less than this, and being far less dangerous. Thus he had gone nearly unscathed in most instances, and by an extraordinary stroke of luck, now also.

Gritting his teeth harder that he thought he could do, Luke took in the situation: the rest of the squad was taking cover behind the crates, also taking heavy fire, the rattling of machine gun and the shouts of men echoed around him, indicating that they had been compromised, not that the fact he had just been shot wasn't enough already. They had neared the end of the cargo deck, and were now just below the forecastle. Luke quickly peeked out and saw the deck above them swarming with hostiles, as well as two mounted light machine guns the closer of which, Luke presumed, had shot him.

Captain Pershing clicked on his radio and spoke, "Hammer two-four, we got Tangos on the second deck!"

"Copy. engaging!"

Luke looked up to see the Warbird hover in front of the second deck. It suddenly released forth a broadside of gunfire into the long corridor killing everyone inside. Luke had always loved it when there was air support to do the job for you.

They emerged from their cover and proceeded up onto a small platform that served as the base of the forecastle.

 _"Bravo team, Hammer is at bingo fuel"_ reported hammer _"we're buggin' out. Big Bird will be on station for evac in ten."_

"Copy Hammer." said Pershing "Walcroft, Griffin, cover our six. The rest of you, on me."

"Roger that."

They cautiously approached the structure around to their left, following the captain, were a watertight door awaited them. Luke stacked up to the wall on the door's left, the Captain stood opposite him, brandishing his G63C in the door's face. Gaz and Sgt Carver both stood in front of the door, Guns facing inward. The others stood behind keeping watch.

"I like to keep this for close encounters" Said Gaz suddenly, Luke looked and saw him replacing his G63C with an impressive M90 shotgun.

"Too right mate." replied Carver.

Pershing approached the door, and twisted the crank slowly.

"On my mark... GO!"

He ripped open the door.

Immediately, Gaz and Carver were inside. They stacked up on the wall in front of them peering down the corridor for hostiles. Luke followed suit and Pershing was first into the corridor. It was Empty.

"Hallway, Clear! Move up!"

They quietly fell into the corridor, one by one. Remaining alert in case there was an ambush. The sounds of the sea resonated around them. Up ahead there was an opening to another corridor. At the end of the corridor they were in, there were more doors that lead outside to the opposite side of the ship. They moved to the hallway on the left repeated the previous procedure of stack up, check for tangos, and get ready to move in, all this was simple Special Forces procedure.

"Clear left."

"Clear right."

They fell in. Pershing took point. Luke took in their surroundings, at the end of the corridor was another door to the outside and to the right was a raised platform with some access doors for engineers. the Only option was a stairway going down to the left. Perfect, they had to get as deep into the ship as possible before running into an enemy contact. The captain brought his gun to bear at the top of the stairs, aiming down.

"Stairs, Clear!"

The men fell in and followed him down into the ship, they came into a long room, they were surrounded by pipes wired across the ceiling and walls like weeds, with a huge fat one running through the centre of the room lengthways. A walkway went along the length of the room before turning a sharp right and then back around in the direction they had come from, only going into a corridor leading deeper into the ship. They calmly and quietly followed Pershing along the walkway, when suddenly they heard angry voices to the right from the corridor and they saw shadows being cast of guards taking up positions, ready for the oncoming threat.

"Movement right."

Luke ducked low and worked his way to the end of the pipe where he took cover. He had time for one quick peek around the corner to his right; he registered three guards with blasters stacking up in the corridor, just down a small flight of stairs. He had to think fast. The guards opened fire on his position. He pulled out his sidearm with his left hand and quickly reaching around the corner he blind-fired a few Double-Taps down the corridor. A muffled scream and the sound of something heavy hitting the floor confirmed his attempt. But then, more unexpectedly, he heard a thick rushing hiss, followed by more cries of pain and a cease in the gunfire, which could only mean he had hit one of the steam pipes.

Luke and the others hopped out from cover and surveyed the situation; one man was dead, another was sprawling around on the floor trying to avoid the rush of white hot steam that had taken them by surprise while at the same time groping around for his dropped gun, his comrade was stumbling onto his feet and preparing to leg it down the corridor. Their skills and training allowed them to assess the situation in under a second; they decided that the man reaching for the gun was more of a potential threat and they took him out first. The runner was soon to follow, a few shots dispatched his leg, and as he tried to crawl away, a few more dispatched his life. Luke reloaded his gun.

"Tango down."

"Hallway, Clear!"

They proceeded down the corridor, careful to avoid the steam, where they quickly checked the bodies in case of a trap. No pulses.

At the end of the corridor there was another, going left and right like a T-junction. Luke knelt down and peered out to the right. Ironically, he was met face to face with a dead-end wall a few meters away.

"Clear right." He declared. A hint of irony in his voice

"Clear left." replied Sgt. Carver.

"Move up. Carver, take point" ordered price.

They followed Carver to the left, guns at the ready, and unsure what to expect next. the hallway was lined with pipes like the last, and clear the end a red light left an ominous glow that looked uninviting. Next to it was a watertight door. This one was open, and was presumably were the guards had come from. They swiftly confronted the door and stacked up, Carver in front on the wall next to the door, Gaz was behind him, with Luke next to Gaz. Captain Pershing stood ready, directly in front of the door.

"Standby, on my go!" he warned.

As he said this Carver Reached his Head around the corner. however, within a second of looking, he was put back in his place by a flurry of gunfire that assaulted the doorway. He decided to repay this attempt by the guards to turn his head into Swiss Cheese. He unhooked a Flash from the clips on his Blacksuit.

"Flashbang out!" he Declared dramatically, while back-handily popping the device into the room beyond. Within a second, a flash that would have been blinding -were it not for their position outside the room, flash-proof lenses on their gasmasks, and constant exposure to flashbangs due to their counter-terrorist training that made them practically immune to the effects- sprang forth in the room, accompanied by the traditional loud bang, that would lead people to question the reliability of flashbangs were it not present.

"GO!"

They fell in. The room was a large freight hall, and the door had lead onto a catwalk at the top of the left-side wall. As well as crates, Guards littered the floor, lowering their guns and clutching their eyes as they attempted to find their way around having been 'flashbanged'. They descended down the stairs to the cargo deck, taking out the guards along the way.

"Tango down."

They didn't let their guard down. Luke aimed his G63C in front of him until they reached the other side of the hall. He scanned the environment: squad back, wall front, crates right, crates left. He noticed a gap between the wall and the crates on the left and headed for it. Suddenly as he emerged, a figure charged towards him, yelling his head off, his gun held high ready to deliver the killing blow. Luke reacted immediately; with both hands he grabbed the gun, and then drove his knee upward deep into the man's groin. The guard gave an aggressive but awkward squeal and dropped the gun from his loose hands. Taking him by the neck with one hand, by his jacket with the other, he drove him back into the crate behind him with fantastic force. he slumped to the ground like a ragdoll.

"Nice work there Sparrow." remarked Gaz.

Luke had taken several courses in unarmed combat, self-defence, and martial arts throughout his time as a soldier: he was a fifth degree black belt at Judo, and a qualified instructor of military self-defence. It had saved his life more times than he could count.

"Gaz, right side!" ordered Pershing.

"I'm on it."

he ran across to the other side of the hall, a few meters away from him there was a watertight door. Gaz looked around slowly.

"No tangos in sight."

the others came across to join him.

"Stack up"

They fell in towards the door, pressing themselves hard against the wall, ready and waiting.

Captain Pershing twisted the crank on the door "GO!"

Gaz and Carver went straight in. Followed by Luke. They stood on a small catwalk just above the floor of the container hall, in front, a container completely blocked their view of the hall, on the right, more container. To the left a stairway led up onto the catwalk along the top of the hall.

"Move!"

Luke followed the others up the stairway, looking up he saw Gaz suddenly jerk his head in the direction of the catwalk opposite.

"Movement right!"

Luke spun around while still backing up the stairs. Across the hall on the other side, he saw guards spilling onto the catwalk, pointing at them and gibbering random commands in some language to one another. They opened fire, and amid the resounding sound of lasers clanging on metal, Bravo team returned it.

They gently strafed one by one across the platform, double tapping their fire toward the enemy. Luke followed suit, dispatching two of the guards, one was taken aback by the force of the plasma into his chest, and collapsed back off the catwalk. The other had his leg taken out and he threw himself on the floor crying out in agony, unlike blaster bolts, plasma actually melted the area it hits due to its nature. Luke then had the favour returned; he grunted and recoiled suddenly as a collection of bullets out of nowhere caught him on the shoulder. Nonetheless he pushed on, his body armour vest suffered the damage rather than him, and the pain was minimal compared to the LMG earlier. Besides when you qualify as one of the toughest people on the planet, pain is one of the last things on your mind, except in the case of a gun like an LMG of course.

They pressed through the haze of gunfire until the guards were taken care of. They moved down off the catwalk, Captain Pershing dispatched one last guard lurking behind a crate.

"Forward area clear."

"Move!"

Having recovered from being shot twice now, Luke remembered an old saying by Churchill: _"There is little more exhilarating in life than to be shot without result"._ Luke knew little about Churchill, but he assumed he had never experienced the various anti-climaxes and ironies of being a soldier.

"Clear left."

"Stack up!"

The next door awaited them, this one open. Inside, Luke could see the guards preparing for the oncoming assault. They stacked up.

"One ready."

"Two ready."

"Three ready."

"Flashbang!"

Pershing popped the small object through the door. A moment later, light and sound erupted from inside, coupled with the sound of random gunfire.

"GO!"

This time, there was teamwork. They fell in, and knelt behind the first row of crates. Carver, being the one at the front, lent round the corner and delivered a burst of fire.

"Targets neutralised."

"Move up!"

Luke moved in behind a container to the right, Gaz and price ducked behind the next row of crates. The room erupted in gunfire. Luke looked across to the other side of the hall, a guard had appeared and had his blaster trained on Gaz's head. He aimed back, and shot him just at the base of his left ribcage. He dropped his gun and stumbled backwards, clutching his torso. He collapsed to the ground, dead. He peered around the corner, there was a guard kneeling between the crates, fumbling around for another magazine to reload his gun. Another was cowering by the crates. Luke spun around bringing his G63C to bear, and catching the first guard by surprise, he flew onto his back, and his gun slid across the metal floor. The other guard tried to make a run for the next row of crates. No chance; Luke saw his eyes roll back into their sockets as the bullet entered his head. Luke quickly joined the others behind the crates.

"Report?" said Pershing.

"I make it three or four tangos at six O'clock " said Gaz, reloading his shotgun. He and Luke knelt up over the crates and returned fire. Luke luckily managed to align his sights at the right time, and topped one of the guards through the head. They got back down behind the crates. The next time wasn't so lucky; he managed to fire a few random shots in their direction. The next time was even worse; he barely managed to aim his gun before the guards almost took his head off. He Squatted hopelessly behind the crates for a moment. The others continuously returning fire, with no result.

"Fuck it!" he thought. He unhooked a frag grenade from his clips.

"Frag out!" he called. unhooking the pin, he popped the object round the side of the crates.

For a moment, the firing seemed quieter. Then suddenly, he heard a guard yell something that resembled "grenade". Then it went off. Frag and flame flew out in all directions, accompanied by screams, then it settled. and the firing ceased.

They got up and surveyed the area.

"Report- All clear?" said Cpt. Pershing.

"Roger that."

They crept across to the other side of the hall, through the crates. Luke was so preoccupied with taking out the guards he had forgot all about their objective of finding the data. He realised how long it had taken, but they were deep inside the vessel by now, they couldn't be far. But that thought brought up another: how did Pershing know how to find the data?

The simple clicking of a Auspex Device answered that Question.

"I'm getting a strong reading sir." said Gaz.

For roughly half a minute, they played a game of "Warm & Cold" with Gaz's Auspex Device, until finally it led them to a container at the end of the hall.

"Ah, that's it," said Gaz "you might wanna take a look at this."

he yanked open the container.

"Bloody hell!" said Carver

Instead of a data disc or computer there was a large metal object, about the length of a small car rested inside. There was a bomb alright. Luke guessed this had the potential to take out a small city.

"We've been set up"

"We need to get out of here!"

Baseplate decided that at that moment to radio in, _"two bogies headed your way fast. grab what you can and get the hell outta there!"_

"Fast movers" said Gaz " probably Vultures, we better go!"

"Sparrow" snapped Pershing, "Grab the manifest in the container. Move!"

Luke slipped inside the container. Several objects were rested on top of the bomb: two bottles of what was probably some form of coolant liquid sat next to a pile of black ring binders, on top of them was a clipboard in a watertight container with various documents attached. Soap knew they could only take so much. He retrieved the clipboard and left the rest inside.

He handed the dossier to Pershing who clipped it onto his belt at the back.

"Alright everyone topside double time!" he ordered urgently.

They briskly retraced their steps through the crates and into the previous hall. As they came through, Pershing spoke into his radio.

"Walcroft, Griffin, what's your status? over."

 _"Already in the Warbird sir."_ replied Walcroft _" Enemy aircraft inboun- SHIT! THEY'VE OPENED FIRE"_

Suddenly, all hell broke loose.

Light filled the hall as a huge explosion erupted ahead of them out of the side of the ship. The shockwave threw them backwards onto the cold metal floor, winding Luke. Ahead of him he heard the radio gargle and drown away. The shockwave had disorientated him and he lost his sense of direction. Gaz sprawled about the floor next to him, Pershing and Carver in front. He fumbled around and tried to regain his balance. Looking up to the ceiling, he heard Big bird's pilot talk in panic into the radio.

 _"Bravo six! Come in! Bravo six, what's your Status?"_

Ahead of Luke, Carver crawled up on all fours.

"SHIT! WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?" He yelled.

Still on the floor trying to re-co-ordinate himself Luke saw Pershing prop himself up.

"The ship's sinking! We've Got to Go! NOW!" Barked Gaz.

Luke suddenly realised, He was lying in a foot of water. He groped around for his G63C, but couldn't find it.

 _"Bravo Six! come in Damnit!"_

"Big Bird This is Bravo Six- We're on our way out!" Replied Pershing, scrambling to his feet.

Luke lay in a propped up position and gestured for Pershing to give him a hand up, he was still dizzy from the shock.

Instead, the captain grabbed his flak jacket, and with an aggressive tug hauled him onto his feet as if he were a ragdoll.

"On your feet Soldier! We are leaving!" He barked explicitly into Luke's face.

For a moment, Luke just stood there stunned. But within a second he had snapped back into it and was following the others back the way they came.

The scene was chaos. The ship was slanted at an angle, Crates and containers had been disrupted and littered the hall, and a torrent of water Gushed out of the breech in the ship's hull like blood from a severed artery.

"Get to that catwalk! Move, Move, Move!"

Luke sprinted up the stairs, Fuelled by raging adrenaline. He followed the others up onto the catwalk. all around them was the sound of rushing Water and the ominous creaks and moans of the ship as it collapsed and sank.

"Come on! let's Go, Lets' Go" shouted Gaz.

The squad sprinted along about three meters ahead of Luke. Just In front of Pershing's head, a metal panel in the side of the ship broke away and a flush of water came rushing through the hole. The force knocked them down.

"BACK ON YOUR FEET! LET'S GO!"

Luke scrambled after them, tugging himself through the water that fell through. They almost reached the end of the hall. Suddenly, three huge metal panels fell through ahead of them, crashing down onto the catwalk.

"WATCH YER' HEAD!" cried out Gaz.

The destruction got worse. They had barely made it into the second hallway when more panels broke away and a much bigger torrent of water gushed in, the force knocking them all to their knees. Luke pressed on, dodging underneath the water. He sprinted on to catch up with the squad, when suddenly he felt the catwalk shudder violently beneath his feet.

"IT'S BREAKING AWAY!" yelped Carver.

The walkway buckled, and peeled away from the end segment where the others just about escaped through the doorway. As it broke off down into the flooded freight hall below, Luke Sprinted for his life and jumped off the edge of the catwalk. He just managed to grab hold of the railings of the still intact end of the walkway and haul himself up onto it.

He Stumbled back into the corridor. Ahead of him to the left, he saw the others turn right into the steam corridor where they had previously fought the guards. Water and steam spewed out around them as the pipes collapsed and emptied their contents.

"Watch the Pipes !" warned Pershing.

Luke sprinted after them down the twists and turns of the corridors, running at every which angle as the ship tilted over. Water crashed and erupted from every nook and cranny all around them.

 _"Talk to me bravo six!"_ requested the pilot _"where the hell are you?"_

"Standby! we're almost there!"

He followed them up the stairs, they were almost there, up ahead he saw Gaz stop abruptly.

"WHICH WAY?!" he yelled out "Which way to the helicopter?!"

"Right!" answered Pershing "To the right!"

Luke heaved through a waterfall from the ceiling, following them to the right.

 _Come on!_ he thought _not much further now!_

They raced down the corridor. Ahead of them, Luke could clearly see the door they had come through to the outside of the ship. He stumbled outside after the others, and turned right. To the left, the sea raged on. To the right, the vast hulk of the ship loomed over him.

Ahead to the left was the deck of the ship. He was nearly there.

With no time to loose, he ran up across the slanted deck, slipping a few times. The ship was at a 30-degree angle now. He trudged up the flat deck as hard as he could.

"keep moving!"

"WERE THE HELL IS THE CHOPPER?" cried out Carver.

Suddenly, the Warbird appeared out of nowhere. The hatch was open towards the ship.

A matter of meters in front, Luke could clearly see his objective. The others clambered aboard the Warbird. But he was running out of time, the Warbird was already heading away. He reached the end of the ship, and clambered onto the edge but the Warbird was too far from the edge for him to get on.

Suddenly he knew what to do.

With all the Strength his body could summon, he propelled himself off the edge of the ship.

"JUMP FOR IT!" yelled out a voice one of the team.

For a moment, With Luke suspended in space, time seemed to stop.

Then suddenly, it was all over.

Luke hung off the edge of the ramp, paralysed, unable to do anything.

Suddenly he felt himself slipping off the Warbird back towards the inky black abyss.

In desperation, he frantically clawed at the floor of the cabin. He felt himself slowly falling away, when all of a sudden, he felt a firm hand grabbing him by the collar.

"Gotcha!" grunted Captain Pershing as Luke stared into his face in shock.

Pershing hoisted him up into the chopper, and threw him onto his back. Luke looked up, below them, the vast hulk of the ship declined away into the void of the sea. He couldn't believe it, He was alive.

"we're all aboard! Go!" ordered Pershing.

 _"Roger that, we're outta here."_ Responded the Pilot.

Luke was petrified. He hoped this night would have seen the worst of his career, in vain. . .

 _2623 April 17th Earth Standard Calendar,_ _Cyrillia System,_ _CDR. Luke Sparrow._

The briefing room was dark when he entered and closed the doors gently behind. The Forward Operating Base, or FOB, was just waking up around him. His instinct was to be as quiet as possible anyway. It was good practice for his line of work. Despite his attempt at stealth, the others in the room looked in his direction. The only individuals present not of Bravo Six were an Intel Officer and a young bearded man in a flight suit who was chatting with Gaz, Bravo Six's sniper. Something clicked in my head as he realized that the bearded man he was seeing would be the pilot who would be transporting them into _"Hell"_ in this particular mission.

"Good, we're all here then," the Intel Officer said as she raised an eyebrow at him. Her nametag read "Mercil." Luke chose to ignore the condescending look and took a seat in one of the rows of chairs. The projector overhead illuminated and cast its light onto the screen.

"Now then," Mercil continued, "I'm sure you all recognize this man as Cad Bane. In March, he stole highly classified government information. He'd been mining his way through our firewall for three weeks prior. By all accounts, he is still in possession of the intel—"

"We know all of what he's done and what he's taken," Gaz interjected, "We've been chasing him for nearly a month now."

"Let the lady speak." This came from Captain Pershing. He didn't normally tell people off, but when he did, it was undoubtedly something serious.

Mercil began again with a colder tone, "As I was saying, Bane was spotted by one of our drones yesterday. The importance of your success in this mission is critical. From what intel we have gathered from the Republics Long Range Reconnaissance Planetary Patrol force codename Gauntlet, he has a tech wiz called Blackridge working decryption." She paused. Luke wondered who the LRRPPs were… Were they some sort of special Force Recon or just Special Forces.

"Why?" asked Griffon, customarily blunt.

"Bane's plan is to sell the intel to the CIS. There's no telling what kind of hell-raising will happen if the CIS gets their hands on it. In which case, Lieutenant Allistaire here," she motioned to the young bearded man, "will fly Bravo Six over a coastal Cyrillian town where Bane is holed up. He has countless connections and more money than any of you could spend in a lifetime, so you'll have to deal with hired guns and militiamen as you infiltrate.

Objective one is to upload a virus to the computer itself that should wipe all government and personal data. Last resort: if it isn't possible, just destroy the computer. Secondary objective is to capture or kill Bane or Blackridge. He can either rot in prison or rot in the jungle. It's your call. Blackridge is too dangerous to let walk the streets. Are there any final questions?" Several hands shot up.

"What do you have on militia background? Arms?" said Griffon.

Mercil replied with, "They are a local pirate gang called Black Sun. They primarily run with standard pistols, CIS blasters and RPGs. They also arm whatever vehicles they possess with outward facing MGs. You probably don't have to worry about civilians being present because the town where they're holed up was taken when Blackridge set up shop there. The villagers were either run off or killed."

There was a heavy silence around me as the team tried to digest her words. Luke frowned. Depending on how many Black Sun were guarding the town, things could get ugly very, very fast. Luke also hoped that the mission would be short enough he wouldn't have to scavenge a new weapon; his M416 was like his only child.

"How's our air support?" This came from Carver, who was standing in the shady back corner of the room. Luke almost jumped. Carver had a habit of going unnoticed until he appeared at your shoulder. For someone as observant as Luke, it was quite unnerving. Was he losing his touch? No, he wasn't the only one with a startled look. Carver noticed their reactions and smirked as he shook his longer-than-regulation hair out of his eyes.

"Lt. Allistaire's Paladin will remain on station after Bravo Six parachutes out." the intel officer replied crisply, "He'll be available for tasking a fair amount, but he'll need to refuel and rearm as well. He'll be unavailable for several hours between firing runs."

"Right," Carver nodded.

"How are we being extracted?" Luke asked.

"Once Bravo Six has apprehended or killed the hacker and his stolen information, we will send a Warbird to pick you up at a designated LZ." It seemed like a straightforward mission to him, but as he heard time and time again, no battle plan survives contact with the enemy. Pershing the squad leader stood up, looked each of them in the eyes and said, "We have a national threat on hand. Let's go hunting, boys."

 _2623 April 18th Earth Standard Calendar,_ _Cyrillia System,_ _CDR. Luke Sparrow._

Luke awoke to the sound of opening bay doors. Strange enough to others that Luke could sleep through a rough ride. His Oakley sunglasses felt hot, but nonetheless, they had a mission to execute. They lined up and prepared to exit the plane. Luke created a new kind of secondary gun clip that was supposed to keep the gun tight to his side without shaking, but easy release upon a quick draw. He was keen to see how it would hold up under freefall.

The doors completed opening and Pershing was rushing them out to drop. The next thing Luke knew; he was dropping like a stone. Luke sprawled out so the wind rushing past his face lets up enough to the point that he can see the drop zone. It was a Cyrillia coast. Keeping unseen would be downright impossible.

They descended as planned, but then Luke thought he caught something white out of the corner of his eye. Hishunch was right. A white Black Sun MG truck emerged from the trees on the hill. There were blaster bolts flying past them. Luke tried calling through the radio,

"Low rip! Do not pull until we're out of the line of fire!" Then Luke heard Carver reply,

 _"God dammit! My chute won't fucking go!"_

 _"Use your backup!"_ Pershing commanded. Luke's radio gave out after that. Then he noticed the MG truck stopped firing. Luke could guarantee that they would be going towards the coastline. The thought clouded his mind, and what he didn't see was Carver tuck his limbs in and accelerate into the tree line. Luke was spaced out until he heard a blood curdling scream, followed by a series of snaps. He couldn't tell whether those were tree limbs or carver's bones.

Luke had always loved parachuting. The nerve hammer drop of freefalling is so intense followed by the reassuring jerk of a chute that puts the hammer in the drawer. But this time, things went wrong as soon as they left Allistaire's Paladin

"First things first, head towards the beach and find Carver."

"Roger," Gaz murmured. They made their way into the jungle, hardly making a whisper. Through the eerie green glow of their night vision on their visors, he spotted a linear clear cut.

"Got a road over here," Griffon whispered.

"Do not cross," Pershing commanded, remembering the MG truck. They were as the still as the darkness that surrounded them, waiting in the brush for something to happen. He could only pick out everyone else because he watched them stop.

"Walcoft, you have the C17 right?" Pershing asked Walcoft.

"Affirmative," He replied.

"Plant it in the road and wait. Bury it, but don't make it look obvious. We'll come back once we're finished with Carver. If that truck comes back, Blow the charge."

"Got it," said the bear-like man.

The rest of them crossed the road one by one while Walcoft slowly planted the C17 charge and moved back into the trees. Another 100-150 yards into the jungle, it ended and they stepped onto the pale white beach. The colour retained even in the cloudy night. Luke figured that it was one of the beautiful white beaches that everyone dreamed of going to. However, he had no time to admire it. But, there was something of much more importance on the beach. After only a few minutes of searching, he heard Gaz's voice cut in over the sound of the ocean waves.

 _"Found him!"_

There was no questioning as to who it was. Bravo Six converged on Gaz and gazed pitifully at the splayed body in its small crater. Without speaking, they immediately began to strip Carver of his gear and dragged him up to the foliage of the jungle. There, he was hidden by the ferns and fronds from any prying eyes of the Black Sun. Luke pulled the tags from Carver's neck and tucked them away with a huff.

"Let's move Bravo. We still have a mission too complete." Just as they entered the treeline, a large explosion announced the arrival, and death, of the vehicle, along with those inside. They were close enough to Seatown that they would undoubtedly be noticed. Luke was counting on the pirates' lack of discipline to cover it up. He was also willing to bet that the Black Sun got bored doing their job of guarding Blackridge and decided to shoot up the jungle instead. If not, Griffon and Pershing would be happy to greet anyone curious enough to venture out at night with a KA-BAR to the neck. They met up with Walcoft and followed the road North, away from the smoking remains of the truck and towards our objective.

 _What a beautiful place for such hideous things to happen_ , Luke thought as they drew close to Seatown. That wasn't the place's real name, but it was a hell of a lot more pronounceable than its native one.

"Hold up." Pershing ordered. There were some flickering lights further up the road.

"It looks like a guard house," Gaz crisply remarked.

"Guess they don't like people driving in unannounced." Luke said as, annoyed that Gaz pointed out something so obvious to the rest of them. He was trying to control himself. At this point in their mission, he was as taut as a compound bowstring. It was the calm before the storm.

"Sparrow, Griffon, move up to the doors," Pershing whispered in a gruff tone, "Everyone have their silencers equipped?" Everyone replied with a confirmation. Griffon took the booth to the right while Luke took the left. Luke cautiously moved in on the door. The checkpoint didn't look like much, but it was big enough to hold several people.

"Go ahead." Luke heard from Pershing.

Luke rapped on the door several times and slung his rifle, pulling out his silenced M1911 and KA-BAR. A sleepy grumble preceded the door opening. Luke didn't wait, and as soon as it cracked open, he was through it. The disoriented man in front of him stumbled backwards. A shot from Luke's pistol made a peculiar wet sound as it punctured his throat but at that point neither of them really cared. Luke turned and viewed the scene as if it were a work of modern art. The brightest spots he saw next were two enemies; one lazily seated at a table, the other laying on a cot. Luke nailed the first at the table three times, centre mass. He slumped forward onto the table, his blood mixing with the chips of their unfinished poker game. _Oh well. It was never going to be finished now_. Luke silently strode over to the man on the cot. Holstering his sidearm, Luke tapped his shoulder to see him turn over and stare at Luke as if Death had come to claim his soul. In one motion, Luke covered his mouth and plunged his KA-BAR into the Rodian's neck. He squirmed a bit before his eyes glassed over. _It's funny how we cling to life so dearly and how quickly it deserts us anyway_. Luke removed the satisfied knife from the man's throat and wiped the blood on the sheets.

"For Carver." He said. The words hung in the air when he left. Once Luke exited the building, he heard a muffled scream from the other guardhouse. Had it happened at the beginning of the week when he first met his temporary teammates, he would have been concerned for Griffon. Now though, he knew better. Sure enough, the door opened and a body came tumbling out. The lifeless corpse appeared to have Griffon's knife forced through the bottom of its skull through its jaw.

Another man stumbled out the door and fell to his knees, closely followed by Griffon himself. The pirate on his knees seemed to be pleading for his life. Griffons G63A3 came up and spat plasma, cutting the poor guy off and rendering his face FUBAR.

 _Damn,_ Luke thought, _He's one cold bastard._ Glancing back at his own work and cleared his throat, deciding not to judge him. After a spectacle like that, he could tell he wasn't one to leave survivors where unnecessary.

"Clear." Griffon reported in an almost ghostly tone. Luke did the same.

"Roger. Let's move. The entrance we're using to get into Seatown should be just ahead." Pershing leading the way.

Whitish walls loomed in the murky night. They had reached Seatown and there was no sentry in sight. Good for them, very bad for Blackridge. The gate was a shabby affair. A simple push offered no challenge whatsoever. There was still no sign of any guards, which was very suspicious. Suddenly Pershing pushed some of us behind cover.

"Eyes up!" he hissed.

"Shit! He's got cameras!" Luke cursed. Luckily, we had just the thing to fool them. Luke produced a unique piece of gear; a Black Hat. This device would freeze any live camera feed within a 20 yard radius, unfortunately R&D just cleared it for field testing. Theoretically, unless Blackridge himself was watching, no one would be any the wiser as they crept through the rank streets.

"Gaz, pick a spot and get on overwatch. Sparrow, clear that building to the left and head for the target building. Take Walcoft with you. The rest of us will meet you there. There's a lot of open ground between us and where Blackridge's computer should be, so we'll find another way."

Luke signalled to Walcoft and dashed left, stopping at the doorway of the building Pershing told us to clear. Glancing down, he saw that Walcoft had his G63C ready. Luke grinned. They wouldn't know what hit them. Luke slashed his hand, signalling Walcoft into the house. The large man stepped inside and fired almost immediately. Luke followed and saw two bodies splayed out and walcoft was grappling with a third man for a machete like blade. Luke sidestepped to get an angle and shot the pirate in the kneecaps. His scream was cut off quickly as a result of Walcoft putting a dozen rounds into his chest.

Walcoft turned to him, pale faced and sweaty. "That was sketch, man." Luke nodded in agreement and pointed upward. There was a staircase they had passed entering the building. They backtracked and ascended the stairs with Luke leading this time. A solid door blocked their path. Luke turned to Walcost and told him the new plan.

 _2623 April 18th Earth Standard Calendar,_ _Cyrillia System,_ _Private Gaz._

From his position on a nearby rooftop. He saw the rest of Bravo Six, minus him, meet in the building they'd secured and talk about options. When they moved out, he had to keep in contact to warn them about hostiles he saw near them.

This wasn't an easy thing to do since he had to move along with them. Gaz was sweating from the stress, which is rare for a sniper. Usually they're a cool and calculated bunch, but imagine the situation he was in: his spotter, Carver, had fallen to his death, leaving no one to watch his back. The best overwatch position was the target building, so he could bet there would be semi-attentive sentries stationed in it watching for rats like him scurrying from rooftop to rooftop. It wasn't easy; it was a miracle all the roofs he jumped to were strong enough to support him and the Exosuit. He was in the most dangerous position of all the team. he figured any second someone would see him and shoot himn. Luckily, most people were asleep at this time, and Gaz wasn't spotted.

The team had to apply the surveillance jammer several more times whenever they'd peek around a corner and spot mounted cameras with their beady black eyes. There were no other Enemies Killed in Action (EKIA) between them and the hotel where Blackridge was staying, although they had plenty of opportunities to get them.

Some of the crumbling houses the team passed had slumbering forms of pirates inside, their cheap weapons propped beside them. Once, they had to stop and let an unwary patrol go by. Their numbers were just too large to kill them without attracting attention.

When his watch was just reading midnight, the team came to the target building. Blackridge had given himself the best accommodations in the town, which wasn't saying much. The "hotel" was thrice as big as the biggest shack near it and had three floors painted the same faded pink, although that was impossible to tell by the glow of their night vision goggles.

Gaz had reached a good position on a roof with a small generator which gave him some cover as he continued to scope the place out. The rest of Bravo Six waited, their restlessness growing with each minute. He couldn't see much of the bottom floor, but the top two had sleeping pirates, computers, and… _There._ A man was lying in a bed on the top floor. He couldn't see his face, but something told me this was the asshole they had come to kill: Marcus Blackridge. But he couldn't see Bane anywhere

"Pershing, this is Gaz. I have a tango on the top floor wearing a white button-up and jeans… It could be Notch," Gaz said, using Blackridge's codename. "I am not positive, repeat I am not positive. No sign of HVT one. Please advise."

There was a short silence. Then Pershing replied, _"I copy, Gaz. We don't have time to confirm his identity. I don't know how long we have until the Black Sun find their dead. Silence any shooter's on the roof so we can move up to the building."_

"Roger that, sir." Gaz said, and stilled his crosshairs on the sentry's chest. He breathed in, and so did the poor sod he was about to end. "Firing…" he breathed out. Gaz's finger smoothly curled tighter around the trigger until _thwip._ His rifle jerked a little, and the tango jerked a lot. After his body settled, he was concerned to see smoke rising from it. Then he realized his corpse was breathing out the drag he'd taken of his cigarette. Gaz shivered a little, sure that this was one of those scenes to show up in his nightmares after deployment was over.

"You're clear to the hotel, sir," Gaz told Pershing. Their figures moved out of the shadows and slunk to the building's wall.

He caught movement in his rifle's scope and Gaz settled it on the man in white on the top floor. He'd been woken up by a peculiar thump on the roof, and was now listening, bolt upright in his cot. Gaz knew his face from the picture Major Mercil had shown them. It was Blackridge.

"Captain, Captain," Gaz whispered excitedly into his mic. "I have a positive I.D. on Notch. He's in the only room on the top floor." Then he saw the dark forms of Some aliens stir from where they'd been resting. "And surrounded by multiple guards."

Pershing said, _"Understood, Gaz. Keep me posted. Bravo, move into the hotel. Go quiet. All contacts are hostile except Blackridge. I want him alive."_

The figures opened what passed for a door in this town. He watched them until they disappeared up the stairs. On the second floor, one of the Rangers—Walcoft, he thought—unsheathed a knife and stabbed one of the men. Above them, Blackridge and a burly pirate were arguing. Blackridge seemed nervous; he kept pointing up and asking some question that he couldn't hear. The pirate finally exclaimed something, unsheathed a machete, and walked towards the stairs. Blackridge sat down at his computer.

He knew he had to warn my comrades, so Gaz got on the radio again. "Gaz to Pershing. They're been alerted. There's a tango headed down the stairs and Blackridge is on his computer. Recommend you speed it up."

Pershing acknowledged Gaz and they took positions around the stairs to the top floor. As soon as the pirate appeared in the doorway, Pershing moved out from the wall to shoot him. But the enemy was remarkably fast and he ducked under Pershing's first shots. Shrugging off a round that had clipped him in the shoulder, the pirate threw himself forward and tackled Pershing to the ground, yelling bloody murder all the while.

Gaz gritted his teeth. His crosshair was floating around the two men, but he knew there was no way he could have a clear shot. Fortunately, Sparrow was on top of it. He viciously kicked the pirate in the ribs, who rolled off of Pershing... and went flying into the wall. That was good enough for Sparrow, who blasted him with his handgun. _Note to self, never challenge Sparrow to CQC_ Gaz thought.

Gaz looked at Blackridge's room again. The three Black Sun were yelling and pointing their blasters at the closed door. Blackridge was still on his computer… Wait. He'd pulled up security camera feeds. Gaz saw tiny figures of the team moving into the stairwell.

"Shit! Pershing, you've been compromised. Blackridge has you on camera."

 _"Now would be a good time to start shooting instead of just watching, jackass,"_ snarled Griffon.

 _Oh. Right,_ Gaz thought belatedly. Pershing confirmed that order a second later, and he was already aiming for one of the pirates. _Thwip!_ Gaz's rifle coughed, and the pirate staggered sideways. He'd nailed him in the ribcage, hitting most of his vitals at once. Beautiful. The other two looked around wildly, and Gaz shot the second. The third man figured out what was happening and hit the deck, covering the back of his neck in a classic bomb-drill pose. Perhaps he thought he was safe on the floor somehow, or maybe he was hoping Gaz would have mercy. Either way, he was wrong.

"Bravo, all hostiles neutralized. There's only Blackridge left in there."

 _"Excellent,"_ He heard Sparrow say.

The door flew open and the team filed in, making sure the room was secure. Blackridge grabbed a blaster pistol from his computer table and shakily aimed at Walcoft.

"I have a clean leg shot lined up," He told Pershing. "We can end it here!"

 _"Negative. I don't want to risk it,"_ he replied. Then, speaking to Blackridge: "Drop your weapon! Do it now!"

Blackridge hesitated, and then very carefully placed his gun on the floor, his other hand raised in surrender. Sparrow walked forward and slammed the butt of his rifle into Blackridge's gut. The latter bent double, trying to suck in air. Sparrow kneed him in the face, and when Blackridge staggered backward, a boot extended to trip him. Gaz felt himself grinning. It was like a finishing move out of a Mortal Kombat game. Blackridge definitely looked like he'd been K.O.'ed, laying there pitifully as Sparrow put a zip-tie around his wrists.

"Captain, if we're going to go, we need to go NOW. It'll be daylight soon and I don't want to have to stick around."

" _Copy Gaz, we'll rendezvous outside and make for the LZ_ _ **"**_

 _2623 April 19th Earth Standard Calendar,_ _Cyrillia System,_ _CDR. Luke Sparrow._

Tree branches and bushes whipped by in indistinct blurs as they raced into the jungle. The sounds of Seatown gradually faded as the group put distance between themselves and Seatown. How Luke was still running, he didn't recall. Bravo had been fighting or running almost nonstop since the mission began, and now it was just less than a Klick to the LZ. Luke came to a lurching stop, casting a glance back the way he'd come. What was it that had spooked him? He listened and then he realized: the shooting had stopped altogether. Did that mean the last of Black Sun had given up were?

Luke stumbled on through the trees, and coming out onto the beach with the rest of Bravo. "Overlord, this is Bravo Six. Do you copy? We made it out of the town. Some fucking transport would be nice." Pershing called over the radio.

 _"Bravo Six, this is Overlord. Evac birds are on their way. Send up a flare when you're ready, and they'll pick you boys up."_ Overlord sounded worried. Luke guessed she had good reason to be.

Pershing acknowledged just as Luke reached a familiar landmark. It was the the spot near where Carver's body lay concealed. Luke tossed his pack in the sand, tempted to just sit back and watch the rhythmic advance and retreat of the tide. Only the thought of bloodthirsty pirates tracking him through the woods kept him going. Walcoft took out the flare gun, loaded up the last round, and pointed the shred of hope to the heavens.

"Firing flare," He yelled whoever was listening, and did just that. It left a streak of coloured smoke in its wake as peaked and slowly fell back to land near Luke on the beach, still spitting smoke and sparks. Luke trudged over to the hidden spot and removed the leaves that covered Carver.

"Feels like we're waiting at the bus stop," Luke chuckled at Griffons remark. The whine of an engine, appearing in the form of a Gunship that hovered nearby. Luke looked at it and wasn't too surprised to see that it was a droid Gunship, not a friendly, he was too worn out from the fifteen klick non-stop run while under fire for seven klicks. They had nothing on hand to kill it. So instead, Luke just gave it his snappiest one-fingered salute and stared down his soon to be killer.

A streak of screaming fire from a shoulder mounted rocket carved into the Gunship's side from the treeline behind Bravo Six, causing it to immediately wobble dangerously. Its engines screamed as it fought to retain control over its flight. Machine gun fire peppered its armour, and the wobble developed into a tailspin which sent it over Luke's head to crash in the tree line. He looked for the source, and saw a Warbird Gunship touchdown nearby on the beach. Luke watched as a squad of heavily customized clone armour, probably the LRRPPs mentioned from Mercil's briefing, either way, everyone from Bravo Six was too tired to care. Luke owed them a beer for them helping to shoot down the droid gunship.

Luke got up and walked towards the Warbird with the rest of Bravo Six and the LRRPPs while two army men grabbed carver's body and dragged it onto the Warbird. The people of the Orion Arm could sleep safely once more.

 **A/N**

 **Check out 5.56V45's Contingency Protocol 666 where the Long Range Reconnaissance Planetary Patrol troopers are from.**


	23. Cultural Exchange

**The First Contact War**

Chapter 23

Cultural Exchange

"W _e meet in an hour of change and challenge, in a decade of hope and fear, in an age of both knowledge and ignorance. The greater our knowledge increases, the greater our ignorance unfolds._

 _Despite the striking fact that most of the scientists that the world has ever known are alive and working today, despite the fact that this Nation's own scientific manpower is doubling every 12 years in a rate of growth more than three times that of our population as a whole, despite that, the vast stretches of the unknown and the unanswered and the unfinished still far out-strip our collective comprehension._

 _No man can fully grasp how far and how fast we have come, but condense, if you will, the 50,000 years of man's recorded history in a time span of but a half century. Stated in these terms, we know very little about the first 40 years, except at the end of them advanced man had learned to use the skins of animals to cover them. Then about 10 years ago, under this standard, man emerged from his caves to construct other kinds of shelter. Only 5 years ago man learned to write and use a cart with wheels. Christianity began less than 2 years ago. The printing press came this year, and then less than 2 months ago, during this whole 50-year span of human history, the steam engine provided a new source of power._

 _Newton explored the meaning of gravity. Last month electric lights and telephones and automobiles and airplanes became available. Only last week did we develop penicillin and television and nuclear power, and now if America's new spacecraft succeeds in reaching Venus, we will have literally reached the stars before midnight tonight._

 _This is a breath-taking pace, and such a pace cannot help but create new ills as it dispels old, new ignorance, new problems, new dangers. Surely the opening vistas of space promise high costs and hardships, as well as high reward." John F. Kennedy_

* * *

 _Extract from a Mandalorian news Artilce._

"… _I know I'm far from the only person that can't wait to get more detail about O.A.G. history of war and military, and I'm a military strategist—it's my_ job _to be excited about this stuff. The reserves are showing incredible anticipation and excitement, too, and it's easy to see why. Initial reports from diplomatic teams are that O.A.G. war history is like a bizarre cross between old Republic scale and brutality, Mandalorian virtues and skill, and Yaka gambiting and technological races of advancement._

 _Only two have received a name thus far—World War 2 and The Cold War. The former is peculiar—a very odd naming convention for any war, but it also clearly implies that there was yet another such war beforehand, and potentially more after the second one. Regardless,_ _that_ _Cold_ _war is garnering intense interest amongst even diplomatic and social issue groups, because of the basic facts we know about it so far, and their possible relevancy to our society:_

 _Two major superpowers vying for supremacy of ideology (not religious ideology, either), manoeuvring their way to greater and greater spheres of influence through various means, treating their entire homeworld like a giant game board._

 _Thousands of powerful nuclear warheads on both sides, each aimed at each other from hundreds of inter-continental ballistic missile silos, mobile ballistic missile launchers,_ _nuclear-powered submarines_ _, supersonic long-range bombers, and many other delivery systems. A large part of the war was cultural development before technological development reached a critical point, leading to all-out nuclear war and total devastation of the entire planet._

 _Numerous proxy wars._

 _A vast intertwining of subtle and strong diplomacy and military action that would prevent nuclear war, whilst somehow defeating the other superpower (without inciting a conventional war, or even a small clash of arms)._

 _In the end, one superpower collapsed because its economy did…because it bankrupted itself in the ludicrously expensive, many-decades-long arms race with the other superpower, which had a stronger economy. While an arms race of several decades might not seem overly expensive, apparently O.A.G. arms races are truly something else. The little hints we have to go on thus far have only served to whet appetites. One quote comes to mind: "they started with primitive jet aircraft, armed with only machine guns and the most basic and primitive of transistors, and ended up with hundreds of MIRV ICBM's, their very first space programs (including a "space race", culminating with multiple landings on their sole, large moon), jet aircraft that could utterly decimate their predecessors even when vastly outnumbered, and dozens of nuclear powered submarines that were capable of exceptional stealth, range, and_ _underwater launching_ _of dozens of long-range, nuclear ballistic missiles. They had plans for weapons of absurd levels of destruction, but they never came to fruition due to the abrupt and surprising end to the war, and the sheer lack of necessity of more destructive weapons (even if no retaliatory strike was launched, the damage done would wreck the planet's biosphere…yes, it is as insane as it sounds)._

 _World War 2 is even more interesting. We've only received hints so far, but the incomplete picture they paint is still too confusing to do more than basic speculation. However…_

 _It was a truly global conflict, featuring every kind of warfare except one: space. The technology to launch anything into space simply didn't exist until near the end of the war, and even then, it was barely capable of doing so. It would lead, with astounding quickness, to impressive space programs, though._

 _It was arguably the most important war in human history, with only the Cold War disputing the distinction and later the Insurrection war._

 _It was a war unlike anything else in human history, before or since._

 _It is one of the rare wars in human history where very few believe that it didn't need to be fought. Despite both sides committing horrible acts, one side (the only that ultimately lost) was indisputably immoral and monstrous, and it was extremely aggressive. It even nearly won; only the heroic, desperate, and determined efforts of the rest of the world held the line and turned the tide._

 _The very first nuclear weapons in O.A.G. history were invented, from scratch, and quickly deployed. Only two were actually used, both within a week of each other. Though very low yield, they were dropped on two cities, killing over 200,000 people, mostly innocent non-combatants (though many significant military targets were destroyed, along with thousands of military personnel). Nuclear weapons have not been used by humans since, outside of testing. The incredible thing is that their usage was arguably justified, and as shocking as it might seem, as what we've heard so far indicates that their usage likely saved many more lives than they ended. More horrifically, many more people were killed by conventional bombing raids in that time period than by nuclear weapons. That fact is astounding—it might give a clear picture of the scope and severity of this conflict._

 _In many cases, it was total war—even the morally superior side resorted to massive bombing raids against enemy cities, just to do damage to the other side, especially because they lacked the technology for reliably precise bombing._

 _It united most of the world, in one way or another, like nothing else had before, in completely new ways. Millions of people from all over the world were interacting with each other for the first time, finding much in common and taking great interest in the differences, despite the misgivings they might have had. According to the reports coming in, this war changed the cultures of the world so dramatically that it shifted the general O.A.G. perception from viewing their world in terms of individual countries into terms of an entire interconnected planet._

 _It was the first war in O.A.G. history to be extensively documented in visual, audio, personal written accounts, and video, and in turn seen by the publics at large—either through visual recordings or the widespread, cataclysmic effects of this global war upon their homes and countries._

 _From a military standpoint, I've read some incredible things. Little of it is confirmed yet, so count this as rumour and speculation. But if even half of it is true, then I couldn't possibly be disappointed. Here we go:_

 _There were three major theatres of the war. The first is the Earth continent of "Europe". It was mostly ground-based fighting, but it featured massive battles in the air, intense and bloody urban fighting, huge battles between thousands of armoured vehicles and artillery guns, and at least one_ colossal _amphibious assault. That last one seems to be most likely a major exaggeration or rumour, especially since one rumour about it claims that nearly 7000 ships were involved, and at least 250,000 infantry. Needless to say, I can't imagine there ever being a need for an amphibious operation that large, nor can I fathom how such an operation could be at all practical._

 _The second major theatre was "The Mediterranean"—mainly large infantry and armoured vehicle battles in a large stretch of desert, full of mountainous terrain and littered with the occasional city. Apparently this one is characterized as rapid strategy gambits and relatively "clean" warfare._

 _The last major theatre is the most fantastical and bizarre: the "Pacific". If that massive amphibious operation seemed like an exaggeration, then this will seem like outright mythology. Two absurdly large sea-going navies repeatedly engaged each other—their fleets had everything from submarines and gunboats to large dreadnoughts and something called "carriers". Apparently, "carriers" are capital ships that are essentially mobile airbases for fighters and small bomber craft, and they dominated the naval war and continue to do so today, on Earth. I'm not sure how a capital ship could be effective with small aircraft as its only major armament or defence, but I hope we get to find out soon. On top of the naval warfare, there were dozens of amphibious assaults, including one on a strategically important, yet tiny and barren island where many thousands of people died—the only description of the battle that we currently have is "a bloodbath where an unstoppable force met and immovable object." One naval battle we've heard a little about is a huge mismatch, where a handful of armorless frigates (or their human equivalent), whose main armament would literally bounce off the hulls of the enemy ships, charged the most powerful battle-group of heavy cruisers and dreadnoughts in the world, and against all odds managed to confuse and fluster the enemy into retreating. Lastly, the losing side, due to refusing to surrender or retreat, received endless bombings, until two almost-simultaneously deployed nuclear bombs convinced that side to finally surrender, ending this "World War 2"._

 _And the opening battles of the war? Two superpowers jointly invaded a country in-between them from both sides, provoking a declaration of war from some other superpower nations. Poland, the name of this hopelessly outmatched country, put up an admirable fight and an effective underground resistance after their country's official defeat. One battle placed 700 [/sic: Polish] soldiers in a handful of pillboxes against a mechanized army (complete with armoured vehicles and more advanced small arms) that outnumbered them by a ratio_ of fifty-nine to one _. Yes, over 42,000 better-equipped soldiers with armoured vehicles against 700 soldiers in some rudimentary bunkers. The 700 held out for_ three days _, buying other [/sic: Polish] armies critical time (and inflicting over 1000 casualties and 10 armoured vehicle kills)._

 _If that sounds like a mythical, heroic mismatch for a species that has barely ventured into space, just wait until you learn about their naval battles. The good news? A significant amount of video footage of varying (though poor at best) quality exists, but the countless verified accounts of these events and the intense interest in them by humanity at large means that hours upon hours of live-action dramatizations, computer-generated recreations, and fictional works in the setting exist._

 _Needless to say, we seem to finally have an answer to a centuries-long question: are large sea-going naval battles inherently unlikely and impractical, or is it mere chance that the right species in the right circumstances just hasn't come along yet? I was able to ask the most knowledgeable personnel at the O.A.G. Embassy on Mandalor (though that isn't saying much, as they don't yet know that much more than we do) for their understandings on the subject, and the answers were intriguing. Humanity, as we know, is biologically adept in the water for a non-aquatic species. Earth's geography gives control of the seas a large importance in both war and economy, and Earth's surface is between 2/3rds and 3/4ths water; in fact, the two major supercontinents of Earth are completely separated from each other by vast oceans, which means that O.A.G. is the first non-theoretical example of a sapient species that developed into modern times as two completely separated peoples. The O.A.G. has also had a great deal of war, though it is apparently highly inconsistent in terms of degree, scale, frequency, and nature; however, wars are steadily decreasing in scale, frequency, and severity in the past several centuries. Lastly, the O.A.G. seems to have very strong ties to Earth's seas and operating in them. Humanity has fought naval battles since its ancient history, too. And I mean_ ancient _. Many of their early naval battles involved ships_ _ramming each other_ _to deal critical damage, followed by massive boarding operations to physically kill the crew. They were propelled almost entirely by at least a dozen rowers using long oars, and they used a person playing a steady, loud beat on a large drum in order to provide synchronization for the rowers. Humanity has a widely-known term related to ships because of this: "ramming speed". In those ancient times, "ramming speed" was_ _an actual, standard practice_ _that involved the drummer steadily increasing the tempo of the beat to signal faster, harder rowing—for an imminent ramming. These ships were largely open-air, so yes, everyone nearby could hear it. I could be wrong, but I imagine this is about as absurdly awesome as it sounds._

 _I did also get one interesting bit of trivia: The O.A.G. has built the largest sea-going, surface-operating vessels in the galaxy—though the Mon Calamari have built bigger sea-going ships, they are all submarines that are incapable of surfacing more than a third of their volume._

* * *

 _2623 May 9th Earth Standard Calendar,_ _Earth Orbit,_ _CDR. Luke Sparrow._

Luke watched the _O.A.S. Washington_ exit the bluey-white slip-space and enter real space. He much preferred this method of travel to the Republics hyperspace.

"Woah, It's so blue!" Luke heard Ahsoka exclaim. He remembered her reaction back on Courascant when she had been told that she, Anakin, Senator Amidala and clone security detail would be going to visit Earth. She had been so excited at the prospect that she hadn't been able to stop asking questions about the O.A.G.'s economy, politics, philosophy, day to day life and other things.

"That's right, she's seventy percent water, with multiple biomes from desert, tropical, temperate and artic. Home to diverse history, culture and people." Luke explained walking over to the viewing port, standing next to her.

"It's a shame that we can't go down there."

"Well you could get permission, even if it wasn't for long."

"If we did where would you recommend I go?"

"I would say either the capital, New York City on the continent of North America. The other major city called London, which in my opinion has more culture and history to offer, it's in Europe, or Shanghai in eastern Asia." Luke said pointing toward where the megacities that could be seen were.

"They aren't anything like Courascant but there the biggest cities we have."

"I'll have to see them at some point then."

"Yeah. Come on we better get to the hanger. We have a schedule to keep to after all." Ahsoka nodded and followed after him.

"So can I ask a question?"

"You just did."

"Not what I meant!"

"I know, just teasing you," Luke grinned at her whist she glared playfully back.

"Are there any sites that are worth seeing?"

"Well if you went to New York you could see the old U.E.G. senate building, the world's tallest building the Olympus tower, the statue of Liberty. In London there are the famous museums, buildings, palace. There's other places you can go to elsewhere, like the great wall of China, the Shinto temples in japan and the pyramids in Egypt just to name a few. Your from Shili aren't you, anything to see there?"

"Yes master Plo found me there when I was young and took me to the Jedi Temple. Though Shili only has one large city. It mainly has small towns. The planet has also raided frequently by slavers in recent years."

"You people suffer from slavers?"

"Do your people not?"

"No. Well at least not for the last few centuries."

"Well, Shili suffers from slavers from Zygerrian Slave Empire. The Zygerrians are a humanoid species from Zygerria. They built a powerful empire by selling their slaves, until the Jedi of the Old Republic went to war with them and outlawed it. The Zygerrians attempted to openly revive their slave trade when they allied with the CIS. They are ruled by a monarchy, who is served by the Prime Minister and the Zygerrian royal guard. They patroll on the backs of flying brezaks and like to use electro-whips to control their slaves."

"Why hasn't the Republic done anything?"

"Resources are stretched thin as it is. We just can't spare the men or ships to either defend Shili or attack the Zygerrians."

"The 6th and 7th fleets should be nearly ready to deploy soon. We could probably use one to invade them."

"How is it you guys are always on the offensive so much? You never seem to do any occupation."

"We do some occupation of planets but our military is more orientated towards attacking the enemy, not occupation or police actions. The Republic on the other hand has built up an army that doesn't specialize in any one field but can do all of them. Attack, defense and occupation. Don't get me wrong we can still do all three but we focus slightly more on offense. That's why the Republic tends to occupy planets we liberate as that way we can focus on attacking."

"Or the army is just better."

"Ah Rex glad you could join us. What do you think of the ship"?

"It's pretty similar to our Venator class star destroyer, just bigger with more features."

"One day, you and I are going to sit down and seriously talk about which of our militaries is better."

"Yeah… We would totally win."

"Dream on grunt, Marines for the win."

"You two are incorrigible."

The large metal door opened to reveal the portside hanger. Crew were doing routine maintenance or just idly talking to one another. Luke and the others turned towards the new transport aircraft being introduced to replace the ageing fleet of Warbird VTOLs. The D79H-TC Pelican. The Pelican was an extremely versatile aircraft capable of carrying troops, cargo, or vehicles, and sporting a heavy arsenal of weapons. This model of the Pelican has two nose-mounted machine guns operable by the pilot. The G79H-TC/MA Pelican was the gunship variant. With a crew of three and capable of carrying up to twenty troops, ten more than the Warbird.

"Glad to see you made it."

"Nice to see you too master Skywalker. Ready to go meet some politicians!"

"Not all politicians are bad." Senator Amidala said walking over to the Pelican.

"No, but you haven't been near our politics before. And while we may have a good, transparentish government. That doesn't stop us from being the cynics we are."

"As much as politics interest me, don't we have a schedule to keep." Anakin said.

"That we do. After you." Luke said motioning for the others to get onto the ship before him. Walking into the Pelican, Luke saw it had a walkway of sorts and that on each side there were about ten seats with harnesses above them.

" _Attention passengers, this is Eagle one. We are waiting for clearance to take off. Once we do it'll be a twenty-minute journey."_ The pilot said over the intercom.

 _Well, twenty minutes of shuteye then_.

 **Time Skip**

 _2623 May 9th Earth Standard Calendar,_ _Earth Orbit, Earth Senate Station canteen,_ _CDR. Luke Sparrow._

Luke plonked down at one of the tables where the clones were sitting with a tray of roast dinner. There were five clones, including Rex assigned to a guard detail along with Anakin and Ahsoka. They and Senator Amidala had been sent to 'improve' relations between the Republic and O.A.G. by Chancellor Palpatine. Sociologist, Xenobiologists and historians would be exchanged to study each other's culture.

"So how is it visiting the political center of the O.A.G."

"Eh... politics is all the same to me." One clone said.

"Give me a blaster any day and a war to fight, that I can do, politics is not something I like getting involved in."

"I'll drink to that."

"So how babysitting?" Rex asked.

"I think we all know the answer to that." Luke deadpanned. He received some chuckles.

"So I overheard you and Ahsoka talking about which military is better. So what's your analysis?"

"Well, looking at infantry, you have our two different training programs. The O.A.G. course takes about eight months of basic training and then afterwards you can do some specialization training. Special forces receive longer and harder training. You clones are raised from birth to fight and train your entire childhood and teenage years. When it comes to raw skill, you have the advantage, you spend more time in training than we do. So you should have the better infantry in theory. When it comes to tanks and armoured vehicles, you have the AT-TE walker, it tries to be both a tank with its turret up top and four smaller cannons at the front and two at the rear. A troop transport with its rear cargo hold and a command center. While we have a dedicated tank, armoured transports and IFVs and mobile command centers. The AT-TE has a max speed of twenty miles an hour while our Titan tanks have a top speed of sixty miles an hour. Our vehicles don't try to be more than one thing and instead focus on one roll, making them the best in their field. The Republic suffers from this a lot when it comes to vehicles, it's smaller walkers and speeders are fast but exposed, it's ships tend to be carrier-troop transport and ship of the line all in one. While our Liberator aren't too dissimilar in that regard, they do prioritize ship to ship engagements.

Then there's armour and camouflage. Your armour covers your whole body offering good mobility and protection yet your armour tends to stay pure white with a few units using forest or desert camo this means you stand out like a sore thumb. White doesn't exactly blend in with natural surroundings or man made ones except in arctic conditions. O.A.G. armour on the other hand just covers the chest, head, shoulders and knees. It's thicker and more durable thanks to the Beskar-Steel alloy plate with spall fragmentation protective coating with two gels layered in, one to absorb recoil the other to absorb heat. Only a few special forces have pure Beskar armour. However, our armour doesn't protect the legs or arms. But we heavily use camouflage when compared to you.

Doctrine and tactics also differ. You mainly use large infantry assaults backed up with armoured vehicles and space craft. You also focus on being seen by the public and winning them over. While we focus more on defeating the enemy in battle with armoured assaults being backed up with infantry and spacecraft. We do a little towards hearts and minds, but we leave it mainly to the Republic forces once they take over. For example, when advancing up a street with a tank, you will walk in front of it exposed for all to see so people know your there and seem more… human if you will. While we would advance just in front, next to and behind the tank using it as protection from enemy attack. We would call in an airstrike on a building with enemies in it while you would clear it out yourselves to avoid civilian casualties. We have vast fast moving advances while you have a slow methodical advance.

It really comes down to the fact we spent nearly a century fighting an insurrection while this is the Republic's first war in centuries."

"I can see what you mean with the camouflage. We stick out while you blend in. The white colour does paint a large target on us as it is easier to spot us. But as you say, we focus on hearts and minds more than you do." One clone said while the others looked thoughtful.

"I see you have a knack for military tactics and technology. I'm Biggs by the way. That's Wave, Delano, Irons and Hot Shot" Biggs said.

"Yeah… Well… I was raised to be a soldier and I'm probably going to be a career soldier unless I get discharged. It would be weird, at least to me if I didn't have a moderate understanding of my trade."

"Back on Kamino we would have to experienced advanced training to do all of that or spend a lot of time in the field to come up with those comparisons."

"Yeah… I have been in the field a long time now. An d I was told I was always observant. Must be nearing five years' service in the Marines now. I've heard there planning on rumors of a joint Republic-Mandalorian-O.A.G. units being set up to encourage co-operation between all three nations."

"That'll be an interesting mix, the traditional warrior culture of the Mandalorians and the disciplined elite soldiers of both the Republic and O.A.G."

"No kidding." Delano said.

"I heard that a while back you used a swear word around the general's padawan and had to explain it to her." Irons asked.

"That was an interesting conversation explaining what the word 'fuck' meant."

 _Flashback_

" _Hey! Luke!... I was wondering what that… word… you used earlier meant." Ahsoka asked sounding awkward as she did so and looking uncomfortable._

" _Didn't master Skywalker explain it to you?"_

" _He said it was an act between two people who loved each other a lot. He said it held an important emotional part of a relationship as it is something special. It shows how much you love and trust someone."_

" _Did he explain the act to you though?"_

" _No, he didn't."_

" _Well… have… you… heard of the act called… sex?" Luke asked trying to find the right words to say._

" _Y Y Yes." Ahsoka said blushing._

" _Well Fuck is another word for sex." Luke watched Ahsoka blush even more red. "But sex is not just used to show how much you love someone even though that is what is supposed to mean by societal standards. It can be casual sex where two people have sex to relive stress or to release urges. The act of sex can also have many meanings and implications in different societies." Ahsoka just nodded in response._

" _I can go into details if you want about what happens during the act if you would like?" Luke teased._

" _No thank you!" Ahsoka exclaimed quickly in response and turned even redder. Luke just laughed at her reaction._

 _Flashback End_

"It was funny yet awkward." Luke explained.

"I bet it was."

"You haven't had to explain any other words to her have you?"

"I kept my language in check around her… for the most part."

"Good, we don't need you corrupting her innocence any more than you have."

"We're at war Rex, innocence is the first thing to die, it's always one of the first things to become a casualty."

"Yes but it's our job to protect other people's innocence. Even if we must lose ours."

"It's our job to do a lot of things." A somber mood settled over the table.

"Sooo… any other things that differ between our respective militaries? An why do you have different levels of Beskar purity in armour?" Hot Shot asked trying to alleviate the mood.

"Well, you all know that Beskar is extremely potent tin blocking everything from blasters to lightsabres, right?"

"Right." The clones responded.

"Well, we get a limited supply of Beskar as we only get so much from Mandalor each month. Therefore, Special Forces who are doing more important operations, and higher risk missions need superior armour and weapons than the regular servicemen. So about forty percent goes towards making pure Beskar amour for SF while the other sixty percent gets melted down and combined with steel to form an alloy to increase the effectiveness of their armour." Luke explained

"Well… as for differences between our respective militaries... Special forces and unites tasked with specific jobs. You have the ARC, ARF, Commandoes and LRRPPs. You also have a few battalions and legions but you mostly consist of infantry Divisions. We have Mountain Divisions, Jungle Divisions, an Aquatic Division, armoured, marine, mechanized, motorized, support, airborne and a new Orbital Drop Shock Trooper Divisions. We then have around a hundred other special forces groups. Our military has seen more action in the last few centuries than the Republic has in a millennium. The republic is relearning its military doctrine and tactics, while we are simply refining ours."

"Yeah there were a lot of blunders at the start of the war. Lost a lot of good friends." Delano said.

"What are Orbital Drop Shock Troopers?" Rex asked.

"Orbital Drop Shock Troopers or ODSTs are essentially highly trained operatives that are launched out of ships in orbit in small pods into the atmosphere behind enemy lines. They even received a nickname, the 'Hell Jumpers' going feet first into hell."

"That sounds crazy! Who would be launched from orbit planet side in their right mind!" Hot Shot exclaimed.

"Oh… right… um… you see, they first separate the men from the boys, then they separate the men from the fools. Then finally, the fools jump feet first into hell."

"You've been selected to join haven't you?" Rex spoke.

"Wow… just… take all the fun out of it. Just put the fun in camps why don't you." Luke said feigning hurt.

"Umm… What?"

"It's… It's an earth thing. But yeah, I've been offered to join and I'm thinking of accepting it, the 105th Orbital Assault Division. The next big thrill. I would join but I am being transferred to the 'cultural combat exchange unit'."

"You would be joining the ODSTs because you get a rush out of it?" Wave asked surprised.

"War is a drug my friend. Nothing compares to an adrenaline rush." Luke retorted.

"I'd challenge you on that but then again, some of our brothers also get a rush out of it." Irons responded.

"Yeah, from what I can tell there is a Mandalorian and two Jedi that are going to be part of the squad I'm going to be in. The new units are technically fall under the Navy's command so I have to default back to my Naval rank of lieutenant."

"You were part of the Navy? I thought you were a Marine." Rex inquired.

"I transferred from the Navy to the Marines after… some things happened." Luke explained, not willing to speak any further on the matter.

"Hey! Luke! This is where you've been hiding." Ahsoka said coming over with a tray of food.

"Well, I haven't been hiding, I was providing extra security detail to the station during your visit. Were you able to get a visa to go planet side?"

"No, unfortunately I was unable too due to short notice, so… could you tell me more about earth and its history Luke?"

"Sure. There are many different interpretations and theories about how humanity came to be but for the sake of argument we'll say that it started in the continent of Africa, in or about the year 50,000 b.c. We were living in the savannahs of East Africa, hunting for meat, gathering berries, and otherwise looking like any other group of two-legged apes, once common in Africa. But something was different about us. We decorated and adorned our bodies; we created art; we planned our hunting and gathering; and most importantly, we improved on everything we did and taught our children everything we knew, in the hopes that their lives would be better. Nobody yet knows what made us different from the other apes—perhaps it was a combination of seeking new ideas and having the language to communicate those ideas to others—but whatever happened so many years ago in Africa finally made us human and that's when our story starts.

There were only a few thousand of us back then. All of humanity could have fit into a ballpark. Every day under the burning sun the men hunted while the women collected berries and nuts. Every night under the brilliant stars we huddled together and told ourselves stories. And sometimes we were afraid, when the storms washed the land, or when a lion came to hunt, but we knew where to hide and we knew how to fight and every day we learned new things. There were only a few thousand of us back then, but every century there were more of us.

We have always been seekers of new things, and we have always been seekers of fame. It did not take long for some of us to leave the hunting grounds of East Africa and head north across the African plain. As each century passed, we left our footprints on more and more of the world. We walked to the Fertile Crescent, settling in the places we liked, happy near the abundant game and the bountiful earth. Later we walked towards the Northern Star and settled in the craggy majesty of Europe; and we walked East towards the rising sun and walked on the golden steppes of Eurasia. Eventually, we even built boats to reach the land of New Guinea and antipodal Australia. In only a few millennia we had populated three-quarters of the land. It has always been a small world after all.

As we walked and hunted throughout the world we were not always alone. In Europe we met another group of ape-descendants who had left Africa long ago. The Neanderthals were our older cousins. They were larger than us and had hunted in Ice Age Europe with fire and stone for more than 50,000 years. But by then, our skills were great and our tools were powerful. Nobody knows whether we out-hunted them or out-fought them. All we know is that the Neanderthals disappeared soon after we arrived.

Millennia went by and our collection of tools kept increasing: gravers, borers, and scrapers; arrows, knives, and spears of all kinds. Every tool allowed us to live in new places. With fish hooks made from ivory we could live by the coast. With sewing needles made out of bone we could make furs and live in the tundra of Asia. In time we followed the woolly mammoth across the ice and found a whole New World.

We crossed the icy-covered Bering Strait into America no later than 10,000 b.c., just as the glacial blankets were retreating towards the pole. The world was warming, and other species struggled to adapt. The mammoths disappeared, as did the megathere, the sabre-toothed cats, the American lions, and the mastodons, animals from the time. But we had no trouble adapting to the changes and in the end we thrived. Nobody knows whether we pushed those other animals towards extinction. All we know is that our campsites were filled with their bones.

And so, at the end of the Ice Age, having started in Africa, we now lived on every continent on Earth, save the coldest one at the bottom of the world. The mammoths and the mastodons were gone, but we hunted other prey. And now everywhere we went, we met ourselves, and all other ape-descendants were gone. There were 4 million of us then, spread-out all over the world, living much as we had lived for the last 40,000 years, and entirely unaware of the wrenching changes that were to come.

At first, farming was a giant leap backwards. The reedy weeds that passed for crops back then were nothing like the hypermarket corn that you can buy today. But hunting was a source of protein only if the hunt succeeded, and it's no surprise that we liked the idea of food that couldn't run away from you.

Eventually, of course, we got better at growing food. But more amazingly, eventually food got better at feeding us. Every spring we planted many different seeds. At harvest time, we could see that some seeds resulted in a better crop than others. The next season we planted the seeds from the best crop. Thirteen-thousand years later we realized what we had done: We had selected the genes that were best at feeding us. We genetically engineered our food in 11,000 b.c. In that way we domesticated barley, grapes, and olives in the Near East; we cultivated soybeans, cabbage, and plums in China; and we grew maize, squash, and chili peppers in Central America.

Even animals were not immune from our influence. Wolves came by our campsites from time to time. Those that attacked us, we killed; those that were friendly, we fed. By 10,000 b.c. the wolves at the fringes of the campsite had turned into dogs sleeping by the fire. Cats, ever more independent, joined us 4,000 years later. The mammoths were dead, but the dogs, the cats, the sheep, the goats, and the cows now lived. The world was being shaped by our hands, consciously or not, and not for the last time.

With our newly altered crops and our loyal animals, getting enough food to eat no longer required sixteen hours a day. For the first time in our history there was a surplus of food. More importantly, we were no longer walking around the world following game to hunt. Our campsites became more permanent and soon they turned into villages. Those two changes in our lives, the surplus of food and the emergence of villages, led to the greatest transformations in our history. Civilization lay ahead.

Economics in 11,000 b.c. was simple. Farmers grew more than enough food for their families, so they gave some of their food to metal-workers. In exchange, metal-workers gave the farmers tools for the farm. But it didn't take long for things to get complicated. Bandits could take food from the farmers and force the metal-workers to make weapons for them. This forced the farmers and the metal-workers to hire soldiers to protect themselves. In exchange farmers gave the soldiers food and the metal-workers gave them weapons.

But for us, nothing stays the same. We are always looking for new things and we are always looking for fame. And so, the villages got bigger and bigger, and the farms got better at growing food; and the metal-workers created new tools and new weapons. But it was the soldiers who benefited most. With more and more surplus food, they could support larger and larger armies. And among the soldiers, some ruled over the others, and these rulers became kings and queens of the villages. And though the farmers just had enough food for themselves, the kings and queens, the sultans and viziers, the emperors and their bureaucrats, all controlled the wealth of the kingdom and their word was law.

The division between the haves and have-nots has been with us ever since. In a sense, it was both the cause of civilization and the first product of civilization. But the greatest contribution of civilization has been to provide an environment in which new ideas could prosper. And not the least of those new ideas, was the thought that all people are equal, and that all, not just kings and queens, deserve the same opportunity and freedom to pursue their dreams.

But that idea would have to wait. Other ideas were flourishing that increased the power of a civilization. One of the greatest must have been the realization that the sun, the moon, and the stars moved in predictable ways. More importantly, we discovered that the motion of the sun marked the seasons and could tell us when to start sowing and when to start reaping. Can you imagine a more encouraging discovery? It must have seemed as if the universe itself was helping us to succeed. This discovery was so important to us that we devoted enormous time and energy to build gigantic monuments to help us track the position of the sun. These monuments connected our day-to-day farming life with the ethereal mysteries of the cosmos. This was organized religion in 4,000 b.c.

The greatest idea of this time was probably writing. We are all born with an instinct for spoken language—children will spontaneously develop grammar for a pidgin language that lacks it. But the idea of making marks on clay to represent words only occurred to us in a few places in the world. At first, writing was used mostly for record keeping. But in time, writing served as the repository of knowledge. The wisdom of a thousand of year was preserved in the written word, long after authors were dead. Unlike many other inventions and discoveries, writing improved the process of invention and discovery itself.

And the world had changed again. Mesopotamia in the Near East was the first to see the transforming power for civilization. The city of Ur rose on the Euphrates river by 3500 b.c. In Egypt, the kingdom of the Pharaohs grew on the Nile around the same time. The valley around the Indus river followed in 2500 b.c.; and the Chinese civilization around the Yangtze blossomed in 1800 b.c. Any hunter from the beginning of our story would have been lost in these great cities, unaccustomed to the new roles farmers, craftsmen, soldiers, kings and to the new ideas writing, organized religion, money. To us, on the other hand, a visit would be no more than an exotic vacation. The differences between 2000 b.c. and our time are no more than those that can be covered in a good travel guide.

In a.d. 1969 two ape-descended human beings walked on the surface of the moon. On Earth, 600 million people watched or listened, using two recent inventions known as television and radio. At the exact same moment, two other ape-descendants held the power to launch thousands of nuclear missiles, very similar to the ones that had just propelled the astronauts to the moon, and loaded with enough destructive power to kill most of those 600 million people.

3,000 years earlier, we struggled to understand the world: What laws governed the motion of the planets? What were rocks, trees, and rivers made out of? What caused diseases and how could they be cured? What was the best way to defeat the enemy? How should people be governed? Many ideas were proposed to answer these and other questions. Some of those ideas succeeded in answering interesting questions—other ideas did not fit the facts. Over the years, the successful ideas were kept while the unsuccessful ones were discarded. And always, ideas built on other ideas, so the more we learned about the world, the easier it was to learn more.

On the eastern edge of the Mediterranean Sea, the civilization of the Greek city-states produced many new ideas. Greek philosophers measured the circumference of the Earth, speculated on the circulation of blood, and launched a massive research-and-development program to develop the catapult. Democracy was another such idea. Instead of a permanent king who ruled over all, Greek democracy called for shared rule, in which each landowner took turns serving in a ruling council.

In the second century b.c. the Greek civilization was conquered by the Romans, but the ideas that the Greeks possessed were not lost—they were simply adopted by the Romans. And in turn, the Romans built on the past and developed new technologies to improve their life.

Many new ideas improved our control over the natural world, but some ideas were more personal and dealt with the questions that all humans have asked: Why am I here? How should I live my life? Why do people suffer? What will happen after I die? Many tried to answer these questions. In northeast India, Buddha began a religion eschewing selfishness and desire. In China, Confucius taught guides of conduct, reinforcing the mutual responsibilities of rulers and subjects. And in the Near East, Jesus Christ preached a religion founded on love. The philosophies of these three men have endured long after their deaths and millions are now inspired by their ideas.

In fourth century a.d. the Roman Empire succumbed to invading Vandals and Goths. The ideas of that civilization were lost for a time, but other empires rose in its place. Mohammed united the tribes of the Arabian Peninsula and built a religion and an empire that challenged every realm from Spain to the western mountains of India. The Islamic empire preserved and extended many of the ideas of the ancient world. Algebra was one of those ideas. The number zero was another.

Secure in the middle of Asia, China produced more than its share of ideas and innovations. Books were printed in a.d. 868. and gunpowder was known by a.d. 1044. Nevertheless, the Mongols, united under Genghis Khan, managed to conquer Peking in 1215. China turned inward and tempered its curiosity about the rest of the world. In the early 1400's China possessed the skills to build ships that could cross the Pacific. But the Middle Kingdom, then the most advanced civilization in the world, saw nothing outside itself that was of interest.

The various tribes and civilizations of America were isolated from each other. The ideas of the Aztecs, for example, were not known to the Incas, and neither was able to learn from the other. In contrast, the civilizations of Europe, Asia, and Africa, all traded with each other and all learned from each other. For example, paper was invented in China in a.d. 105, but Arabs acquired the technology from captured Chinese papermakers in 751, and Europe learned it from the Arabs in the twelfth century. If an American delegation had visited Europe in 1492, they would have found European technology to be almost indistinguishable from magic. Unfortunately for the Native Americans, it was Europe which sent a delegation to America in that year.

The European powers of the sixteenth century lacked the technological sophistication of China or the Arab world. Moreover, bottled-up in Europe, they ended up fighting each other over land, religion, and power. But their competition encouraged innovation and exploration, and when the New World appeared before Columbus, it set off a race to exploit its treasures. Britain and France fought for control of North America while Spain and Portugal raced to subjugate South America. For the civilizations of the Americas, resistance was futile. The Spanish Conquistadores charged on horses, fought with iron, and brought numerous infectious diseases.

The competition among the European powers centred as much on technology as it did on conquest, and soon the skills and knowledge of Europe surpassed those of the rest of the world. Discoveries followed rapidly: In 1610, Galileo worked a few laws of motion using, for the first time, experiments and numerical measurement. In 1687, Newton published the _Principia_ which provided us with the tools to predict the behaviour of the planets and control the motion of cannon balls. In 1769, James Watt perfected the steam engine. In 1789, Antoine Lavoisier revolutionized Chemistry. In 1831, Michael Faraday discovered electromagnetic induction, the principle behind electric motors and generators. In 1859, Charles Darwin explained why we are here when he published _On the Origin of Species_. And in 1905, on the American coast settled by Britain only three centuries before, Albert Einstein developed the equation E = mc2, which accurately predicted the ferocious power unleashed by an atomic bomb.

Armed with these and a thousand other advances, the European powers fought each other, while the rest of the world served as their pieces and their board. In the eighteenth century, French and British empires fought each other around the world; warships were their technology, and they both fought for control of the seas. The American Colonies seceded during this war, and vowed never to become entangled in the affairs of the Great Powers. In the nineteenth century, France and Britain fought again, this time on land, and with Germany as their pawn. But as the twentieth century opened, France and Britain became reluctant allies as they warily realized that Germany was no longer a pawn, and that the once dormant countries of Russia, China, and Japan, had begun to stir.

We pause our story at the threshold of the twentieth century, the most remarkable century in our history, to look back at where we started. The agricultural revolution 12,000 years ago unleashed two irresistible forces. The first was the increasing power of technology that enabled our competitive human need to amass wealth, power, and status. The second was the system of ideas that tempered and guided the first. But as the power of technology increased exponentially, the temptation to use that power for conquest and control outstripped the guiding force of democracy, the rule of law, and human rights. These powers increased so fast and furiously that the deeds and weapons that burned the twentieth century would have been imaginable to the first Fertile Crescent farmers only as visions of Hell.

It is said that the First World War started by accident, but if so, it was an accident that required meticulous preparation. In 1914 Germany and its allies fought against France, Britain and its allies. Everyone thought that this would be just another short European wars, but the power of technology was too great for easy prediction. Machine guns and chemical weapons kept the armies in the muddy trenches for years, and when overwhelming strength finally broke the stalemate on the French and British side, the shock of defeat on the German side virtually ensured a sequel. Other states were also casualties of that war. The Ottoman Empire collapsed, turning the Middle East into a dozen, warring, jigsaw-puzzle pieces. The Russian revolution ushered in a totalitarian leadership that corrupted the social aspirations of the masses to assume dictatorial control over the largest country in Asia. And Imperial Japan realized that technology was power and decided to amass as much of it as it could.

Japan invaded Manchuria in 1932 and fought on the plains of northern China in 1937. In Europe, the bitter defeat of World War I and the Great Depression left Germany prey to the totalitarian ambitions of Adolph Hitler. Germany invaded Poland in 1939 with Russia as its ally. Weak and tired of war, France and Spain succumbed to the German advance by 1941. Britain remained unconquered but exhausted, while the United States, looked the other way, safe on its own continent. But Japan did not trust the strength of the US peace movement to keep the American power out of the war. In 1941 it attacked and destroyed the primary American naval base in the Pacific. In retrospect, this was a miscalculation.

Another miscalculation was Hitler's betrayal of its Russian ally. German armies invaded Russia in 1941, opening up a disastrous second front. Meanwhile, the latent industrial might of the United States surged into gear. Thousands of tanks and airplanes rumbled out of factories in America. The Western Front was won by the allied powers after an audacious amphibious invasion in 1944. The Eastern Front was won by Russia only after a sacrifice of millions of soldiers. The war now turned to Japan, and once again the economic power of the US was decisive. Battleships and carriers left American docks almost every week. Island by island, the United States shrank the Japanese Empire until American marines where fighting on the shores of Okinawa. In previous centuries, this would have been the end, and the leaders of Japan and the US would have settled on terms. But this was a total and final war; too many people had died and too many people had suffered. This had to be the war to end all wars or else what was the point of fighting? In 1945, the United States sent a message to the Japanese Emperor: Surrender or be annihilated. In any other century this would have been a bluff, and the Japanese treated it as such. But the power of technology was incalculable. A few days later, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima, instantly destroying the city centre and killing more than 100,000 people. A few days later, another bomb was dropped, this time on Nagasaki. Japan did not wait for a third. The Second World War was over.

The dictatorships of Germany and Japan were defeated and both were rebuilt by the allies into democratic republics. But the dictatorship of Russia endured and prospered. In 1949, Russia tested its own atomic bomb, the same year that China fell under the control of totalitarian communism. To the countries of the Western World it seemed as if the power of their democratic ideas would fail under the contagion of totalitarianism and one-party rule. East and West developed and built more powerful nuclear weapons and the missiles to carry them. Every person on Earth lived at the endpoint of a missile's ballistic flight path. And just as it seemed that this balance of terror would go on forever, the world changed again.

In the end, the power of ideas was just as great as the power of technology. The world was truly small now, and everyone could see how the rest of the world lived. As the people of the communist world saw the success of the Western economies, they yearned to follow their example. In 1989, the Soviet Empire collapsed, and the fear of nuclear holocaust collapsed with it.

After that the world spent a century dealing with terrorism and developing a way off world. Eventually in the twenty second century we developed a way to colonise our solar system. Then in the twenty third century we developed FTL and started a rapid colonisation process that lasted into the twenty fifth century. We then faced one of the bloodiest wars of our history. The UEG-Insurrection war or The Long War as it's called took up most of the twenty fifth century, millions died both military and civilian. In that time, we made numerous amounts of advancements in all fields of research, and that brings us up to the present day."

"Someone studied history in school."

"Yeah I was kind of a History nerd." Luke said rubbing the back of his head out of embarrassment.

"Your people's history sounds so violent and full of suffering. So much of it could have been avoided." Ahsoka said dejectedly.

"People are naturally selfish. They'll want more power than they have, want more money, more fame, more… something. And some would trample whoever they need to in order to achieve it. And sometimes, in the case of the atom bombs in world war two where one evil deed outweighs another. In this case the death of thousands vs millions of deaths."

"That doesn't make it right though, there is always a better solution, in a case like that couldn't the allies just blockade Japan?"

"They could but the war had dragged on for six years, they wanted it to end quickly. Starving out a country can take years to accomplish and you have to keep that blockade tight so to not let any ships in, carpet bombing Japanese cities had proven ineffective in demoralising them, not to mention surrender was a taboo among their society."

"But still isn't it better to spare lives whenever possible rather than take them?"

"I'm not saying you're wrong but sometimes you have to do something in the morale grey area."

"It doesn't mean you should."

"Never said you didn't, just that you may come across a situation where there is no black and white situation and as soldiers we have to make split second decisions under a lot of stress. But I'm sure you'll make the best decision you can with the information you have available to you. That's all anyone can ask. Otherwise their a naïve idealist."

"What's wrong with being naïve or an idealist?" Ahsoka asked.

"Nothing is inherently wrong with either but being naïve is not exactly the best thing to be in our position and ideals tend to be warped and twisted in the crucible of war."

"You make it sound so bleak."

"War is not glorious, its bloody, messy and chaotic. To quote a saying War is Hell. And after every engagement, every battle I've been through. The comrades, brothers and friends I've lost seems endless. Nearly a years and a half into this war the O.A.G. alone has lost close to… close to one hundred and thirty-two million personnel and heavens knows how many Republic and Separatist civilians and clones. Probably in the trillions. The O.A.G. has resorted to turning the moon of New Carthage into a grave world where most of the dead from the war are being buried."

"It's difficult to imagine the suffering let alone the number of dead."

"One death is a tragedy, a million is a statistic. But we fight to prevent more people from suffering. Well if you excuse me, I have to get back to work. My break ends in five minutes and I need to be on the other side of the station. I'll see you guys later." Luke excused himself as he picked up his tray and walked towards the door after depositing his tray.

"Now that I think about it, he always seems to be working on something and never takes a break." Ahsoka said as she watched the doors slide shut behind him.

* * *

 _An article from the Galactic Times on the O.A.G._

 _T_ _hough I respect my colleagues and their work, I feel that they unintentionally only showed half of the picture regarding humanity (I will be referring to the inhabitants of the O.A.G. as Humanity)._

 _As obvious as it is to say, I'll reaffirm it anyway: they're like us. Imperfect, flawed—perhaps heavily so. They have many incredible, endearing, and inspiring traits, as a whole. They also have horrifying, absurdly irrational, and contradictory traits as well. Like us, they will grow and mature as a whole over time. That progress is often inconsistent, but the overall pattern is there._

 _From what we currently understand (which, given the nature of these studies, isn't nearly as much or as well as we'd like), much of the same qualities that make humanity amazing also make it irrational, inefficient (in most ways), and inconsistent. While that concept is not exactly unknown to us (in the sense that I will refer to), it is perhaps taken to a much higher degree than we are familiar with._

 _The best, albeit oversimplified, way to explain this is to start with this leading theory: these humans think in different ways than we do (or at least the vast majority of us do). No, I don't mean they're better or worse, just different. They arrive at most of the same conclusions, but the path they take to get there is strange, usually inefficient, and often absurd. But sometimes that same way of thinking also fuels extreme creativity and ingenuity. Sometimes it allows them to reach a much better conclusion faster than would otherwise be possible. Sometimes (or, perhaps, often times) it leads to poor conclusions, or even_ worse _conclusions than what they started with. Roughly comparing technological development with that of humanity (using a comparable time period for each), overall trends and patterns are relatively clear: Republic tech progress was faster and almost always more cutting edge, but human tech progress excelled in the areas of market penetration, as well as being generally more reliable (I say generally, because sometimes the exact opposite is the case). Another example is with human war tactics within a 20-year span—in their first "World War", their tactics were outdated against the recent technological developments, leading to insanely high casualties for almost no change at all for the entire duration of the war (which also highlights the problematic stubbornness of humanity in general). Twenty years later, they were using highly advanced, innovative, and creative tactics (which sometimes were ahead of the technology needed to make them effective, ironically) in many different kinds of situations. Instead of stubbornly sticking to outdated and horrifically ineffective tactics time after time for four years, both sides of the second "World War" were constantly adapting, innovating, and trying new tactics._

 _In other words, humanity is not only a wildcard to_ us _, they're a wildcard to_ _themselves_ _. They seem to be very frustrated with themselves in that regard, and understandably so. The unusual level of diversity and variety of humanity (in nearly every regard) also causes huge problems for them, too: getting things done can be absurdly difficult even when the solution is simple and extremely agreeable. Technological progress in one area may inexplicably grind to a halt while another area booms—but the booming area may be ignored or marginalized (which is absurd to another species). Their democratic governments is extremely stable and highly adaptable (relatively speaking), but they only reach that state if they can survive the usually tumultuous and chaotic years following their formation. However, their democracies sometimes rely on the principles of curbing their own ability to accomplish or change things in a reasonable amount of time or degree—put another way, they have to keep themselves in check to save themselves from themselves._

 _As a whole, humanity tends to react to cognitive dissonance in irrational, illogical, and sometimes horrifying ways. And the negative results are enormous. Our current psychological understanding of most races indicates that cognitive dissonance is most often resolved by seeking outside perspective or changing one's beliefs so that they do not conflict logically or rationally. A typical human approach to resolving cognitive dissonance is to dismiss the conflict's existence itself, or to adopt a new thought/idea that eliminates the conflict (whether or not said idea has any logical, rational, factual, or philosophical merit, which is the important distinction). The final common approach (which is the only one also well-known to us) is to resolve the dissonance by forcing oneself to not care._

 _There are other related effects and psychological practices, but I don't have enough translated material yet to comment on them. I could, potentially, also be wrong or have interpreted the data incorrectly, but this is our best guess at present. Regardless, this previously uncommon dichotomy of being simultaneously extremely empathetic and extremely uncaring (sometimes even hateful) can be largely explained by that concept._

 _Humans are also highly individualistic and ambitious. They are not at all hesitant to let their opinions be known, and many deliberately express them as vocally/noticeably as possibly (with the important distinction that they will do so even without anonymity). The result, at least in part, is that human society is usually chaotic and inefficient (especially when that individualism and ambition lead to selfishness in many cases), but also (generally) far more diverse and complex. I believe a (true and verified) story explains the strengths and weaknesses of such a situation: intellectual and open-minded humans express acute envy at the societies and governmental systems of, say, Republic and Naboo, lamenting how theirs are so much fairer, efficient, and happier than humanity's. But when asked about how the humans viewed the strengths/diversity of their own unique-yet-bizarre society, they expressed surprise and confusion that Republic and Naboo societies didn't_ also _have them, too. This next point is just speculation, but I think humanity's society is designed around this abnormally high individualism and ambition, and so systems that are both free/tolerant and far more effective/efficient than their own seem entirely better, because they can't imagine such a system_ _ **not**_ _being built around those ideals of high individualism and ambition. I could easily be wrong, though, so take that speculation with a heavy dose of scepticism._

 _I also need to reiterate that, as a logical inverse to what I mentioned earlier, some humans indeed think the way the vast majority of us do. Anyone with even a basic familiarity with statistics, sociology, or other such fields understands that every group has variation, and the larger the group, the more variation. And, interestingly enough, humanity has more variation than any other species out there (to clarify, I mean that more along the lines of extreme or strong variation occurring more often and consistently, not that their variation is more extreme or strong period)._

 _I suppose that is what we find most fascinating about humanity as a whole: it varies more consistently, it varies more often, and it varies in more inconsistent ways than any other species-wide group._

* * *

 _21 BBY Republic calendar, Darth Sidious, Coruscant_

"Yes my Master, it will be done." The holo-projector with Count Dooku shut down. He had just been discussing plans to break the stalemate that the Separatist-Republic/O.A.G. forces had worked themselves into. Darth Sidious sat back in his chair and removed his black cloak revealing Chancellor Palpatine underneath. Turning his chair, he gazed out the window over the Coruscant skyline of skyscrapers as far as the eye could see replacing whatever vegetation had once been ion the planet.

 _That blasted O.A.G. has proved a thorn in my side. Everything was going to plan, the Separatist and Republic were at war at last and then these… barbarians from beyond known space come in and screw up everything that I have been planning for years. These unknown variables could change everything, the fact that they refuse to reveal their position on the maps makes the job of infiltrating them or learning more about them so much more complicated. I don't know what their full military capacity is or what their intentions are or if they have technology more advanced than ours. Hopefully with this 'cultural exchange' programme I can get some spies into the O.A.G. and find out what I need to know or do to manipulate or conquer them. From the way the war has entered a stalemate they must be very competent to combat a superior force like they have and they need to have exceptional soldiers. The fact that they thwarted my plans for the Death Watch and the Mandalorians was frustrating as it is. They need to be removed from the equation before they become a bigger problem than they already are… Otherwise I'll have to deal with them when I become emperor and it would be difficult to scour all unexplored space to find them... What to do though... what to do..._

Palpatine reached over to activate the Holo-projecter. He had some calls to make.

 ** _AN_**

 ** _Let me know if you think that the news articles are a good idea or not for showing the impact of the O.A.G. on the Republic._**


	24. Counter Attack

**The First Contact War**

Chapter 24

Counter Attack

 _"I am a Soldier, I fight where I am told, I win where I fight."_

 _General George Patton Jr._

 _O.A.G. article on what were the Separatists' motivations to leave the Republic,_

 _It is pretty much the problems that Queen Amidala faced during the occupation of Naboo. Her planet suffered from Trade Federation tax rise. Her planet suffered a blockade and a invasion/occupation.  
She recured to the Senate for a solution and she only found bureaucracy, corruption, politics and no actual action to solve the problem of Naboo, which is part of the Republic.  
In the end, she gave up on getting help from the Republic and went back to Naboo to engage in the war, but she could just as well have joined the Separatists.  
I am sure that many other planets went through the same scenario and got a proposal from Count Dooku to join the Separatists, which probably offered more independency, more support, less bureaucracy, a modern state, etc.  
There are examples of planets which are part of the CIS (Confederacy of Independent Systems), but are happy to be part of it, when comparing to the struggles they suffered when part of the Republic. Like Onderon, they grew tired of the Senate and its corruption and felt the only way the deal with the corruption was to secede._

 _2623 May 28th Earth Standard Calendar,_ _Entrallia,_ _CDR. Luke Sparrow._

A pair of SA10C Thunderbolts soared overhead, their giant afterburner engines buzzing. Luke watched them pass overhead. He had one week before he was transferred over to the new Taskforce 242.

Turning right onto a highway, Diego accelerated into the traffic of military vehicles streaming out towards the peak of the East Coast and the ocean. Looking out the window, Luke saw the green grass gently flowing in the wind as military vehicles filled every street within the area. Civilians were evacuated weeks ago to shelters protected by the planets PDF and Republic garrison. With limited manpower, the O.A.G. Marines were going to make the impossible happen. Lost in thought, a Hyena bomber droid flew overhead. Two small, black teardrops dropped from its fuselage and accelerated towards the ground getting bigger by the second.

"INCOMING!" Luke yelled as Sergeant Burns looked out his window.

"Get this fucking thing off the road!" Sergeant Burns ordered as Diego jerked the JLTV left and down onto the dirt, accelerating down the hill.

The two bombs exploded a second later. A bright flash of orange and yellow blinded Luke as the shockwave drove shrapnel and the JLTV into a tumble off the road. He heard pings and cracks as small pieces of metal impacted the steel skin of the JLTV. Luke felt the JLTV bounce, his body taken along for the ride as it flipped rolling in mid-air. He didn't know what happened but they were right side up again, the JLTV skidding to a stop as his stomach lurched. Opening the door, he puked onto the grass staining it with a mixture of colours from the meal he just ate a few hours ago.

"Everyone okay?" Tiang asked as everyone affirmed except Luke.

"Sparrow?" He asked as Luke gave him a thumbs-up and finished his small puke.

"Sergeant, we're good to go." Tiang reported as Luke closed the door and pulled out a small canteen to wash his face and drink.

 _"Rawhide Two-Three, Rawhide Two-Three, Rawhide Actual."_ The radio sparked to life in Luke's ear as he rested his head against the metal, exhausted.

"Rawhide Two-Three, send over." Sergeant Burns stated as Diego attempted to start the engine.

 _"Rawhide Two-Three, mission incoming, wait out for details over."_ The command of our company stated as Diego was still at it.

"Roger that Rawhide Actual, over." Sergeant Burns responded as Luke looked over to Diego.

"Get this thing started, I don't want to be a sitting duck for some fucking ship passing by." Sergeant Burns grumbled as Diego got out of the JLTV.

"Sarge, the engine's been punctured." Diego stated as the whole team got out except for York who was manning the GAU-90 30mm Autocannon mounted on the top of the JLTV.

"By what?" Sergeant Burns asked as Diego pointed behind them.

"That." He stated ominously as Luke looked back at the result of the bomb.

A giant crater was made in the centre of the MSR. Two AT-TE walkers, a Trojan and a new T-740 Hover Tank were taken out, their wreckage still on the highway, broken. Men and women were lying down in the dirt and asphalt bleeding out. Some were luckier than others, only having shrapnel caught in their vest while others had legs blown off or limbs. Those that lived would survive to become handicaps in the world of tomorrow. The sounds of moaning were never soothing to the ear as medics attended as best as they can to the injured. The men and women in battle fatigues with Red Cross on their arms running from patient to patient as Luke heard a ping behind him.

"Sniper!" Diego yelled as Luke ducked, running behind the JLTV for cover.

"York, get off that GAU!" Luke yelled as he threw his sniper rifle ahead of him and then proceeded to somersault face first into the ground.

"Ow, it played out better in my head." He grunted as another shot struck the JLTV.

"Anyone see muzzle flash?" Turner asked as Luke looked through the passenger window of the JLTV.

"Negative." Diego whispered as Luke saw a flash of yellow, before the bullet cracked the ballistic glass.

"Three hundred meters on the road leading into the highway, the sniper's using the bottom slot of the rails to gain the advantage over us." Luke whispered to York as he skirted to the back of the JLTV, pressing his left hand against the JLTV and the rifle.

"I need a dope on the wind." York whispered as his breathing slowing down as Luke pulled out his binoculars looking for any indication of flag.

"Got something, estimated windage around four knots from right to left." Luke reported as York exhaled slowly, the sniper firing another round at them.

 _"Rawhide Two-Three, this is Rawhide Actual, over."_ The radio squawked as Luke heard a crack from York's rifle and the sparks come off the sniper's body.

"Hit." Luke stated, stowing away the binoculars and pulling out the new standard issue M60-AR.

"Rawhide Two-Three, send over." Sergeant Burns stated as Tiang went to the front of the JLTV and popped open the hood.

 _"Mission details are as followed; you are to assault vehicle depot northwest of our position. We believe that the Droids have rounded civilians who have refused to leave their homes and prisoners from the lead unit striking the tip of the east coast, over."_ Rawhide Actual explained as Luke looked at the guys.

"Interrogative, do we have any support, over?" Sergeant Burns asked as a pair of Hyena Bombers soared overhead.

 _"Affirmative, we have two supporting Marine assault squads enroute to the AO, Callsign Papa Bear Six-Three and Kilo Nine-One. A squad of Trojans are on stand-by five hundred meters from the area to provide supporting fire and extraction for the personnel and civilians, over."_ Rawhide Actual continued as another bomb went off in the distance, Luke's body flinching from reflex.

"Interrogative, do we have any air, over?" Sergeant Burns asked as his voice got tense.

 _"Negative Rawhide Two-Three, no air support as of this time, over."_ Rawhide Actual replied after a brief pause.

"Roger that, Rawhide Actual. Rawhide Two-Three, out." Sergeant Burns finished as they gathered around him.

"Alright, listen up." Sergeant Burns stated as he pulled out a plastic map, placing it on the ground as Tiang worked on the JLTV engine.

"This is us right here." Sergeant Burns explained as his fingers circled a patch of green right of the highway.

"This is our objective, one klick away from us. We have to assault this place by…" Sergeant Burns paused, pulling his shirt sleeve and looking at this watch.

"…0600 Hours, which is thirty minutes from now. We need to cover one klick with or without the JLTV. Think you dickless motherfuckers are going to make it?" Sergeant Burns asked as they chuckled.

"We're Marines, Sarge. We make the impossible happen." Luke stated as Sergeant Burns grinned, standing up and folding his map.

"That's the best fucking thing I heard out of your mouth today. You assholes think we can make this deadline?" Sergeant Burns asked the other guys as they chuckled once more.

"Hoorah! We're fucking Marines, we make the impossible happen!" They yelled back as Sergeant Burns nodded, satisfied.

"We might graduate from latrine cleaners and spineless creatures to Marines yet, Tiang that thing able to work?" Sergeant Burns asked as the medic pulled out his oil filled hands from the engine compartment.

"Sarge, if it was able to work at this rate would be like trying to resurrect a dead body." Tiang replied defeated as Sergeant Burns turned to Diego.

"Diego, got any ideas?" He asked as Diego shrugged.

"If Tiang says it's dead, it is Sarge." Diego replied as Sergeant Burns nodded.

"We're humping it then. Grab your gear and move out in formation. Combat spread, five meters apart and speed is a priority, kill?" Sergeant Burns asked as Luke grabbed his assault pack full of ammo and supplies from the JLTV.

"Copy that, Staff Sergeant." Luke replied as everyone shrugged on their packs, crouched behind the JLTV.

"Well okay then, let's move out." Sergeant Burns said as he ran out from the JLTV, setting the pace for us to follow.

Luke brought up Sergeant Burns' right as Diego flanked Luke's right. Their boots impacting the ground covered with grass as Attack VTOLs and aircraft soared overhead, battling it out in the skies. Sergeant Burns sprinted for the forest ahead of us as Droid troops took aim, firing their blasters at their feet. Plasma peppered the ground as adrenaline filled Luke's system, carrying him further and farther than he expected with twenty kilograms worth of gear on his back and arms. Entering the embrace of the forest occupied by pine like trees obscuring the opposition from them as they settled into the gruelling pace set by the Staff Sergeant as night turned into day. The sun poking through the horizon as the first rays of light lit up the forest. This was going to be one long day.

"Team, halt." Sergeant Burns ordered as they came to a stop at the edge of the tree line, multiple buildings with gates surrounding the area just a few hundred meters from thier position.

"York, I need you up in that tree." Burns whispered as the giant man nodded and grabbed onto the thick branches.

"Sparrow, Tiang, Diego, check your fucking gear. I don't want it to jam when we start assaulting." Sergeant Burns ordered as Luke opened the grenade chamber of the EGLM, slipping out a High-Explosive round, checking it and slamming it back in.

Still winded from the run, Luke pulled out the magazine to find the blue lighting down the side of the magazine showing how much power it had left before slapping it back into the gun. Slamming the charging handle down, the bolt slid forward priming the gun with a clack as he waited in his desert digital battle dress uniform for York to report in.

 _"I'm up, Sergeant."_ York reported.

"What can you see?" Sergeant Burns asked as the sun was up, light spilling in from the forest tree line and onto our faces.

 _"I see, foot mobiles mixed with the prisoners in the middle of the vehicle depot. There are about…four guarding the southern gate from our perspective and another four guarding the eastern gate. I can't verify the western or northern, it's obscured Sarge."_ York stated as Sergeant Knox nodded.

"Alright, get down here and prep for an assault." Sergeant Burns ordered as he got on the radio.

"Rawhide Two-Three, to Kilo Nine-One and Papa Bear Six-Three, over." Sergeant Burns stated in his gruff voice as York slowly climbed down the branches.

 _"Roger that Rawhide Two-Three, send over."_ One of the squad leaders responded as Sergeant Burns pulled out his map.

"Kilo Nine-One, Papa Bear Six-Three, I need your position in correlation to the vehicle depot, over." Sergeant Burns requested as there were screams from the inside of the vehicle depot.

 _"Copy that, Kilo Nine-One is two hundred meters west of the vehicle depot. We're hunkered down at the highway and so far, no contacts, over."_ Kilo Nine-One reported as Sergeant Burns pinpointed their unit.

"Copy that last, Kilo Nine-One." Sergeant Burns replied as Luke set down his rifle, taking the weight off his arms for a short while.

 _"Papa Bear Six-Three here, we are five hundred meters east of the vehicle depot. We're inside a house closest to the vehicle depot, how copy?"_ Papa Bear Six-Three reported as Sergeant Burns circled their position on the map.

"Rawhide Two-Three, Papa Bear Six-Three, anyway you can move closer to the target over?" Sergeant Knox asked as a pair of droid guships sailed overhead and flew inland, their engines buzzing.

 _"Negative, unless you want our asses shot of at three hundred meters, over."_ Papa Bear Six-Three replied as Sergeant Burns nodded understanding.

"Rawhide Actual, Rawhide Two-Three, Interrogative, do we have artillery support?" Sergeant Burns asked pausing for a moment, waiting for a reply.

 _"Roger that Rawhide Two-Three, we have three Havoc artillery units cleared for your use, over."_ Rawhide Actual replied as Sergeant Burns nodded, satisfied.

"Alright, listen up." Sergeant Burns stated addressing Kilo Nine-One, Papa Bear Six-Three and our team, Rawhide Two-Three.

"We are to assault the vehicle depot when smoke drops from the artillery. After that smoke hits the ground and obscures the enemy, rush in fangs out. I do not want one fucking tinni staring at me or at anyone in that depot. I want them all dead. Kilo Nine-One you guys are attack from your position to eliminate all opposition with extreme prejudice. Same goes for you Papa Six-Three, you guys are going to have to book it if you want to join the party. After we are inside the base, we will extradite north and clear out the north gate before calling in the Trojans, how copy?" Sergeant Burns asked everyone as the sounds of birds chirping and insects buzzing filled the silence.

 _"Copy that, Rawhide Two-Three."_ Two voices replied in unison as Sergeant Burns curled in hand into a fist in the air, pumping his hand up and down giving us the signal too ready up.

"Artillery, Rawhide Two-Three." Sergeant Burns spoke into the radio as he pulled out his binoculars but a built in range finder.

 _"Copy that Rawhide Two-Three, send over."_ The Artillery Coordinator responded as Sergeant Burns jotted down notes on the map.

"I need harassing artillery, smoke non-white prosperous at designated grids Delta Echo Niner Six Eight Five Three Zero. Three barrages of smoke at ranges fifty meters north of depot, fifty meters west of depot, fifty meters east of depot and fifty meters south of depot, how copy?" Sergeant Burns requested as there was short pause.

 _"Roger that Rawhide Two-Three, rounds out."_ The Artillery Coordinator replied as Sergeant Burns tucked away his binoculars and pulled out his XM8-AR, waiting for the artillery.

"Go." Sergeant Burns ordered as the whistle of artillery rounds decelerating to deploy smoke into the ground below.

Pushing through the branches with his rifle in front, the artillery shells exploded mid-air. White smoke started to thicken as the contents reacted to the air as more artillery shells landed a few hundred meters in front of them. Activating the polarisation on his HUD, Luke crossed the two-hundred-meter mark. The smoke consumed them as they were walking in a pure white mist. The smoke tasted like stale milk from the lactose content mixed with the potassium chlorate used to create the smoke screen. Still running, Luke's visual range was only a few meters in front of him with Sergeant Burns running just a few meters in front partially obscured by the white fog. He heard the droids trying to work out what was happening as Sergeant Burns came to a slow walk, his weapon raised and finger in the trigger. Luke followed in suite, the M60-AR up as he looked through the holo-sights scanning the horizon of white smoke.

"Contact!" Luke heard someone yell as red blaster rounds flew past him, illuminating the white fog.

How someone saw that droid was beyond him as he walked right up to a droid, its blaster aimed in the wrong direction. Without remorse, Luke flicked the safety off and fired off a shot. The bullet slammed into the droid's neck. Sergeant Burns rifle went off as a trio of 7.62 plasma bullet rounds struck the droid's plate carrier, the plasma rounds punching through the droid's metal plate and into its body. Looking up two droids crouched about to engage as a staccato of machine gun fire exploded out from behind the Marines. Tiang's LMG-5 laid down a wall of plasma, effectively silencing the Separatist soldiers standing guard at the gates of the vehicle depot. Sweeping his weapon right, he made sure that the area obscured still with smoke had no hostiles in the area except for the occasional dead droid soldier.

"Right clear." Luke reported slowly walking up to a building wall with Sergeant Burns leading the formation.

"Left clear." Diego reported as he brought up his rear.

"All teams report, over." Sergeant Burns ordered with a whisper.

 _"Kilo Nine-One, in position in from the west gate."_ Kilo Nine-One reported with as whisper as Luke waited for the Sergeant's command.

 _"Papa Bear Six-Three, in position from the east gate."_ Papa Bear Six-Three reported as Sergeant Burns looked back nodding.

"Execute, Execute, Execute." Sergeant Burns ordered into the radio as Luke readied my weapon, flicking the safety off.

Sergeant Burns turned the corner as Luke followed, weapon up and looking through the Holo-sight. There were six B1 droid soldiers from where Luke was standing as the smoke started to let up. The visual range was still within ten meters. Luke lined up his first shot. Squeezing the trigger twice and felt the rifle kick him twice in the shoulder. The Plasma bullet impacted the Droid in the chest as gun fire erupted from all direction. The civilians were crouched hands protecting their ear from the loud gun shots. The military personnel meanwhile stayed put, not wanting to risk their lives through friendly fire stayed near the civilians. A staccato of gun fire came from Sergeant Burns and Tiang. Their weapons either automatic or burst fire was controllable. Two of the six original soldiers were remaining from the assault, one now killed by a shotgun blast from Diego's M90.

"Stop! I command you to stop!" The last Droid standing yelled as he lifted some female military personnel up, a blaster pressed to her head.

"Do you have clear shot?" Sergeant Burns asked as a wall of negatives came back.

"Fuck." He grunted as he saw an opportunity.

As Kilo Nine-One's squad lead slowly inched closer to the two, the Separatist soldier was forced to turn to its closet target. Its gun now away from the female hostage, Luke had a clear shot to his head. It was tricky but he had to seize the opportunity. Holding his breath and stabilizing the swaying Holo-sights, he squeezed the trigger. The crack of the rifle round going supersonic echoed through the vehicle depot. Time slowed as adrenaline surged through his body from the risky shot. Luke saw the Droid's head split open, circuitry and oil like fluid splattering the people around it. The female Marine was hit the worse, the oily fluid staining her black hair and her uniform. The back of her vest and neck filled with the oily substance as the droid, now dead pulled her down with it. With the final enemy dead, they had to go towards the uncleared gate with the smoke thinning.

"Everyone okay?" Sergeant Burns asked as Luke helped the female Marine up from her captor.

"You alright?" Luke asked pulling out a canteen from his utility belt.

"Y-yeah." She stuttered from shock.

"Tiang, York and Papa Bear Six-Three, you guys stay with the hostages. Everyone else, on me!" Sergeant Burns ordered as Luke fell in line behind him.

Rushing to the parking garage, they stopped just short of the entrance leading out of the depot. Sergeant Burns waved Diego up to take point. With his left hand on Sergeant Burns' shoulder, Luke was ready to assault. They had split up into two teams with one of Kilo Nine-One's shooter joining them. Looking to the right, Kilo Nine-One's squad lead gave Burns an okay sign. Nodding, Burns slapped Diego's shoulder twice. He raised his shotgun, looking through the sights as he rushed forward and turned the corner left. Luke heard a shotgun blast as he followed shortly behind. Turning the corner, Luke found one Droid dead, and no one else to be found. A volley of gun fire erupted from behind as Kilo Nine-One cleared the area.

"Clear left." Diego reported as he kept his shotgun raised.

"Clear right." Kilo Nine-One reported as Sergeant Burns checked the dead body.

"Anything of use, Sergeant?" Luke asked as he shook his head.

"Nothing other than clips of ammo." Sergeant Burns replied as we lowered their weapons.

"Scout the area. I want it clean when the Bradleys come in." Sergeant Burns ordered as Luke nodded, jogging back towards the courtyard.

"York!" Luke yelled as he stood up.

"What?" He asked as he strode towards Luke with his sniper rifle.

"We need to scout the area, let's get up on the roof of that garage." Luke suggested as York nodded, agreeing to the idea.

"Excuse me, um…" The female Marine said as Luke turned to her.

"Commander, Luke Sparrow, Bravo Company." Luke stated as she nodded.

"…Luke, thanks for your canteen." She said as Luke nodded.

"No problem." Luke replied as he clipped the canteen to my web belt.

"And you are?" Luke asked her as she took off her helmet, letting the rest of her hair flow down from her head.

"Private Racheal Smith from 1st Marines, Motor Transport." She replied answering my question.

"Nice to meet you, I hope we meet in more favourable terms next time." Luke stated as she nodded.

"What the fuck is taking so long?" York screamed as he climbed the ladder onto the concrete roof of the vehicle depot.

"I've got to go. See you around." Luke said to her, taking a few steps back before turning and jogging to the parking garage still full of vehicles.

"What took you so long?" York asked again as Luke climbed up the ladder onto the roof.

"I had to get my canteen." Luke replied as he chuckled, looking through the scope of his F211 heavy sniper rifle.

"Yeah right, I bet you used it as an excuse to talk to that girl." York stated as Luke slapped his helmet with his hand.

"Shut up and scan your sector." Luke grunted as a bullet whizzed overhead.

"Muzzle flash?" Luke asked York as he flicked his safety off.

"Nah, I got him." York replied, his rifle firing off a round.

"Looks like the last guy from the North gate, am I right?" He asked as Luke pulled out his binoculars to check the dead aggressor.

"Yup, that's him alright." Luke muttered as something else caught his eyes in the distance.

"Oh shit." Luke muttered looking at the scene in the distance.

"Look at that." Luke stated with York adjusted his aim.

"Dear god." He muttered shocked, the same expression on his face.

In the suburban area ahead, the skies were filled out droid gunships and spacecraft duelling it out with the O.A.G. Longswords, Broadswords, Sabres and Army SA10Cs. As the aircraft took to the skies above, anti-air fire from the ground negated their ability to fight. Patriot missiles sailed to the skies from behind targeting the Droid fighters as more were showing up on scene. Droid Gunships strafed the ground with both bombs and guns raining hell onto the troops down below while the SA10Cs did the same. Both sides were equally matched in terms of firepower and motivation, but the Marines were well trained. It was apparent as the frontlines were pushed towards the end of the suburbs, the enemy losing ground to the Marines.

"It looks like the fourth of July." York stated as spacecraft and VTOLs constantly exploded into a spectacular orange with the mix of green tracers from O.A.G. Anti-Air platforms.

"Sure does." Luke replied as he looked left, the assault carrying on all fronts of the East Coast.

"Rawhide Two-Three, Rawhide Actual, missions accomplished. Send in the Trojans to extract the civilians and military personnel, how copy?" Sergeant Burns stated on the radio as the two of them continued to watch the battle unfold.

"Roger that Rawhide Two-Three, orders incoming, wait out." Rawhide Actual stated as Diego manned the west gate outpost.

"Sarge, there's still nothing here." Diego complained on the radio, bored.

"Shut your fucking cock hole Private and watch you sector." Sergeant Burns barked silencing him.

 _"Rawhide Two-Three, this is Rawhide Actual. Orders are as followed. Defend the vehicle depot with Kilo Nine-One and Papa Bear Six-Three, over."_ Rawhide Actual reported as Luke heard Sergeant Burns' discontent grumble.

"Rawhide Actual, with all due respect, we should be on the frontlines." Sergeant Burns' replied with disappointment as we were trained to fight on the frontlines.

 _"Rawhide Two-Three, orders come down from the top. We have over eight tanks in that depot and six IFVs. If we were to lose that depot it would affect the company's combat efficiency, how copy?"_ Rawhide Actual replied as Sergeant Burns sighed.

"Roger that, Rawhide Two-Three out." Sergeant Burns acknowledged as Luke settled into his post.

"This is going to be one shitty mission." Luke grunted as York chuckled.

"Roger that." York replied as we watched the battle in the distance.

Day soon became night as they were forced to sit tight inside the vehicle depot. With Motor Transport and supporting units moving into the area, the dead Droid 'shock troops' were long forgotten. Sitting inside the administration building just opposite of the vehicle garage, Luke slowly picked at his less than pleasing Meals Ready to Eat. With cheese and crackers thrown inside the green plastic bag, it tasted more of decent porridge sludge than vomit in a bag. York was sleeping with his head slumped against the wall. Around his arms and in his embrace was his trustworthy F211 sniper rifle. Tiang sat near York with his machine gun set next to him, the bi-pods holding the whole ten-kilogram light machine gun up. Tiang sat silently as he had a book open, reading silently. Sergeant Burns had his helmet off and placed on his chest as his assault pack was his pillow. The Veteran wore a crew-cut hairstyle that already started too white, his rifle propped up against the wall. Diego slept next to and air condition duct spewing cold air in an attempt to thwart off the summer heat. He curled up with his M90 shotgun using the barrel as a pillow. Tiang and Luke were the only ones up as they sat in a dark room with the lights turned off as Kilo Nine-One was on watch.

 _"Enemy foot mobiles in civilian suburbs section three."_ The radio squawked in my ear as Luke sat with his rifle on my lap.

"Everything silent so far." The Marines in the frontlines reported as Luke decided to clean his rifle.

Pushing out the pins on the M60-AR, Luke split the upper and lower receiver apart. Pulling out the barrel from the upper receiver, he broke out the Cleaner Lubricant Preservative or CLP. Dripping some down the barrel of the rifle, he ran the cleaning rod through the barrel all the while listening to the chatter on the radio as action was sparse at night. For now, there were no skirmishes made by the droids and only O.A.G. fighters and close air support aircraft dominated the skies. Sighing, Luke returned the rifle to normal conditions and got up. Tiang followed his actions as he read his scientific novel.

"Going somewhere Sparrow?" Turner asked as Luke stretched out his legs, yawning.

"Just a walk around camp, I'm bored to shit right now." Luke grumbled a reply as Luke walked out of the carpet room and into the still hot world.

The world looked peacefully tonight as the full moon slowly rose out from the red sky. The last rays of light disappearing before the shroud of darkness blanketed the region. Standing still, Luke watched the light disappear. His eyes starting to adjust to the void as the stars shined above him. The whole East Coast was in darkness from the attack. Electricity was still working but light and noise discipline was in effect. Surprise was the name of the game when it came to darkness. As the Marines always say, Adapt, Improvise, and Overcome.

"Looking at the stars Commander?" A voice asked in a low tone beside me as Luke turned to the source.

"Yeah, it's been a while since I could look at a star filled sky." Luke whispered to Racheal as she smiled in the darkness.

"Are you temporarily based here?" Luke asked as she nodded.

"We're repairing vehicles at this depot and sending out spares to units who need them. The whole division is a bit under equipped since the main force is off world." Racheal explained as Luke nodded.

"Private get your butt back here, there's work to do!" One of her bosses yelled as she waved goodbye.

"See you around, Commander." She stated waltzing off into the darkness as Luke walked around the giant depot.

In the noon, Motor Transport started to pour in and so did artillery. Six M88A2 howitzers were dropped in by six Pelicans to provide forward fire support to troops closer to the bay area we were trying to take back. The Navy and their ships were still days away from arriving as they were coming up from an exercise down near the System edge and they were approaching at full speed. For now, the airborne division of the Marine Corps and the Army would have to hold their own against the invading Separatists. Occasional bursts of tracers from ground anti-air lit up the sky as Luke walked back into the room his squad was holed up in. Placing his rifle next to his assault pack, Luke took off his helmet and dumped it behind the rifle. Lying down on top of the pack, he closed his eyes to get some much needed sleep.

"Back from your walk?" Tiang asked as Luke cracked open his right eye.

"Yeah." Luke grunted a response as Tiang placed his book inside his uniform pouch.

"Anything interesting?" He kept asking as Luke gave him the middle finger.

"Alright, alright you win." He muttered as they all went to sleep, saving up energy for the day of tomorrow.

 _2623 May 29th Earth Standard Calendar,_ _Entrallia,_ _CDR. Luke Sparrow._

A few hours later, Luke felt someone slapping his cheek trying to wake him. Groggily, he got up finding his helmet and strapping it tight to his chin. Shrugging on the backpack on, Luke saw Diego leading him outside the admin building and towards Sergeant Burns who was standing and speaking with their command officer. Captain Mei Mikoto, former MARSOC and Force Reconnaissance Marine she was one to be respected even by the badass. She and Sergeant Burns were in a heated discussion as the team assembled in the middle of the night.

"So this is your team. Are you men the ones who took down the Droids holding the prisoners?" She asked as she even held her own M60-AR rifle.

"Sir, yes sir." The team replied as the Captain nodded.

"Looks like you run a tight unit, Burns." The Captain praised as Burns smiled.

"Tight as a drum and mad as a devil dog, sir." Sergeant Burns replied as Captain Mikoto chuckled.

"I've got a mission for you, Staff Sergeant. I think you're going to like this one." Captain Mikoto stated as they walked to her JLTV, inside a display with the area map inside.

"So far the OAMC has taken the rest of the mainland back, but this is our problem." Captain Mikoto explained tapping an area isolated from the rest of the land, a small island with an airfield.

"That Airfield is now being held by droids, our aircraft and heck even the anti-air equipment is still there. The worst part of it is they're using it against us. Your team is going to be part of a battalion sized assault with three thousand Marines landing on that airbase by HALO and helicopter insertion. You think your team can do that, Staff Sergeant?" Captain Mikoto asked as a smile drew on Sergeant Burns' face.

"Sir, yes sir." Sergeant Burns replied as Captain Mikoto nodded, confident.

"After reclaiming the airfield you will push south and drive the Droids from the larger southern island filled with urban buildings and off this god forsaken land, kill?" Captain Mikoto asked as they looked at each other, gleeful for a combat mission.

"Hoorah!" They yelled as they acknowledged, Papa Bear Six-Three and Kilo Nine-One would be joining us in the fight.

"Pelicans will be here at Zero-Dark Thirty, dust off five mikes after that. Get your team ready and be ready to assault the airbase. Don't disappoint me Staff Sergeant." Captain Mikoto stated as she opened the door of the JLTV.

"Don't intend to sir." Sergeant Burns stated as he got inside.

"Squad, Attention!" Sergeant Burns ordered as they snapped a salute, the Captain driving off back towards base.

"You bag-fucking-tastic pieces of shit know what to do, or do I have to drill it into your ears again?" Sergeant Burns asked as they walked back into the admin building.

"Check your weapons, clean your rifles and make sure they don't jam on my mission. I do not want you pieces of shit screwing my mission and I will not have you die on command until I order you to." They chanted as Sergeant Burns nodded, satisfied.

"That's fucking right. Hey Sparrow, merry fucking Christmas." Sergeant Burns stated as he threw Luke a box weighing close to eleven ounces.

"It's a one of the new holographic sights, thanks Sarge." Luke said joyful as he pulled out a holographic sight with a small moveable magnifier attached at the tail.

"Where'd you get this?" Luke asked placing the sights on M60-AR's picatinny rail and tightened the sight on with his multi-tool.

"I had a spare back in the day." He replied as he shrugged of his pack and took off his helmet.

"Back in the day?" Tiang asked interested in Staff Sergeant's old war stories.

"Yeah, Operation Falleen Freedom. I was green just like you two maggots are right now, Lance Corporal fresh right out of boot camp. I knew I was going to war so I ordered a Trijicon ACOG scope. Next thing I knew, I arrived in system and there was my Staff Sergeant giving me an old Eotech II. I took it just in case I needed it, never did until I gave it to you." Sergeant Burns explained as Luke nodded understanding, powering the sight on.

"So it's like a family heirloom?" Diego asked as Sergeant Burns shrugged.

"I guess so. It's passed down from Sergeant Hector Williams that's what it is." Sergeant Burns stated as York laid down on his assault pack.

"Where's Sergeant Williams now?" York asked tired as we all took to bed, laying down and listening to Sergeant Knox.

"Dead, shot to the head in Operation Falleen Freedom a few weeks in. It must have been a tradition." Sergeant Burns said with a hint of pessimism in his voice.

"Tradition, Sergeant?" Luke asked curiously with his weapon draped across his body.

"That's how I got command of this squad. Sergeant Williams appointed me pointman before he died and his squad leader before that." Sergeant Knox explained as Luke looked at the empty ceiling.

"You're not afraid of death in command?" Tiang asked as Sergeant Burns shrugged.

"What's left to fear? I'm forty-nine, have three kids and a wife. Instead of being with them, I have to babysit you bastard children until my retirement at the end of this week." Sergeant Burns grunted as an explosion went off in the distance.

"Who's going to be your successor, Sergeant?" Luke asked with curiously.

"Don't know yet." He stated bluntly as Luke sat up.

"Really, Sarge?" Luke asked surprised.

"Yeah, you might all be puddle of filth now but you've got potential. I'll whip you into a badass Marines like me, you just wait." Sergeant Burns replied as Luke slumped down onto his pack, not knowing what to think.

"Alright, shut the fuck up. Story time is over, get some shut eye before you all become Zombies in the morning." Sergeant Burns ordered as Luke sighed, closing his eyes.

"Goodnight, Tiang." Diego muttered with exhaustion.

"Night, York. You too, Sparrow." Turner replied as the sky flashed white for a split second, a bomb going off.

"Goodnight, Tiang and you also Sparrow." York stated continued with the squad shenanigans.

"What the fuck did I just say? Shut the fuck up and let me get some shut eye!" Sergeant Burns yelled silencing the squad.

"Fucking bastard kids." Sergeant Burns muttered as that last comment placed the squad in a void of darkness, sleeping until an hour before dawn.

 _2623 May 30th Earth Standard Calendar,_ _Entrallia,_ _CDR. Luke Sparrow._

Dawn was just thirty minutes away, the squad rushed to get things in order as Luke finished sighting in the new holographic aiming aid. Squaring away his rifle, he cleaned it one last time before walking over to the courtyard of the vehicle depot. Enjoying a notorious, puke flavoured breakfast of Sloppy Joe with cheese and crackers sprinkled over the top meal inside of the green plastic bag. Standing against the wall and devouring a much-needed meal before going to battle was a routine in my daily life in combat.

"Excuse me, do you have a moment?" A voice asked as Luke turned his head to see Racheal peeking out of the vehicle garage doorway.

"Sure, I'm just eating." Luke replied eating another bite of the meat mixed with crackers and cheese.

"I just wanted to give you something before you go. I have a feeling we're noting going to be seeing each other for a while." Racheal explained as Luke nodded, understanding.

"With the invasion and war going the way that it is, I'm being transferred to Taskforce 242." Luke stated as Racheal nodded in understanding.

"Here." She said holding out a pair of dog tags.

"Yours?" Luke asked as she nodded.

"I can't accept that; you know that we have to wear them all the time." Luke stated as she pulled the collar of her uniform showing another pair hanging around her neck.

"These are the original copies of my dog tags, these aren't." Racheal explained as Luke nodded pulling them over his head. The dog tags where the same ball chain necklace with a metal dog tag with the screen showing a picture of the person on it with all the relevant information.

"Thanks." Luke replied finishing the rest of the MREs as the first light of dawn shined, the rays of light streaking across the sky.

"The least I could do for you since you saved my life." Racheal stated as Luke smiled, pushing himself off the wall.

"It's my job, I'm a Marine after all." Luke replied as she giggled.

"I'm sure it is." She stated as the sounds of the Pelican's engines whrring up the air in the distance grew louder and closer.

"Sparrow, get your scrawny ass over here!" Sergeant Burns yelled from a field a few meters just outside the vehicle depot.

"I have to go. I'll see you later, if we get to see each other that is." Luke said waving her goodbye and turning towards the field, jogging.

"Count on it!" Racheal yelled as Luke ran out the gates meeting the three squads preparing to board the chopper.

"Alright, ready up!" Sergeant Burns ordered yelling over the sounds of the loud engines as the two Pelicans touched down.

 _"Ghost Rider Three-One and Three-Two, here to pick up the kids and send them to school, over."_ The radio squawked Luke's my ear as the dust and grass were picked up into a torrent of wind generated by the Pelicans engines.

"Mount up!" Sergeant Burns yelled his voice barely audible as they climbed onto the metal deck of the Pelican, securing themselves to the cloth seat.

"Kilo Nine-One, everyone is here and accounted for." Kilo Nine-One's squad leader reported, sitting in front of me as Luke leaned over to look at the other Blackhawk.

"Papa Bear Six-Three, ready to move out." Papa Bear Six-Three stated as Sergeant Burns slapped the metal skin of the Pelican twice.

"Let's get her up in the air!" Sergeant Burns yelled as pitch and volume of the Pelicans engines increased, the VTOL shuddering while it ascended.

 _"Ghost Rider to Leroy, kids are in the school bus and are Oscar Mike to RV Lobo."_ The pilot reported to General Maddox, commander of the entire 1st Marines who personally came to spearhead the operation himself.

 _"Roger that Ghost Rider, what is your ETA to RV Lobo?"_ One of the General's aide asked as the Pelican pitched down increasing speed and hugging the Earth.

 _"We are two mikes away from RV Lobo, how copy?"_ The pilot responded as they joined larger formation of Pelican Utility VTOLs, Warbird VTOLs and drafted LAAT gunships.

 _"Last unit has been picked up. Artillery, send prototype EMP rounds, airburst into the airfield. I want six barrages before the VTOLs go in."_ The General ordered as Luke looked at the immersive force of the entire Marine Corps division.

It was like a bee hive attacking an aggressor. This was exactly like that, except more ferocious. Looking outside the Pelicans passenger bay, Luke felt the torrent of wind buffet his body as they ascended to one thousand feet. A cloud of grey, olive drab and brown buzzed towards the airfield a few miles away. Attack VTOLs and aircraft spearheaded the assault, taking care of anti-aircraft ground units set up along the highway and bridge leading to the airbase. Luke heard the whistle of the prototype EMP rounds as they sailed through the air, too close for comfort. The shell fell towards the Earth with such speed, Luke saw faint vapor trail as it one of the cloud formations. Suddenly, a hail of missiles and anti-aircraft shells were flung at the invading hail of helicopters. To his left and right VTOLs exploded into a brilliant fireball of orange and debris. Luke saw a cloud of black flak explode just behind of the Pelican peppering him and the Pelican with shrapnel. Luke was still in shock as the shells were still in service, even by Droid means, or they must have captured some of the Marine AA guns.

"Arghh, I've been tagged!" Luke heard someone as he turned to the source.

"We have a man down; squad lead's been hit!" One of Kilo Nine-One's shooter yelled out as blood dripped from his left arm and leg.

"Put pressure on that wound!" Tiang yelled as the Pelicans right engine sparked, spewing smoke.

"I've lost hydraulic pressure and the right engine is down to fifty percent power. Hang on this is going to be a bumpy ride!" The pilot reported as Tiang attended to the yelling Sergeant.

The Pelican shuddered, slightly yawing side to side as the artillery shells exploded mid-air over the base. An electrical buzz was heard and a pulse of blue electricity expanded over the airfields' entirety shorting out all electrical equipment. The sun was rising rapidly as the VTOLs used the sun to their advantage, swooping in low and fast with the sun against their backs. Tiang did all he could and kept the Sergeant stable as he jabbed a syringe full of morphine into his left leg. His moan's stopped as another shell exploded near the helicopter taking out the right engine as it burst into flames. Luke felt wet, warm and viscous liquid running down my face as the flames were extinguished by an internal fire suppression system.

"Hey Sparrow!" Tiang yelled as Luke turned to him.

"What?" Luke yelled back as he unstrapped Luke's helmet and pulled out an alcohol drenched swab.

"You're bleeding and you've got shrapnel in your face!" Turner yelled as Luke touched his forehead, wincing from pain and seeing blood on his fingers.

Luke felt him pull out a piece of shrapnel the size of a penny from his forehead and quickly dabbed it with alcohol. It stung like fire being poured onto his face and letting it burn for a few minutes. There were smaller, less threatening wounds that were healed by Tiang's tweezers as the Pelican oscillated, pitching down to join the formation of inbound VTOLs landing troops in the midst of heavy anti-air fire. With his face all patched up, Luke looked down at his uniform to find it ripped and shredded in places by the shrapnel. Blood dripped slowly from the oozing wound as it throbbed throughout his arm and legs, luckily most of the shrapnel to the torso was protected by my body armour. Kilo Nine-One's Sergeant had by now fell unconscious as the medic of the team elected to stay behind. We came in hard and fast as Luke unclipped himself from the seat.

"Prepare to dismount!" Sergeant Burns yelled as black clouds of flak exploded as we descended.

 _"Ten feet."_ The pilot grunted as the Pelican's shuddering got worse almost tearing itself apart.

 _"Five!"_ The pilot constantly reported as Luke brought his XM8 to arms, aiming down the newly integrated holographic sights.

"Suppressive fire!" Sergeant Burns yelled as Tiang brought his LMG-5 right next to his body, firing off nine hundred fifty rounds a minute.

 _"Touchdown, go, go ,go!"_ The pilot yelled as Luke dismounted the aircraft, landing in the worst possible place: the middle of the runway.

"Let's go, get off the fucking helo!" Sergeant Burns yelled as men hopped onto the concrete, running towards wreckages of the downed helicopters that failed to return to base.

"RPG!" Diego yelled as it sailed overhead, impacting the Pelican they just rode on and killing two of Kilo Nine-One's squad members.

"Sergeant!" One of his men yelled in agony as they turned around running head first into battle.

"Get the fuck back here, Kilo Nine-One!" Sergeant Burns yelled a moment too late as enemy machine gun fire slaughtered the team of three.

"Shit." Sergeant Burns muttered after the loss of Kilo Nine-One.

"Papa Bear Three-Six, come in Papa Bear Three-Six." Sergeant Burns yelled into the radio trying to raise Papa Bear.

"Sergeant, they were gone when the first few flak shells hit." York explained as lasers pinged off of the burning helicopter wreckage they were hiding behind.

It felt like a D-day rush of the beach as some units had the success of raiding the hangars and the auxiliary buildings in the airfield. Meanwhile hundreds of other Marines were pinned down by heavy machine gun fire. Some dying from their rage of their deceased commanders and friends, as for them, they waited for Sergeant Burns to decide on a course of action. While they waited, more VTOLs started to go down as medics roamed the battlefield tending to the injured relying on luck to save them from a shot to the brain. The groaning of men was disturbing but the slaughtering of their Marine Corps brothers was even worse.

"We're assaulting the airfield, directly." Sergeant Burns finally spoke up as Luke furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"Sarge?" Luke asked as he peeked out from the wrecked passenger bay.

"Run from cover to cover, do not shoot. I want to get to that concrete barricade as fast as we can, kill?" Sergeant Burns asked as Luke leaned over the Pelican's aircraft tail.

"Hoorah!" They yelled as Sergeant Burns readied himself for the run.

"Go." He ordered as Luke sprinted out from the aircraft wreckage with VTOLs falling around him, the sound of destruction everywhere.

Plasma zipped around his body and peppered the concrete at his feet, threatening to ricochet back at his body as plasma illuminated the opposition's shots. Luke felt his legs start to sore with lactic acid building up as he crouched behind the next cover in form of a deactivated Droid Gunship with York and Diego arriving shortly after. The Sergeant was near the nose with Tiang and Luke was with Diego and York at the tail section. Spying the next piece of cover across the runway and into the grass was a sinking Droid Tri-fighter. The grass was wet and that was bad as it did not provide the traction Luke would like to save his own life running through the muck.

 _"Ready?"_ Sergeant Burns asked on the radio as we nodded.

 _"Go."_ Sergeant Burns ordered as Luke got up sprinting around the tail of the Gunship, running towards the next piece of cover.

Luke felt his feet pound the concrete as the bullets whizzed so close to his face, he could feel the heat and the shockwaves from the plasma traveling faster than the speed of sound. Panting, his lungs started to burn as oxygen didn't circulate fast enough to replace the carbon dioxide. His arms were already sore from carrying the heavy XM8 after days of fighting with marginal rest, never mind the RPGs flying everywhere. Luke felt his boots impact something wet and slippery: the grass and mud. He slipped falling head over heels as mud plastered my face, vest and shredded battle uniform. Half blind, Luke dug his hands into the mud trying to stand up in the midst of heavy fire. Standing up and running, Luke tried as best as he could to find his squad a midst the chaos. Luke felt someone grab him by the collar, dragging him behind a wrecked helicopter. Relieved he found out it was the gentle giant, Tiang.

"Fucking A, you scared the shit out of me." Luke muttered getting up as Tiang pulled out his canteen, pouring it over my face.

"You looked like hammer shit." Tiang replied as Luke wiped the mud away from his face.

"Cut the chatter, looks like the Force Reconnaissance is here." Sergeant Burns stated as Luke looked up, paratroopers flying in right over the hangars and facilities.

"Rawhide Two-Three to all units, move the fuck up! Use this chance to move up towards the barricades!" Sergeant Burns ordered as hundreds of Marines poured out from behind burning wreckages of helicopters and aircraft while more dropped in on utility VTOLs.

 _"Marines near the frontlines. Open up and provide suppressive fire for those behind you!"_ Sergeant Know yelled coordinating the Marines into a cohesive fighting force, the wall of plasma going unchallenged as it caught the Droids by surprised.

"Alright move out." Sergeant Burns ordered as he walked out from behind the aircraft, weapon raised.

Luke looked through the holographic sight, the reticule of the EOtech swaying as he found his first target. It was holding an sniper rifle, calming picking out targets from the safety of a concrete barricade. Luke flicked the rifle's selector switch to semi-automatic. Squeezing the trigger, Luke let loose a shot into the sniper's head. His head jerked back. Luke heard a crack from my side. York was apparently a moving sniper platform, constantly engaging targets with precision. Tiang was doing what he did best, sporadic bursts of machine gun fire from his LMG-5 kept the enemy at bay as Sergeant Burns and Luke picked off the rest. Chris had his M11 pistol out. Even though he was limited to short range with his M90 shotgun, he was a practiced pistol marksmen and could hit targets fifty meters away. Looking up at the roof of the hangar, a Recon Marine landed on an unsuspecting droid soldier carrying an RPG. Unfortunately for them, when he attacked the RPG was launched directly at them. The rocket blazed towards Luke in slow motion as he tackled Diego, taking him into the dirt.

"What the-" Diego started as the RPG went off kicking up dirt in all directions.

"…fuck?" Diego finished his sentence as Luke pulled him up from the ground.

"Thanks." Diego stated as Luke nodded.

"No problem, now if you were to look-" Luke started to speak but was cut off as a sniper round smashed through Deigo's left calve, blood splattering onto my torso and legs. There were still some off the old solid metal bullet firing weaponry still in use.

"Ah, fuck!" Deigo cursed, falling into the dirt as Luke turned to find the sniper crouched over the administration office's roof.

"You fucking Tin Can!" Luke yelled filled with rage as he lifted his rifle, firing until he was empty but the droid was already dead with the first shot.

"My leg, my leg!" Deigo screamed in agony as Tiang dragged him behind a wrecked Pelican.

"Stay calm, breathe!" Tiang commanded as Diego grunted, trying to deal with his pain.

"Diego, Diego! Look at me." Luke stated slapping his face as his eyes locked onto mine.

"You're going to be fine, it's a small ass wound. You've endured worse, you understand?" Luke asked as he nodded, gritting his teeth.

"How does it look?" Diego grunted as Tiang pulled out a few rolls of bandages.

"It's okay, everything's fine." Luke replied looking at Diego's fractured leg, a small piece of bone poking through the skin and leaking blood.

 _"How's Diego?"_ Sergeant Burns asked on the radio as Tiang stretched the bandage out.

"Uh…not good." Luke replied as Tiang wrapped the bandage around Diego's wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding.

 _"What the fuck do you mean by not good?"_ Sergeant Burns asked as Tiang finished the dressing, a few blobs of blood expanding.

 _"What he means is that the bullet fractured Horn's leg so he cannot walk. But he can shoot."_ Tiang replied as Sergeant Burns grumbled in annoyance.

 _"Tiang stay with Diego, Sparrow back on me. We have a base to take back."_ Sergeant Burns stated as Luke nodded running back to join him at the barricades amidst battle.

"What's the plan, Sergeant?" Luke asked crouched behind a barricade.

"We need to wait until there are more Marines up here." Sergeant Burns replied as more Marines moved up.

"You Rawhide Two-Three Actual?" A Marine asked as he slammed into the concrete barricade.

"Yeah and you are?" Sergeant Burns asked as Luke winced, plasma smashing into the barricade.

"Lieutenant Cole, Charlie Company." The man introduced himself as Sergeant Burns nodded and returned fire.

"How many men have you got under your command?" Sergeant Burns asked, reloading his rifle.

"Thirty nine men, twenty four now since I've got some injured and are get treated by medics." Lieutenant Cole replied as Sergeant Burns nodded.

"Alright Lieutenant, I want your team to push up into the hangar to my left. Wait first to muster enough Marines to assault. I'll be here waiting for more troops." Sergeant Burns replied as he nodded, slowly creeping down the line of barricades.

"We got a few platoons incoming." York reported as Luke looked back seeing over fifty Marines pinned down by enemy fire.

"Let's give them some motivated covering fire." Sergeant Burns suggested with a grin.

"Roger that." Luke replied racking his XM8.

"Suppressing fire!" Sergeant Burns ordered as we popped up from cover.

Luke strategically picked targets as the three became instant bullet magnets. Picking out the ones with machine guns first, Luke knew that suppression would be slowed if they were either dead or keep their heads down as more Marines moved up. York kept the snipers off their backs as Sergeant Burns and Luke kept up the fire on the targets. Squeezing the trigger, he heard the rifle click empty. Crouching down and keeping his head well below the waist high barricade, he dumped the empty magazine out and slapped in a fresh clip. Pressing on the bolt release, he stood up and resumed fire as the first few squads of Marines hit the barricade.

"Sparrow, put a fucking grenade round into that truck!" Sergeant Burns ordered as Luke flipped up the grenade's sight and angled the weapon.

Luke pulled the trigger. The grenade launcher jumped in his hands and launched the forty millimetre towards a two and a half ton truck. The high explosive grenade warhead detonated as it touched the truck, making it burst into a glowing orange fireball. Four Separatist soldiers wielding blasters and a machine gun died instantly from the blast and flames as the truck floated in the air before impacting the ground, squishing the bodies. Crouching behind the wall, Luke slid forward the grenade launcher's firing chamber and popped another round into it. Sliding the breech back, he popped out of cover firing at the enemy.

"Are you Rawhide Three-Two?" One of the newly arrived Marines asked Sergeant Burns.

"Yeah, how many men do you have?" Sergeant Burns asked as he continued to fire his XM8.

"Eighty, the last time I counted!" He yelled as Sergeant Burns nodded crouching behind cover.

"Split your men to the right side of me and assault that hangar right next to the admin building! Start the assault on my command." Sergeant Burns stated as the man stated.

"Let's go forty men to the right. Fucking do it now, you dick fucks!" The man who turned out to be a Captain yelled as he got into position next to York.

"Is everyone ready?" Sergeant Burns asked on the radio as they kept up the fire.

 _"Ready on the left."_ One Marine reported as I crouched down to reload.

 _"Ready on the right."_ Another Marine reported as Luke nodded to the Sergeant.

"Everyone pull out a smoke and pull the pin." Sergeant Burns ordered, drawing his own smart grenade from his pouch and setting it for smoke.

"Throw it." He continued as lobbed the grenade over Luke's head.

Waiting as the smoke developed, Luke activated his polarisation again, it helped to outline things in low visibility conditions. Checking his weapon was ready, Luke popped up and continued suppressing fire as the smoke slowly blocked his vision. The combination of colours from different grenades made on hell of a distracting rainbow with white being thrown into the mix. With the wind blowing towards the enemy, it was both a blessing and a curse as it provided cover for them but also made them unable to see. As smoke completely consumed the enemy, Sergeant Burns stood up readying his weapon as I reloaded mine.

"Execute!" Sergeant Burns yelled as the whole Marine Division screamed out a devastating war cry, that was so loud the whole vicinity within three miles could hear it.

"What is our motto?" Sergeant Burns asked the Marine Division, motivating the assaulters.

"Ready to fight!" The Marines yelled, running towards their enemy.

The charging four hundred and more Marines climbed over the barricade, assaulting the hangars and the space between them. A few meters from entering the smoke, Luke opened fire with the rest of the division letting lose a wall of Plasma. Plasma sailed into the smoke, the shining and illuminating inside the screen of rainbow mist. Entering the rainbow fog, visual range was shortened to a meter or two. Walking straight into the now extinguished truck he just blew up, Luke smacked his face on the metal roof as York pulled him in the right direction. Taking a step after him, his boot came down on something soft. Looking down he saw a blown off arm lying on the concrete. Taking a step back he stowed away the disturbing sight and rotting smell, moving forward with York around the truck. Incoming Plasma were still flying into the smog as they threatened blue on blue friendly fire incidents.

"Contact!" York yelled as Luke turned towards the source.

York drew his M11 and engaged the target hiding behind a sand bag barricade as its friend popped up blaster swinging around his armour. Snapping his weapon up, Luke pulled the trigger twice putting two rounds into its chest. The Plasma sliced through its armour plates and drilled a hole into his torso before exiting out the back with a handful of oil spilling onto the concrete. York's pistol cracked thrice, three rounds the size of Luke's thumb exiting the barrel and slamming into the droid's chest. Pushing forward, Luke found Himself next to the hangar door with York giving him cover. Sergeant Burns was nowhere in sight as he decided to assault the hangar.

"York." Luke called, walking up the door.

"What?" He asked, staying a step or two behind him.

"Try to raise Sergeant Burns." Luke stated as he nodded.

"Rawhide Two-Three Actual, Rawhide Two-Three Actual, come in over." York spoke into the radio as Luke kept his weapon shouldered, watching the smoke-filled doorway.

"Anything?" Luke asked, looking back.

"Nothing." York replied as Luke sighed nodding.

"We'll take the hangar and then assault the admin building." Luke stated as York turned around, reloading his pistol.

"Copy that, ready when you are Sparrow." York reported, lowering his pistol and getting into position.

"Alright…" Luke muttered, pulling out his magazine and checking the ammo count before slapping it back in.

"Go." Luke ordered walking into the hangar, his rifle scanning the area with his eyes.

With his eyes darting around to catch any whiff of droids and his body constantly moving, he was in an aggressive stance. Noticing there was no one shooting or firing he wondered why. Looking to his left, he understood the answer as there were only incoming plasma. They completely flanked the droids as they moved their troops closer to the entrance to counterattack the assaulting Marines. Luke took aim at the back of a super battle droid and unleashed a round into its back. The It fell without a sound behind a crate as York aimed further at two droids behind cover. The shots immediately alerted the enemy to their position as we took cover as the Marines moved up, the sounds of M60-AR gunfire getting closer.

"York, I'll give you suppressing fire and you terminate, good?" Luke asked as York nodded understanding.

"Mark." Luke stated, popping up from cover and thumbing the trigger.

Luke kept the droids at bay as friendly fire was becoming more excessive, the plasma getting too close for comfort as York steamrolled the opposition with his pistol. With York reloading, Luke kept up the fire and emptied his rifle. Noticing the audible click, Luke pulled out his own service pistol and flicked off the safe. The smoke slowly dissipated as more shadows became pronounced in the distance. With my pistol empty, Luke crouched down as York stood up resuming his fire. Reloading both weapon systems Luke heard York grunt as he fell to the ground, a small puff of white smoke coming from his right chest. Luke stood up seeing a Marine with his XM8 aimed at where York was.

"Friendly fire!" Luke yelled angrily and moving to York, ripping off his armoured vest.

"What the fuck is wrong with you? Can't you tell the difference between a droid and a god damn Marine?" Luke asked, yelling as York groaned, no mark of penetration from his armour.

"Be glad the bullet didn't go through." Luke continued as a Sergeant walked up to his subordinate.

"Stand down, Private. I told you to keep your eyes scanning." The Sergeant explained as he pushed the weapon from the Marine, pointing the muzzle at the floor.

"Your man okay?" The Sergeant asked as Luke nodded.

"Yeah, but it's going to bruise." Luke replied, helping York reattach his armoured vest.

"How are you doing?" Luke asked York, pulling him up from the concrete deck.

"I feel like I just died and got resurrected." York replied with a smile as Luke chuckled.

"Always with your theatrics." Luke stated as the Sergeant walked up to them.

"Whose command are you under?" The Sergeant asked.

"Staff Sergeant Samuel D. Burns, Bravo Company, Alpha Squad." Luke replied as the Sergeant laughed.

"Sergeant Burns, fucking A. I knew he'd be running this squad, almost getting you guys killed by blue-on-blue. Just like the old times." The Sergeant explained as York and Luke looked at each other.

"Just like the old times?" York asked his voice still pained by the bullet.

"Yeah. Wait, I didn't introduce myself yet. First Sergeant Thomas Grey, Delta Company, Bravo Squad and formerly Bravo Company, Alpha Squad designated Marksmen. I was there with Burns when Sergeant William was killed and command transferred to him." Sergeant Grey explained as Sergeant Burns came on the COMs.

 _"Sparrow, York, where the fuck are you maggots?"_ Sergeant Burns asked as Luke tapped his index and middle finger to his radio, fitted on his left ear.

"We're in the second hangar with Sergeant Thomas Grey's unit." Luke replied, looking at the now smoke cleared hangar.

 _"Roger that, I'm Oscar Mike to you now."_ Sergeant Burns reported as Luke sat on the crate, assessing his gear.

"Three hundred and fifty round magazines, two seventy round pistol magazines, three smart grenades and four EGLM forty mike-mike grenades, nice." Luke muttered out loud checking his gear as York chuckled.

"Be blessed you have magazines, I have five rounds and like a billion magazines." York joked as Sergeant Burns walked through the hangar door we used to assault.

"There you are, you fucking maggots." Sergeant Burns yelled as they pushed themselves off the crate.

"Burns, fucking great to see you." Sergeant Grey greeted walking to say hello to his old friend.

"Grey, Jesus it's been a long time." Sergeant Burns replied to his friend, shaking his hand as we shrugged to each other.

"I'm sure these dicks would have gotten you killed." Sergeant Burns stated with a small laugh.

"Yeah right, you run a tight crew. Even though there were only two guys, they got my squad from getting killed." Sergeant Grey praised as Sergeant Burns turned to us.

"Well I'll be damned. You dickless bastard children are actually shaping up to become something." Sergeant Burns commented as the both of them grinned widely.

"Wipe that motherfucking grin off of your faces. We still got the admin building to clear. Gear the fuck up and move out." Sergeant Burns ordered as York and Luke got to work, falling in line with Sergeant Burns.

"It's just one mission after another isn't it?" Luke asked York as he replied with a small chuckle.

"That's Burns for you, always keeping himself busy." Sergeant Grey explained as we bypassed the third hangar and stopped at the West wing of the admin building.

"Alright, here's the plan. We split up into smaller elements, to assault the building. Sergeant Grey and his team will run straight for the corridors and split up to cover the northern wing. Sparrow, you take the southern rooms and assault the hallway until you reach the main corridor. York and I will be right behind you, we'll clear all the rooms in the west wing before you reach the main corridor. We'll link up with you there, copy?" Sergeant Burns asked as everyone nodded.

"Check your gear and make sure you have a full magazine. We go in on my mark." Sergeant Burns ordered as Luke pulled out a full magazine from his pouch to replace a half empty one.

"Ready?" Sergeant Burns asked reloading his own rifle, getting a node from everyone as an answer.

"Okay, mark." Sergeant Burns stated as he walked into the corridor, three shots reverberating from the room.

Luke walked in afterwards, his weapon up and moving left into a room full of computers. Pacing his steps he spotted three enemies, their weapons pointed towards the windows showing a small view of the burning city on the coast. Tapping his weapon twice for each soldier, he placed rounds within the area of the chest. Killing the enemy and paralyzing them as he moved onto the next room. Pushing his rifle through the doorway, he felt his forearms burst into pain as a butt of a blaster smashed down into his arms. Dropping the weapon, the droid turned around the corner as Luke charged it. He felt his body transferred energy into the droid as his rifle went off. They both crashed onto a wooden table, the combined weight of the two splitting it in half. Luke winced as splinters pierced his skin and hands but not his eyes luckily from the ballistic visor. Looking up he saw the droid moan as he raised his right arm striking the droid twice in the face. The soldier stirred while he reached for his combat knife strapped to his left shoulder vest strap. Pulling out the sixteen-inch long Kukri Blade, he jabbed the blade in towards the side. The droid came around fast enough to stop his arm as the blade sliced through its metal arm. Fighting for the both of their lives, he head butted it in face. The attack stunned the droid, allowing the knife to plunge into its neck, not killing it. Pulling the combat knife out, Luke slid the blade back into its scabbard. Drawing his sidearm from the thigh holster, he raised the pistol and fired a round into its head. Wiping his face off, he walked back to pick up his fallen rifle as York and Sergeant Burns rushed in from the door adjacent to him.

"The fuck happened to you?" York asked as Luke looked at the droid dead on top of a wooden work desk with oil spilling onto the grey carpet below.

"He happened, and almost killed me with an blaster too if I hadn't taken him to the ground." Luke replied looking at his oil stained hands.

"Forget the body, its dead. We need to move on." Sergeant Burns stated as we moved towards the room at the end of the office room.

"Can you break in?" Sergeant Burns asked as he shook his head.

"Not without alerting them." York replied as Sergeant Burns cursed.

"I have an idea." Luke stated sliding the grenade launcher's firing chamber up to check if he had a round in it.

"Dude, General Maddox is going to be pissed if you destroyed the room." York warned as Luke slid the firing chamber back down and locked it in place.

"I already broke the desk." Luke replied as Sergeant Burns agreed.

"I'd be pissed if I had a bullet in my body before I retire at the end of this week!" Sergeant Burns yelled as he flipped up the sights.

"Stand back." Luke warned aiming the rifle at the door.

"I hope like hell this doesn't kill us all." York grumbled as Luke fired the grenade, the forty millimetre round shattering the door and the wall.

"It didn't." Luke said smiling as the small room was covered in dust and smoke.

"Whatever you did, you killed them in the process." Sergeant Burns remarked as he saw two dead B1 droids covered by rubble and bleeding.

"I guess they were in cover against the door, waiting for us to breach." York stated as we walked past them.

"Then I guess it's a good thing Sparrow blew up the room." Sergeant Burns replied as they took the door South.

"Open." York declared as we stacked up next to the door.

"On my command." Sergeant Burns ordered as he stood in front of the door with York and Luke on either side.

"Mark." Sergeant Burns whispered as he kicked the door down and stepped to the side.

York rushed in, his pistol going off instantly as Luke followed quickly behind. His weapon up, he saw six droids doing the same thing and raising their weapons. It was a wide office room with plenty of cover. Luke fired two shots and slid behind a wooden desk as lasers smashed through the wood, the splinters exploding all over him. Luke slowly crawled along the three connected desks, stopping just short of the corner. Looking to York who was pinned down along with Sergeant Burns by the door, he pulled out an smart grenade and set it to Fragmentation. Pulling the pin, he counted to two and threw it along the floor. The grenade exploded with a loud bang. Shrapnel cutting through wood and metal, ripping his uniform in places on the left side as yelps were heard. Standing up, he checked the room seeing three of four droids down. Whipping his gun around, he saw the last man aiming his blaster at him. It was too slow as a plasma bullet sliced into its head taking it straight into the ground. Luke looked over to see Sergeant Burns, his M60-AR barrel smoking.

"Clear." Sergeant Burns reported as Luke sighed.

"Thanks Sarge." Luke stated he walked towards the hallway.

"Friendlies coming through!" A voice yelled as a squad of Marines broke through.

"Is the airfield secure?" Sergeant Burns asked as the Marine Sergeant nodded.

"Orders from General Maddox are to rearm and rest up. Assault on the city begins at 0435 Hours tomorrow. Bunks are where ever you can place your head on, good luck." The Sergeant stated as he walked away with Sergeant Burns turning around to us.

"I want everyone to rearm and meet me back here in the West wing in two hours. I don't care what the fuck you do but you have to be back here, kill?" Sergeant Burns asked.

"Yes Sarge." They replied as Sergeant Burns left the room.

"Alright, let's rearm and give Tiang and Diego a visit." York suggested as he nodded in agreement.

The walk to the armoury was short and bittersweet as Luke loaded up his vest with magazines that weighed more than five kilograms. Grenades added to the weight, but he was trained for it. Lugging around a giant backpack full of spare clothes, hygiene equipment, food and ammunition was bad enough. The armoured vest with pouches full of ammo didn't help. Walking into a hangar cleared for use as an infirmary, he spotted Tiang sitting next to Diego in the midst of the crowd of groaning patients and female Marine nurses running around. Walking over to him, Tiang had his helmet off with his blonde crew-cut hair glimmering with droplets of sweat on his head.

"Diego doing okay?" Luke asked as Tiang snapped out of trance, looking at his injured friends.

"Yeah, it's just that…he's lost a lot of blood." Tiang replied a bit distracted, concerning the both of them.

"You holding up okay?" York asked as Tiang kept rubbing his palms together, they hand a hint of dried blood on them.

"There was this Marine I was trying to save and…too much blood was just coming out of his wounds. He died staring at me, it's unnerving." Tiang replied as York walked over to him, grabbing his arm and lifting him up.

"You need to get some rest, go wash up and meet us back in the admin building." York ordered as Tiang walked off, his LMG-5 resting next to Diego's bed.

"Poor guy. Got his leg shot and now he's going to be in this bed for a month or two." Luke commented as York lifted Tiang's machine gun and turned to him.

"Come on let's go back." York stated, gesturing towards the building as a Nurse came over to check up on Diego.

"Take care of him will you nurse?" Luke asked the female as she nodded.

Back at the admin building, they made dinner as Sergeant Burns slept once again underneath a desk. Artillery shelling continued throughout the night as they bombarded the city relentlessly. Tiang slept but without signs of struggle and nightmares creeping up on him. Sitting down with York around a chem light, they silently ate their MREs occasionally talking and exchanging items.

"I'll trade you my power drink for that coffee." York offered lifting up a brown packet.

"Sure, I need the energy anyway." Luke replied taking his packet and giving him mine.

"This is one fucked up day, huh. First taste of combat out of boot camp and we're already down a man." York stated as Luke chuckled, taking a bite of my freeze dried beef patty.

"Every day is fucked up in the Marines, something you learn after a few years of service. Or maybe its just the Sergeants fault." Luke replied as York laughed eating a spoonful of Beef Ravioli.

"I heard that you maggot." Sergeant Burns murmured as Luke finished his meal and drowned the water from his canteen, keeping the hydro bladder only for use in the battlefield.

"Alright let's get some sleep. We have a shit filled day tomorrow." York suggested as Luke yawned nodding and looking at his watch, which read: 2130 Hours.

"Yeah, true." Luke grunted taking off his helmet and placing it next to his rifle.

"Night." York stated as Luke placed his head on the assault pack.

"Night." Luke murmured, falling asleep.

 _2623 May 30th Earth Standard Calendar,_ _Entrallia,_ _CDR. Luke Sparrow._

Sitting around in a circle eating their breakfast, Sergeant Burns was peacefully eating his MRE as a man stepped into the room. That man with gray crew-cut hair and a battle scarred face was General Maddox himself, commander of the 1st Marine Division. Sergeant Burns immediately dumped his food, standing up with his body rigid and saluted the General.

"Squad, attention!" Sergeant Burns yelled as Luke dropped his spoon and MRE, saluting the General with the rest of the team.

"At ease." General Maddox replied his voice deep and raspy.

"I am here today to give you an assignment before you moving into the city that is occupied by the Separatist. I am giving you this assignment personally because the MARSOC and Force Recon battalions have been recommitted to the southern front. We'll follow them as soon as we are done here. Now, onto the mission, this is Brigadier General Azid or Queen of Hearts. Our intelligence believe that he is the one commanding the invasion of the East Coast." General Maddox explained pulling out a card from a deck.

"Do you have a map Sergeant?" General Maddox asked as Sergeant Burns pulled out a Datapad.

"Intel points to this building." General Maddox stated placing his hand on a tall hotel.

"A Hotel?" Sergeant Burns asked confused as General Maddox placed the map on the floor, his flashlight emitting a beam of red on the map.

"We believe that he is currently using this place as his temporary command centre. I personally think that he set up there because it's one of the most luxurious hotels on world. I have UAVs flying around in that area for the past 48 Hours and know for a fact that he is residing in the penthouse…alone." General Maddox explained before pausing and looking at each one of us.

"Any buildings overlooking the penthouse with a clear line of fire?" York asked as General Maddox nodded.

"Three buildings but I ruled out one since it's useless with a view of the elevator. These two provide a clear line of fire but to different rooms. This building here, a business building overlooks the bedroom while this one, a hotel overlooks the living room. It's between you and your team on how to deal with the General. After you kill the General, re-join the assault force and push into the beach. There we will drive out the Separatists, understood?" General Maddox asked, standing up as they mirrored his movements.

"Yes sir, crystal clear sir." Sergeant Burns stated as General Maddox nodded walking out of the small office room.

"Alright, Sparrow, York go retrieve the gear. You two are designated marksmen for this mission. Sight the rifle in at two hundred meters and return to me at 0430. We ride out in JLTVs at 0435 Hours, kill?" Sergeant Burns asked as they nodded silently.

"Dismissed." Sergeant Burns ordered as they stepped out of the room and walked toward the makeshift armoury setup at one of the hangars.

"Finally an F-211A2, I've been waiting for this thing all my life!" York stated happily as he held onto his F-211 sniper rifle with a tight grip.

"I still can't believe I got chosen as one of the marksmen." Luke replied as York grinned, the largest grin I've seen ever from him.

"I'm going to miss her." York murmured, stroking his F-211 affectionately.

"People are going to think you're Psycho if you keep doing that." Luke pointed out as York gave me a laugh in reply.

"What, missing Cali? You've got to be mad. She sniped over a hundred of people in the last operation." York explained as Luke laughed, entering the armoury hangar with people looking on.

"You gave your weapon a name?" Luke asked, still laughing as York pushed me towards the quartermaster.

"You two are?" Asked the bored Sergeant as he sat idly at his desk.

"Lance Corporal James York and Commander Luke Sparrow, we're here to pick up sniping equipment." York explained as he nodded, sighing to go pick up four large weapon cases.

"These two are F-211A2 and these two contains a spotting scope, ballistics calculator, laser rangefinder and a portable atmosphere measurement tool. Just sign here and you can be on your way." The Quartermaster explained producing a clipboard for us to sign.

"Thanks." Luke stated as he shooed them away.

The half an hour was spent calibrating the sniper rifle itself and zeroing in the sights. Cleaning the rifle until it can't be cleaned anymore. Lubricating all the moving parts and barrel to make sure that it was in top condition when fired, such is a life of a Marine. They met Sergeant Burns while using the airfield's shooting range who taught Tiang how to use the spotting equipment. York gave Luke a quick explanation of how to use the Nightforce NXS scope. Parallax, range and wind information was absorbed within a gruelling twenty minutes as it neared time to meet up with the JLTV convoy unit. With time short, we packed up the gear and moved to the Humvee. Opening the trunk, they dumped the gear inside and mounted up with me being the turret gunner.

"Echo One Charlie ready to move out." The convoy leader reported to operational command as Luke checked the GAU-90 30mm Autocannon.

"Echo One Charlie, Headhunter, roll out as planned. Good luck and god bless you, Headhunter out." The officer replied as the JLTVs engines roared, rolling out of the airfield.

It was a long bridge between the airfield and the burning city. As they left the gate, the JLTVs started to swerve left and right dodging wreckages of civilian vehicles, JLTVs and burning AATs. Flicking a switch welded onto the turret of the JLTVs, Luke felt the turret turn to the right. We were the second vehicle in the convoy of five heading towards the frontlines. Small units sent in groups formed up at the back of the frontlines before the assault began. They were one of the last to leave the airfield as aircraft were being rerouted into the newly reclaimed airfield. Riding over the bridge was the vast expanse of the fresh water lake, glimmering in the first rays of dawn. The skies were painted red as the sun slowly poked through the horizon at 0445 Hours. It was a good twenty minutes before we reached the city driving carefully and cautiously.

 _"Assault beings in five mikes, start scanning."_ Echo One Charlie reported as Luke felt bare without the turret shields flanking his sides.

"Alright Sparrow, stay frosty." Sergeant Burns ordered as York drove the Humvee onto the street.

With the route splitting off into five roads, sandbags bunkers were set up to defend the routes. Barb wire ran through the front of the barricade as they stopped short of the sandbags. Looking around him, he saw tall buildings, financial and hotels. It was as close to a sprawling metropolis as you can get with low lying buildings frequent and in between. Today, the streets were deserted, once occupied by over a million of people. Looking at the watch strapped onto his left forearm, he saw the large hand tick to twelve.

 _"All units, Irene, I repeat Irene. Operation: Road Rage has commenced."_ General Maddox reported as the sounds of hundreds of T-740 Main Battle Hover Tanks, Trojans and JLTVs thundered into the empty city.

The sounds of engines reverberated throughout the metropolis as Luke carefully watched the buildings. Shadows dashed past him as the sun rose into the sky, light spilling into the colourless city. Keeping both of his thumbs on the GAU-90 30mm Autocannon's trigger, the JLTV column sailed past an intersection. Everything was quiet, too quiet. Luke had a bad feeling in his stomach as the rumble of the JLTVs made the feeling three times as worse. Turning his head left, he saw a wrecked speeder and a knocked over trash can. He felt his head tingle in anticipation as the lead JLTV drove past the pile of debris. There was a large bang, a flash of light and an ear-splitting explosion. Flinching, Luke saw the flames envelope the JLTV, everyone inside probably dead. Shots zipped past his ears from both sides, the building in front of him a stone apartment complex had muzzle flare flashing in its windows.

 _"IED, IED!"_ A Marine yelled on the radio as Luke pressed down on the trigger, the GAU-90 30mm Autocannon rattling and recoiling.

 _"Echo One Charlie is down. I repeat Echo One Charlie is down!"_ The team leader reported on the radio as Luke thumbed the trigger, the GAU-90 30mm Autocannon spitting out bullets in bursts.

"Get this column moving!" Sergeant Burns yelled at York as Luke saw his bullets producing puffs of smoke on the stone apartment's walls as well as taking out chunks.

Looking to his right as he fired the GAU-90 he saw a Marine manning another GAU-90. Behind him, he saw the lasers fly out and touch their Humvee riddling it with burn marks. Flicking the switch, the motor turned the turret to face the four-story building. He knew it was too late as he resumed fire, he saw the Marine writhe as laser penetrated his armour and his body. A shot to the head made him fall back onto the JLTV roof. Driving away from the column, he saw the third JLTV's windshield explode into a splatter glass. The driver and passengers killed from the blaster fire.

"Sergeant!" Luke yelled slapping the roof of the JLTV as lasers peppered all around him.

"What?" Sergeant Burns screamed replying to him.

"We've lost the JLTV column!" Luke reported before manning the GAU-90.

"Shit! York, get us to that fucking hotel ricky-tick!" Sergeant Burns ordered as York stepped on the gas accelerating the Humvee.

Enemy fire kept coming from all sides as Luke turned the turret to face forward, suppressing those trying to kill them from the front. Luckily, there were no RPGs or rockets stalking us while we were on route. Bursting open into a big square surrounded by buildings, they drove in front of an abandoned hotel. Getting out of the JLTV, Luke went to the trunk to retrieve his gear. With one hand occupied by the heavy twenty-kilogram weapons case and the other with a M60-AR, he ran inside with renewed vigour as enemy fire peppered the wall around me with Sergeant Burns right behind me.

"We'll see you in this square after the shot!" Sergeant Burns yelled before walking to the elevator.

"Get in!" Sergeant Burns hissed as Luke quickly walked into the elevator.

The elevator was carpeted with red rugs and the walls mirroring the inside. The back was problematic as it was glass overlooking the lake behind us with buildings between the lake and us. Ascending the fifty-floor building, enemy fire cracked the glass as Luke ducked pulling out his M60-AR. Sergeant Burns was already returning fire as Luke flicked the rifle to automatic. Pulling the trigger, the rifle continuously kicked his shoulder like a jackhammer as rounds were pumped out. The lasers either cracked the glass above them or below them, never into the elevator as it ascended. Reaching their floor, the elevator dinged, the doors sliding open. Walking out into the corridor, Luke saw that this place was well decorated. Red matching carpets and walls adorned with gems. The oak like door with a polish golden door knob, which was brass underneath was pushed open by Sergeant Burns. Walking in, Sergeant Burns immediately went to the window closing the blinds and curtains before smashing one of the windows in the living room. He then proceeded to close all the lights as Luke placed the weapon case near the cracked window.

"Sergeant, help me pull this." Luke stated lifting a heavy wooden table the length of a truck.

Placing the large table in front of the window, he pulled the curtain back just a few centimetres showing me the Penthouse General Azid was in. Opening the weapons case, Luke pulled out the body of the F211A2 sniper rifle and placed it on the table with its bi-pods extended. he split the receiver open and grabbed the barrel, snapping it onto the groove before slamming it close. Pushing the pin back in, Luke attached the scope and pulled the weapon's butt stand down so that it was angled towards the penthouse aiming just above the windows. Taking out a suppressor, Luke screwed the can onto the rifle and pulled the bolt back before helping Sergeant set up his gear. Working in complete silence and with speed, Sergeant Burns and Luke set up the gear in less than two minutes with a small portable atmosphere measurement tool sitting just in front of the window, unseen.

"Alright, let's get to work." Sergeant Burns suggested, looking through the spotting scope.

"Temperature: Eighty six Fahrenheit, Wind: blowing towards us, ten knots, distance to target: eight hundred meters. MOA should be about two to four depending on the glass." Sergeant Burns murmured as Luke pulled out a magazine.

"Roger that, setting up for ten knots wind blowing towards us and eight hundred meters." Luke repeated the order, slapping in a magazine and pushing forward the bolt, cycling a round.

"Alright, tell me what you see." Sergeant Burns stated as Luke zoomed into the penthouse, turning knobs to adjust my shot.

"I see…two couches aligned perpendicular to each other, a TV placed on top of a table in front of the couches, a door behind those couches along with three more stands positioned around the room with flowers on them. No General yet of this moment Sergeant." Luke replied looking at Sergeant Burns.

"Rawhide Two-Three-Three, how are things looking on your end?" Sergeant Burns spoke into his radio raising York.

 _"No sight of the General yet, our unit's somewhere in this town at the West side. Captain Mikoto is in it deep right now Rawhide Two-Three Actual."_ York reported as Luke looked back into the scope, seeing the door open.

"I've got activity on the door." Luke reported to Sergeant Burns.

"Nothing over here." York replied, as two men entered the room, neither of them the General.

"Two unknowns, definitely hostile but not the General." Luke reported as Sergeant Burns grunted, acknowledging.

"Looks like his personal bodyguards, special insignia and shoulder guard." Sergeant Burns explained as Luke zoomed in closer noticing their special attire.

"Where the fuck is this General, we're going to be too late to help the assault." Luke muttered, scanning the room.

"Patience Sparrow, we'll get this guy yet." Sergeant Burns assured as the two guards walked out and then came the General.

"We've got eyes on the target." Sergeant Burns reported as Luke placed his finger into the trigger guard.

 _"Red."_ York reported, unable to see the General at all.

"Wait until he's not mobile." Sergeant Burns coached as Luke controlled his breathing, flicking the safety off.

 _"Yellow."_ York reported again, able to see the General but unsure of the shot.

"Green." Luke replied, able to see him and clearly take the shot as the General moved towards the bed room.

"Yellow, yellow, red." Luke reported, moving his finger off the trigger guard as the General disappeared out of the living room.

 _"Green."_ York replied as Luke sighed, closing my eyes.

 _"Yellow."_ York reported again as the General appeared into the living room, sitting down on the couch.

 _"I've got his head and a bit of his arm but I'm not sure I can shoot him."_ York reported to Sergeant Burns as I placed my finger once again on the trigger.

"Fire on my command, all of you." Sergeant Burns ordered as Luke started the trigger pull, the double action trigger light at first until it hardened.

"Send it." Sergeant Burns gave the command as Luke finished the trigger pull, another hair and the bullet was sent on its way.

Luke felt the gun kick him as the rifle coughed, the bullet traveling out of the barrel and towards the General. Luckily, there was no vapor trail as he saw the bullet cracked the window. Glass exploded into the room as two rounds of .408 CheyTac travelled one thousand meters per second. Although slower than his XM8's ammunition, its accuracy was almost second to none. Both bullets reached the target at the same time, the General's head exploded into brain matter and blood. The blue life force splattered the room with bits of gray like graffiti, his arm still placed on the hand rest and body still in the same position. He never felt a thing or never saw it coming.

"Pack it up and let's get the fuck out of dodge." Sergeant Burns ordered as Luke disassembled the rifle.

The whole building went on alert as Luke quickly placed the parts back in the weapons case, leaving it in the hotel room for after the assault was finished. They would come back for it, but for now, he feared for his life a lot more. Running to the door, he pulled the door slightly ajar and looked out into the hallway. Nothing was there, safe he stepped outside the room with Sergeant Burns following closely behind. Reaching the elevator, they took it straight to the first floor with assault units rolling in from all streets. Tanks were on the scene and so were air support. Fighters and bombers sailed out into the sea dropping bombs and anti-ship missiles, denying the enemy any transport home. They were going to end them here or die trying.

 _"We're Oscar Mike to your position Sergeant. I just hope you are fucking ready."_ York grunted as Luke heard bolts pinging off metal in the background.

"What the fuck does that mean?" Sergeant Burns asked the elevator doors slid open.

 _"We're getting chased down by commandos."_ Tiang replied as they marched out the double automatic doors into the courtyard of the hotel.

"Sparrow, get a grenade ready." Sergeant Burns ordered as they crouched behind cover, a wall containing a fountain.

"Ready." Luke reported flipping the grenade sights on his M60-AR up.

"Here they come." Sergeant Burns muttered, the sounds of battle drawing closer.

Peeking, Luke saw the khaki painted JLTV barrelling down towards us with a white speeder car following closely behind. On the back was a mounted heavy machine gun, the big bolts cutting through metal easily. Stepping out from cover, Luke placed the sights just in front of the speeder along with angling it slightly to compensate for the curvature of the round and pulled the trigger. The gun jumped in his hand with a thump as the grenade took to the air curving down towards the speeder. The speeder's hood exploded into a mass of flying debris, the engine torn to shreds along with the driver and passenger. The droid manning the machine gun was thrown clear of the truck. Landing a few meters from the wrecked vehicle as York pulled up in front of us.

"Ride's here." York stated opening the door for Sergeant Burns as Luke climbed into the gunner's seat.

"Just in time York." Luke replied.

"Well let's just hope we're in time for the assault with Rawhide." Sergeant Burns stated as York gunned the JLTV.

"Rawhide Actual, Rawhide Two-Three, we are enroute to join the assault. What is your position, over?" Sergeant Burns asked Captain Mikoto on the radio as Luke returned to firing the machine gun.

 _"We are at 4th and 7th intersection, where have you been Rawhide Two-Three? You were supposed to be in my unit when we assaulted."_ Captain Mikoto said as sounds of war rattled in the background amidst crackling of the radio.

"Side mission from the General, we're enroute to you now. ETA about one minute, Rawhide Two-Three, out." Sergeant Burns replied as York turned the corner, the JLTV threatening to rollover.

"Keep on that accelerator York. Tiang, get ready to dismount as soon as this tin can stops! We are inbound to a hot fucking zone. Sparrow, keep on that gun and punch out rounds as we get out. Let's do this!" Sergeant Burns yelled giving them orders as Luke stopped firing the machine gun.

Being in the wake of a rolling armoured assault, streets were cleared one block at a time. Tanks brought up the back of the assault as Trojans and JLTVs were at the front clearing out each building meticulously. Tanks had no trouble standing up to a few rocket hits, courtesy of the Beskar-Chobham Armor. Beskar-Chobham Armor incorporated composite materials being encased within metal with several layers of elastic layers to provide flexibility to the ceramic tiles welded upon. Almost immediately, York turned right and then left delivering them directly to where Rawhide was. In the furious wake of bullets, rockets and grenades, Luke opened up the mounted HMG-3 suppressing incoming fire as the rest of the team got out.

"Get the fuck out! Dismount!" Sergeant Burns screamed as blaster bolts punctured the metal skin of the JLTV.

"Empty!" Luke yelled, the HMG-5 firing with a click.

"Suppressive fire!" Sergeant Burns ordered as a volley of bullets from his team mates surged out into the buildings.

Luke stood up, grabbing his rifle and got ready to climb down. Then, Luke felt something punch into his stomach. Luke blacked out, falling onto the roof of the JLTV and felt a sharp piercing pain. He had his eyes closed tightly and my breathing erratic as someone pulled him down from the roof, his right hand holding on to the rifle. Luke opened his eyes as the vision was blurry. Everything looked like a blob of colour splashed onto an empty canvas. He heard ringing as someone patted his face. Their mouths were moving but no sound was coming to his ears except for the fucking ringing.

"Sparrow! Can you hear me?" Tiang yelled slapping my face as he shoved his hand away.

"Stop stroking my face." Luke grunted sitting up, my vest ripped open.

"Glad you're back with us." Tiang smiled, laughing as Luke strapped my his back together.

"You're level four plate stopped the bolt. Without it you'd be dead." Tiang explained as the rest of the team fired into the windows.

"Cut the fucking chatter and shoot!" Sergeant Burns yelled as Tiang picked up his LMG-5 and started to hammer the opposition.

"Burns!" Captain Mikoto yelled as she slid into cover next to them.

"Yes sir?" Sergeant Burns asked in reply as Luke fired his rifle off in short single shots, trying to conserve ammo.

"I want you to take your squad up that building with Charlie to clear out these fuckers as we move up! Delta and Alpha will be moving and mopping up the left side alongside you, can you do that?" Captain Mikoto asked as Luke ducked, bolts striking the JLTV and the ground behind him.

"Yes sir!" Sergeant Burns replied as she nodded, moving back to her position at the lead JLTV.

"Alright, everyone on me!" Sergeant Burns yelled as they nodded forming up behind the Sergeant.

"On three we will move across the line, covered by JLTVs. Charlie will meet us at the building entrance. We are going to clear one building and Charlie will clear the one ahead of us so we get the job done before nightfall. Condition One those weapons and stay frosty, kill?" Sergeant Burns asked as they gripped our weapons tightly.

"Hoorah!" We yelled back as Sergeant Burns sprinted across the line of JLTVs barricading the intersection.

Luke sprinted out from behind cover, plasma flying perpendicular to them but never at them. His heartbeat felt like it was going a million miles a minute, his vision crystal clear. The alley on the other side seemed so far away, with Sergeant Burns traveling down the same path riddled with death. The constant firing of the twenty five millimetre chain gun was hypnotizing, the Trojans spitting out the giant rounds with a rhythmic thump. The forearm sized rounds ripped into buildings like a rock slamming into an egg. Luke felt a shockwave drive him into the ground, the T-740 Hover tank firing its one hundred twenty-millimetre cannon. The giant tank round flew close to his helmet, the shockwave it created knocking him into the ground. Luke stood up sluggishly, trying to find his rifle as York picked him up and pushed his rife into his chest. Grabbing the rifle and running, Luke made it to the other side in one piece albeit shaken and stomach uneasy. Luke leaned against the wall, bent down and heaved. Barfing onto the sidewalk, York and Tiang stood guard as Luke wiped the bile from his mouth. Sipping from a tube connected to his hydro bladder strapped to the back of his vest, he cleaned out his mouth and throat from the stinging stomach acid.

"You Alpha?" Someone asked as Luke straightened up and took hold of his rifle.

"Yeah, you must be Charlie!" Sergeant Burns yelled over the sound of gun fire.

"Sergeant Ricardo Antonio, Charlie Squad!" The squad leader introduced himself as Sergeant Burns nodded.

"You must be new! Where's Kurt?" Sergeant Burns asked inquiring about the old Charlie Squad Leader.

"He's been reassigned to a unit on Ord Mantell and promoted to Sergeant Major!" Sergeant Antonio replied as Sergeant Burns nodded understanding his reply.

"Let's get to work! I'll take this building and you take the one at the corner! Let's move up this line one block at a time!" Sergeant Burns stated as Sergeant Antonio nodded, wincing while another volley of tank cannons went off.

"Stack up!" Sergeant Burns ordered as they hugged the wall next to a wooden door.

"Breach on my go!" Sergeant Burns stated as he stepped to the front of the door, kicking it in.

"Go!" Sergeant Burns yelled rushing into the door as they followed closely behind.

It was a nice complex, a restaurant with living quarters in the second, third and fourth floors. Luke was right behind Sergeant Burns as he cleared the hallway occupied with hiding droids. They were not ready for an assaulting Marine squad. Aiming his rifle at the right wall, Luke scanned the rooms for any sign of an enemy. Soon they came into the main area of the restaurant, a wide lobby full of droids buzzing around for ammo and cover. The corridor they encountered was the restroom and area leading to the kitchen. What was once, beautiful red velvet covered walls, a chandelier, oak tables and crystal wine glasses were now covered with plasma burns, wrecked furniture and broken glass. Luke looked at the beehive of droids with an open mouth as Sergeant Burns raised his M60-AR.

"Open fire!" He yelled as they stepped forward, spacing out horizontally to achieve maximum lethality.

Plasma from their weapons surged forward into the room filled with fifteen droids, slaughtering all of them in one magazine. The unsuspecting soldiers were slaughtered. It was a massacre as Luke stopped the reload, the droids dead on the velvet. There was still gunfire coming from the upper floor of the building. Sergeant Burns doubled back with them right behind him towards the back door. Taking a left, they found a set of stairs leading to the upper floor. Sergeant Burns leaned on the stairway wall, his rifle lowered.

"Alright, we got hostiles in these corridors. Keep your eyes open and mouths close, they'll be concentrated on the armour." Sergeant Burns warned as we nodded, raising our weapons.

"On my go." Sergeant Burns stated, pulling out a grenade from his front pouch and pulled the pin.

"Go." Sergeant Burns ordered as he slammed the grenade into the corridor.

The grenade exploded with a few yelps of shock from the droids. Rushing into the room, Sergeant Burns had already dropped two guys at the far end of the hall. There were four rooms in the corridor, with the stairway at the far end leading towards the third and fourth floor. The floors were a crème colour carpet. The ceilings had normal fluorescent lighting and the walls were painted white. Cheap wooden doors were bolted to their frames most likely containing normal quarters. We split up to take the rooms individually, covering area much faster than assault the rooms in a group.

"Breach." Sergeant Burns ordered as Luke kicked the wooden door in, the slim sheet of lumber shattering on impact.

There was no one in the room but man was it messed up. It was clearly a room for someone as there was a single bed, the mattress flipped over and the frame left behind. A work desk was placed in front of the window, also flipped over with a long dead body. He had a burn in his throat and two in his torso, his blaster was gone. Someone was either here or his weapon was taken away by his comrades. Luke was about to leave when he heard a noise coming from the closed closet. Two pairs of dried dirt led into the closet. Luke pulled out his M1911, grabbing the closet handle. It was the sliding type so Luke had the necessary speed to fire out a shot if he needed to. Luke slammed the closet door back and took a step back. He saw a woman along with a male child next to her, the blaster from the body fired out a shot. Luckily, the plasma bolt hit the ceiling as Luke stepped back just in time.

"Lady, stop firing!" Luke yelled at the blonde woman.

She looked young, younger than him. Green eyes and blonde hair tied in a messy bun. She had a normal white T-shirt on and jeans. She had bear feet suggesting she didn't have time to get dressed. Next to her was a young boy probably the age of six to eight, buzz-cut hair, a black T-shirt, knee-length cargo pants and basketball sneakers. Luke quickly stepped in and yanked the blaster away from the woman before she did any more harm.

 _"Sparrow, report!"_ Sergeant Burns barked as Luke tapped my ear.

"I got two civilians. I don't know how the hell they got back into the city." Luke reported slinging the blaster over his shoulders.

"You okay?" Luke asked holding out two hands for the boy and the woman.

"I'm alright…" She sighed grabbing hold of his hand.

"Mister are you a Marine?" The boy asked as Luke nodded.

"Yes I am. My name is Commander Luke Sparrow, 1st Marines, Bravo Company, Alpha Squad. Might I ask you why you were hiding in that closet with an blaster?" Luke asked the woman as she leaned back against the wall, rubbing her face.

"My younger brother, Jake and I were coming back to get some of our things. Computer, clothes and valuables he forgot. We came here two days and ago when we saw the tanks coming into the city. Then the bombing started, the glass broke so I got Jake into the closet. We hid there until the first few batch of droids came in. Some droid flipped over the table and mattress before getting shot. I sneaked out of the closet, grabbed his gun and there I am hiding in the closet until you found me." She explained as Tiang and York entered the room.

"We heard the gunshot." York quickly stated out of breath as Luke threw him the blaster.

"Didn't you hear the radio?" Luke asked York as he shook his head.

"We were…busy." Tiang replied wiping his bloody knife on his uniform before sheathing it.

"I won't ask." Luke said smiling.

"May we have a look at your ID?" Luke asked as she gave me a Social Security Card.

"Alice Keller, age 19, do your parents know you're here?" Luke asked her handing back the card.

"I don't think so, they were at the shelter a few days ago when we snuck back in." Alice replied as Luke nodded.

"Sergeant, we got a runaway by the name of Alice Keller. Can you notify command?" Luke asked Sergeant Burns as he didn't show up in the room.

 _"Roger that."_ Sergeant Burns answered as Tiang and York tended to the two.

"Where are you Sergeant?" Luke asked walking towards the windows in the corridors, the firefight had died down and the column was moving up towards the intersection.

 _"Up on the rooftop, checking out the southern side of the city."_ Sergeant Burns replied as I nodded.

"What do we do with these two?" He asked Sergeant Burns.

 _"I'll get someone up here to take care of them, the rest of you regroup up on the rooftop. The final push it about to start."_ Sergeant Burns ordered as Luke nodded, looking over to York and Tiang.

"Sergeant wants us up on the rooftop." Luke said relaying the message to the two Marines.

"Marines will be sent up to escort you two out of the city." Luke stated as York and Tiang stood up and grabbed their weapons walking towards me.

"Stay safe kid." York said with a smile as the boy waved goodbye to us.

Walking up the stairs to the rooftop, they heard constant gun fire and explosions all over the city. This place was a warzone, never more did it look worse than it is now. Sergeant Burns was leaning against the small wall that acted as a safety between him and four stories of fall. Luke looked out into the southern part of the city filled with personal housing. The beach was full of craters from bombs and mortars alike. The one and two floored houses were filled with nothing except of useless furniture. The sky was filled with SA10C Thunderbolts and Sabres, providing air support from above. Beyond in the distance was the droid fleet poised to attack as waves of fresh infantry landed on the beaches. In the midst of all this destruction were Sergeant Burns and his small tight group of Marines. Sighing, Luke shook the thought away as we walked to the Sergeant.

"Sarge?" Luke asked snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Beautiful isn't it?" The Sergeant asked as Luke shrugged.

"Depends on what you call beauty." Luke said to the old Sergeant as He scoffed.

"Bullet holes in the walls, craters on the beach, dead bodies lying on the sidewalk. I can't ask more of the OAGMC. I just wish it wasn't on allied soil." Sergeant Burns stated, unimpressed.

"Any new orders from the brass, Sarge?" York asked as Luke pulled up his shirt sleeve look at the watch, it was 1255 Hours.

"Orders are to stand-by on this rooftop until further noticed. Get some food and water in you before we move out." Sergeant Burns ordered as we nodded.

"Yes Sarge." They replied as he walked downstairs, presumably to go wash his face after the days of countless work.

"Never could catch a break, I feel sorry for Sarge." Tiang said with sympathy in his voice.

"Sarge has been in longer than any of us. He's due for retirement this week, I want to make sure he gets through it and alive." Luke stated, pulling out an MRE from his backpack.

"Ditto." York agreed, pulling out his own brown MRE package as we sat in a circle closest to the wall.

They sat in silence as the day went on. The sun was high in the sky and Luke started to sweat. Didn't matter, training made up for it as Luke ripped open the brown package dumping the contents onto the floor. Luke got a beef patty as a main dish, a chocolate chip cookie, cheese spread, powdered milk, wheat snack bread, flameless heater and an assortment of crap he didn't need. He pulled out his combat knife and cut the green heater bag open. Pouring water into the green bag in the right amount, he slipped in the brown cardboard package containing the beef patty and set it against the wall. While waiting for our food to heat up, he sat quietly to collect my thoughts.

"I have a Hoorah! bar, anyone want one?" Tiang asked holding up a giant energy back equivalent to two Snickers.

"Give it. I'll trade you for an oatmeal cookie." York replied as Tiang threw him the giant energy bar.

"You've been awfully quiet." Tiang commented as Luke turned to him, his helmet restricting some movement.

"Just thinking, you know about the command tradition." Luke explained as Tiang ripped his instant coffee open and poured it into his canteen.

"What about the change of command when the squad leader dies?" York asked as Luke nodded.

"You guys believe it will happen?" Luke asked, ripping open the powered milk package as York shrugged.

"If it happens it happens. I don't want it to though. Sergeant Burns is a great man. Hell, he's one fucking badass of a squad leader." York replied with a smile as we shared a small chuckle.

"Yeah, it would suck to lose a man like him." Tiang stated solemnly, drinking the coffee from his canteen.

"Whatever the outcome is, I'm proud to have served with you guys." Luke said raising my canteen, now filled with powdered milk.

"1st Marines, Ready to Fight." They said all at once, tapping their canteens together and taking a long swig.

A few minutes passed by as Luke the beef patty was finished and ready to be eaten. With a grumble from his stomach, he sliced open the cheese spread and smeared it over the patty. Placing the wheat bread on top of the combination, he ate them all at once savouring the taste. Slowly, bit by bit he wolfed down the giant patty before shoving the soft cookie into his mouth. Suddenly, the rooftop door burst open with Sergeant Burns storming in, his hands gripping his rifle.

"Alright ladies! Get off your fucking asses and come with me! We got a city to take back." Sergeant Burns yelled as Luke shoved everything back inside the brown plastic container the MRE came in.

Shrugging their packs and gear back on, we ran after Sergeant Burns. He was like a mad bull rushing down the stairs as Luke looked out the window getting a brief glimpse of the scene below. The JLTVs had established a roadblock at the front of the intersection with Trojan IFVs and T-740 tanks behind them. And taking cover behind those was Captain Mikoto with Alpha, Charlie, Delta and Foxtrot squad leaders while the men formed a defensive perimeter around them. Rushing outside the back door and onto the street they assaulted from, Luke spied their JLTV still parked sideways behind the convoy.

"Captain, Alpha squad reporting for duty sir." Sergeant Burns stated as the squad leaders along with Captain Mikoto looked up from their map.

"Alright take a knee." Captain Mikoto ordered as the rest of the team and Luke fanned out.

"Here's the plan for today and today only. General Maddox wants this mission done by today, no buts. Bravo, Charlie, Delta and Foxtrot will be spreading through here. Olive Street and Holloway Street in a twenty meter radius, I want you to hold that intersection. No one comes in and no one goes out." Captain Mikoto explained the plan as enemy fire frequently pinged of the armour of the tanks and JLTVs.

"Alpha, I have a special mission for you since you have been performing above excellence. Sergeant Burns I want you to-" Captain Mikoto started as she was cut off by a sniper bullet pinging off the tank they were hiding behind.

"Someone fucking get rid of that jackass! War Pig, put a round into him. That'll make him listen." Captain Mikoto yelled into the radio as the T-740's turret rotated with an electrical buzz and a whirl.

The tank aimed his barrel at a tall business building full of broken windows. The tank loaded a high explosive round into the chamber. Another flash from the building, the bullet pinged off the tank's hull as that was the final straw. The tank aimed at the muzzle flash, and then hell's fury just happened in a split second. The ground shook as if a magnitude ten earthquake just hit the city. The turret fired off the eighteen-kilogram high explosive tank round with an ear shattering thump right into the building. The shell sailed into the air curving as it hit the fifty-floored complex. The HE round exploded in an orange fireball, the shockwave shattering the metal beams holding up the floor. With a crack of metal and the shattering of glass, the building came down on itself destroying anything near it. That was going to hurt the financial sector of the city.

"As I was saying. I want you to go to this building here, a grocery store nearest to the frontlines. Enemies will be two buildings away from you. Your objective is to designate the area for a bomb strike, five hundred pounds. It'll probably kick up a lot of dust and maybe degrade your hearing but it won't kill you. Can you do that Sergeant?" Captain Mikoto asked as Luke looked back seeing Sergeant Burns smile.

"Hoorah, sir." Sergeant Burns replied as Captain Mikoto folded the map.

"Then let's kick start this retaliation and make these bastards run home to their god! We will not have another enemy set foot in this fucking planet, do you understand?" Captain Mikoto yelled enticing the Marines as we stood up facing me.

"Hoorah, First Marines! Ready to Fight!" They yelled back as Captain Mikoto nodded, walking back towards her own JLTV command vehicle.

"Alright squad, mount up." Sergeant Burns ordered as they nodded, running towards our JLTV.

York, Tiang and Sergeant Burns climbed into the JLTV as Luke hopped onto the roof. Dropping down into the turret, he opened the cover of the GAU autocannon and tore out the empty magazine box. Crouching down into the passenger area of JLTV, he reached into the trunk and pulled out another magazine box. Tiang hugged his massive machine gun in the backseat as Luke returned to the turret. He clipped the metal box onto the machine gun itself and dragged the chain linked bullets into the chamber, pushing the first palm sized bullet into a small slot. Flipping down the metal cover, he smashed the top just for good measure and racked the bolt.

"You ready?" York asked as Luke looked down at the driver.

"Let's do this." Luke replied as York nodded starting up the Humvee.

"Rawhide Actual, Rawhide Two-Three ready to move out." Sergeant Burns reported on the radio as York accelerated the utility vehicle to the front of the column.

 _"Copy that Rawhide Two-Three. Alright men listen up, today is the day we make our stand. I want this soil clean of these fucking droids. Our dead brothers will be avenged; do you hear me? May your aim be true and your body move with purpose. God bless you all and if anything happens to me. I will say this: it was a pleasure to serve with a platoon of heroes."_ Captain Mikoto stated on her radio, giving us one final speech before riding into battle.

"Hoorah!" They yelled into the air.

 _"To all units this is General Maddox, let the final phase of Operation: Road Rage begin. Godspeed."_ The General said, giving us the go order.

 _"Rawhide, move out!"_ Captain Mikoto ordered as her vehicle charged forward, the turret operator firing out forty-millimetre grenade rounds.

They each fell in line behind one another, the JLTVs riding into battle as gunfire started anew. Luke felt the rounds whizz close to his face and arms. Flicking the turret switch, Luke turned the turret to the right and fired off the autocannon in bursts. The giant bullets smashed into the brick wall of houses tearing giant holes in the wall. Some even dared to jump out from the houses firing into the side of the JLTVs. The bolts cut through the thin skin of the unarmoured JLTV as Luke placed two rounds into the daring droid. It shook twice, bullet holes the size of his fist appearing in its body. Luke heard yell from inside as he stopped firing and looked down.

"I'm hit!" Tiang yelled in pain.

"Where were you hit?" Luke yelled back asking him as his right hand came off from his vest. The droids must have been using some slug throwers.

"Shit…"Luke mumbled as an explosion lit up the front of the JLTV.

 _"Rawhide One-Two is down, I repeat Lieutenant Ambrose is down!"_ The radio crackled to life as Luke pried off the vest.

"Alright, take some alcohol and gauze from my medi-kit." Tiang instructed as Luke pulled out a bottle of blue liquid and a large cotton gauze square.

"Pour the alcohol into the wound." Tiang grunted as Luke screwed off the cap from the plastic bottle and poured it onto his wound with Tiang wincing in pain.

"York, drive around that fucking vehicle!" Sergeant Burns ordered as York quickly swerved to the left, making me fall onto Tiang.

"Fuck!" Tiang yelled in pain as Luke felt blood on my face.

"Drive more carefully!" Luke screamed at York, too concentrated on saving his comrades life rather than blood currently on his face.

"I'm sorry!" York yelled back.

Screwing the cap back on, Luke placed the plastic bottle onto the JLTV floor. Luke ripped open his uniform to cover up the wound. It was a giant hole the size of a quarter, the shot slicing from one side and out the other. Luke grimaced as he placed the gauze over his wound and pulled the tape covering off. The white cloth quickly darkened with blood as he turned him over, taking out the alcohol and drenching the other side in alcohol before tearing the cloth open. This wound was slightly larger as he placed the gauze on his bloodied side. Luke checked his pulse as Tiang's eyes became hazy. Sergeant Burns looked back, worried as Luke jumped back onto the GAU-80.

"Sarge, he's slipping!" Luke yelled as Tiang groaned.

"Sarge, stick the morphine in." Tiang mumbled tiredly as Sergeant Burns pulled out a small syringe.

"You aren't stabilized yet." Sergeant Burns murmured as blood speed into the seats, the floor and just everywhere.

"Please Sergeant, just do it." Tiang begged as Luke fired off another burst into the suburban housing, suppressing the enemy.

"I'm not letting you die on my maggot." Sergeant Burns grumbled and jabbed the needle into Tiang's thigh.

Luke paused as they reached an intersection the JLTV column stopping a dismounting. York pulled up alongside a Trojan that was attached to their platoon painted with a red cross on its side. Luke jumped out from the turret and went immediately to the left side of the JLTV. Opening the door, Tiang slumped from the seat. Slinging his XM8 across the back, Luke pulled Tiang up and draped his arm over his neck with help from York. Moving across the street with enemy fire coming from all directions, Luke was not about to let his friend die for nothing.

"Medic!" York yelled slamming his fist into the back of the Trojan.

"What?" A female Army medic yelled in our faces as the ramp came down.

"We need to get him the fuck out of here!" Luke screamed at her as she looked at Tiang, whose blood was now seeping from his bandage and onto my vest.

"Place him on the stretcher." The medic ordered, pulling out a stretcher from the Trojan's wall as he gently placed Tiang onto the cloth.

"You got to live. You've got to live." York murmured with tears falling out from his eyes, unable to help.

"We'll take care of him alright Marine?" The medic assured placing her gloved hands over his.

"What's your name?" She asked as Luke looked over at my friend laying lifelessly on the stretcher as two male medics tended to him.

"Corporal James York, First Marines, Bravo Company, Alpha Squad." York quickly replied, choking on his own words as she smiled.

"Well Corporal York, I'll find you when this is over okay? I'm Sergeant Michelle O'Donnell." She replied as he nodded.

"Take care of my friend." He stated swallowing his sadness and pushed the thought of Tiang getting hurt to the side of his mind, they have a mission to complete.

"Kid come over here." Sergeant Burns called York over by the JLTV, Luke following.

"Yes Sarge?" York asked as he grabbed his helmet and placed it against him in a huddle.

"Can I trust you with my life?" Sergeant Burns asked.

"Yes." York answered sniffling.

"Can I fucking trust you with my life Marine?" Sergeant Burns yelled loudly, his voice carrying over the gunfire.

"Yes Sarge, yes you can!" York yelled back equally as loud, looking into his brown dimmed pupils.

"Good, mount up and let's fucking get this over. We're doing this for Diego and Tiang." Sergeant Burns grunted as York and Luke nodded climbing back into the JLTV.

York started the engine back up and drove over the sidewalk into the two lane street. Houses flanked them on both sides and well ahead of them, the beach where droids were inserting from. Sorrow turned to rage as Luke turned the turret to face the front. Luke fired in bursts into the windows of the houses suppressing enemy troops as they attempted to shoot at them. Fifty calibre bullets silenced them as they looked out the window. He fired relentlessly as York maneuvered them around empty speeders and trucks. Something caught his eye, the dark earth skin of a metal beast. It was a AAT tank, and its main cannon was aimed at us.

"Tank!" Luke yelled as York swerved the JLTV to the left.

Luke heard a loud thump from the tank's cannon and the heat of the round passing his right ear. He winced and blacked out. He heard breathing and felt something warm dripped down from my face. There was a ringing in my ears and his torso ached. His eyes fluttered open to see himself facing a white ceiling of someone's house. He turned his head to the left to see a blurry blob of khaki, his vision blurred. He closed his eyes collecting his thoughts and summoning the strength to move. He pushed himself up from the ground as the ringing stopped to be replaced by the sound of gunfire. Snapping his eyes open, he saw the JLTV embedded into the house wall. The furniture ruined and a couple of droids beneath the rubble and the wheels of the JLTV. Luke felt sore but nothing was damaged. Walking towards the JLTV, he drew his rifle still slung across his back. He racked the bolt and aimed at a still moving droid. He fired a round off and it slumped back into the ground. The rifle was still working and anyone of these bastards could get up and kill another Marine, it wasn't going to happen on his watch. He grabbed the JLTVs door handle, pushing it open. York's face was resting on the steering wheel, his mouth bleeding but everything else seemed fine. He pulled him out from the driver's seat checking his pulse. Strong and steady. Luke looked up to see Sergeant Burns slowly regaining consciousness. His eyes snapped open. His hands went to his rifle and aimed towards me.

"Oh it's you." Sergeant Burns grumbled leaning back against the head rest.

"What the fuck happened?" Sergeant Burns asked as he slapped on York's dirtied cheek.

"Tank round, Sarge." Luke answered looking back at the hole in the house's wall.

Brick came loose and so did the wiring from a sizeable wall carved from the JLTV's crash. Just a few meters from the house's perimeter was a giant crater from the shell. York groaned as he came around, the giant sniper waking up. He shook his head as he held out a hand. He grabbed my hand as he pulled him up on his feet.

"That was a rough ride." York grumbled as he looked at me, handing Luke his handkerchief.

"You look like some European football nut with that red blood running down half of your face, clean it up before some Chelsea fan strikes you down or something." York said jokingly as Luke chuckled, taking off my helmet.

"Does it look that bad?" Luke asked as York retrieved Cali, his F211 Sniper Rifle from the JLTV.

"You looked like hammered shit." York replied with a smile as he walked over with Sergeant Burns.

"You have a cut on your scalp, but it's okay. You'll live." York continued with a grin as Luke took out my canteen, pouring water onto the cloth.

"Alright you fuckers, stop getting all lovey-dovey. We got fucking robots to kill and an airstrike to call down upon these motherfuckers." Sergeant Burns stated as Luke dabbed the right side of his face with the khaki handkerchief.

"Where are we right now?" York asked as Luke looked out the window.

"We're at the intersection." Luke replied as he nodded.

"We're one block west of the store." York mumbled as he stepped over the rubble towards the backdoor of the house.

"There's the building. But to get there we have to go through this path." York stated pointing us to a dirt path with high wooden fences surrounding the houses.

"That looks safe." Luke commented as Sergeant Burns stepped behind York.

"It is safe, only problem is that our rifles can only point forwards and backwards. So if anyone jumps us, we're toast." Sergeant Burns remarked.

"Alright, check gear and weapons. We're this close to the objective." Sergeant Burns murmured as Luke pulled out my magazine counting eighty rounds before slapping it back in.

"On my go." Sergeant Burns stated as Luke formed the last man in the column formation.

"Go." Sergeant Burns ordered as they moved into the backyard, opening the already unlocked wooden fence gate.

It was if the bastard designers of the houses that they are designed this only for kids. It was a small path with eight feet tall fences. Their shoulders rubbed against the lumber as we moved, the cloth produced a grinding noise as it did. Luke was facing the back and acted as a rear guard for the team as we moved almost two hundred meters. The only thing that worried him was the open side entrance into the alley. That fear was reconfirmed when a droid ran after a moving JLTV stopping to shout. Luke prayed that he didn't turn to us but that too came unanswered. He turned a weapon in one hand and with wide eyes Luke squeezed the trigger, the EoTech's reticule hover over his head. The droid was less than a hundred meters away, a plasma bullet smashed into the middle of its eyes. It dropped to the pavement and died before it even reached the concrete. Closing his eyes Luke kept moving, just to open them again. It was minutes before they got to the store. It was a normal one story store selling anything they could from food to tools. They exited the alley into a parking area which surrounded the store. Turning around, Luke quickly jogged with the team to the store's glass window. Enemy fire picked up as the bolts shattered glass and dented steel.

"York, fuck the window up!" Sergeant Burns yelled as York pulled out his sidearm and fired two bullets into the glass window.

"Move it!" Sergeant Burns screamed as York took a few steps back from the window and sprinted into the steel racks, toppling them with his weight.

Sergeant Burns was next as Luke fired two rounds into the general direction of the enemy. He sprinted and jumped through the gap as York suppressed the enemy with his F211. It was Luke's turn. He jogged a few meters away from the window and sprinted forward. The rifle weighed heavily in his arms as his legs sagged slightly from the weight of his armour. Luke jumped, pushing off the ground and into the air. He felt his stomach wretch as he flew over the glass and landed onto the granite floor with a thud. Grunting, he got up and aimed his weapon. Firing, he waved Sergeant Burns and York back towards the staff area of the store. Giving suppressive fire, he backed into the door as York slammed it shut and locked it with an anti-personnel mine. Sergeant Burns opened the trapdoor at the top of a steel ladder placed near the right wall. Climbing onto the top, York was next as Luke waited.

"Come on let's get it done." York grunted as Luke grabbed the metal rungs.

On top of the store was a large flat area with a two-foot safety wall between us and the enemy. York crouched as he approached the wall, stopping just a foot away from the edge. Raising his rifle his fired off a shot, taking out an enemy as Sergeant Burns unfolded a map. Luke crawled towards him and took a knee as Sergeant Burns read the map, giving Luke a radio-phone.

"Switch to UHF 332.15 and contact Lightning One-Eight." Sergeant Burns ordered as he pulled out his binocular, laser designator combo.

"Lightning One-Eight, Rawhide Two-Three, come in over." Luke yelled into the radio as enemy fire threatened to take out both of them.

 _"Lightning One-Eight to Rawhide Two-Three, send over."_ The pilot replied as Sergeant Burns handed him a sheet.

"Send info Lightning One-Eight, over!" Luke yelled into the radio-phone reading the sheet labelled: Close Air Support.

 _"We are two SA10Cs, playtime plus thirty at angels two. We are two miles east of IP Nero bearing nine eight zero. We have, six AGM-66Ks, two LAU-141s with fourteen Hydra 470 rockets, two GBU-51s and one thousand three hundred thirty millimetre combat mix rounds."_ Lightening One-Eight reported back as Luke placed the radio-phone into his helmet which held it right next to his right ear.

"Sergeant, they only have two thousand pound bombs!" Luke yelled as Sergeant Burns looked away from the laser designator.

"Let them give it to them!" Sergeant Burns yelled back before looking back into the binoculars.

"IP: Nero, Heading: One Three Eight magnetic, Distance: Two point Three Eight miles! Target location: Kilo Uniform Eight Nine Three Five Seven Zero, Target Elevation: Zero Feet, Target Description: All the fucking houses in front of us! Friendly Location: One store surrounded by parking spaces, south of enemy houses and north of friendlies about five hundred meters, friendlies marked by IR Strobe! Targets marked by laser! Egress: west following main street after two streets take the west path and follow in towards the store, break!" Luke yelled the close air support request as per procedure into the radio glued to his ear.

 _"Roger that, Rawhide Three-Two we have you on scope. Contact, houses in the vicinity. Tally enemy targets firing from the houses."_ The pilot replied as Luke looked back seeing two low flying SA10Cs.

"Requesting four GBU-51s, on houses two blocks to our North. Final attack heading zero-zero-nine, bombs spacing for effect is one hundred feet how copy?" Luke asked as the SA10Cs banked right, lining up for an attack run.

 _"Copy that Rawhide Two-Three."_ The pilot replied as a bullet ricocheted off the wall in front of me making me wince.

 _"In, zero-zero-nine, wings level."_ The SA10C pilot reported as Luke heard a grunt.

"Sniper!" Luke yelled as Sergeant Burns was shot in the gut, blood pooling from his back.

"Aw fuck." Sergeant Burns grunted as he laid on the ground.

"Sergeant!" Luke screamed as he panted and groaned in pain.

"Listen to me kid." Sergeant Burns ordered as Luke nodded leaning close to him.

"Finish the job, drop those bombs on the fuckers. Don't make me disappointed." Sergeant Burns grunted pushing something into his chest.

"Yes Sarge." Luke mumbled as he looked to York and grabbed the binoculars.

"York." Luke stated as he nodded, bending over the Sergeant and covering him with his body.

"Lightning One-Eight, remarks: danger close, fifty meters." Luke declared the final sentence of the nine-liners.

 _"What? Reconfirm two thousand pounder bomb drop."_ The pilot replied bewildered as Luke stood up, not afraid of being shot.

"Confirm bomb drop. Lightning One-Eight, cleared hot." Luke stated, pressing the laser on button.

 _"Roger that. Have to hand it to you. You Marines are either brave as shit or crazy as fuck."_ The pilot remarked as Luke placed the laser designator on the wall and moved to cover Sergeant Burns as blood started to expand.

Luke bent over his body, his breathing erratic as the SA10Cs buzzed past. One moment it was silent the next was hell. Luke heard an ear-splitting bang as the two thousand bombs detonated. The shockwave hit them as the store windows exploded from the wall of pressure. Luke gripped Sergeant Burns' arm tightly as debris smashed into the vest and smoke quickly expanded from the blast. Coughing Luke stood up, seeing nothing but white smoke and the smell of dirt and blood. York propped Sergeant Burns against the wall, ripping off his vest as Luke got on the radio.

"Rawhide Two-Three to all units, I have one severely injured. I need a med-evac bird on scene asap!" Luke yelled into the radio and then proceeded to do as training taught me.

"Location: Uniform Eight Nine Three Five Seven Two, Unit Callsign: Rawhide Two-Three, Frequency: UHF 342.41/ FM 103.45! LZ Marking: IR Strobe, Wind direction: West two knots! Elevation: Fifteen feet, Obstacles: Nil, Friendly positions: North/Two feet. Last Fire Received: Just now! Personnel/Equipment: One Sergeant/ Breathing equipment, bandages! Remarks: We need you here now, he is bleeding out!" Luke yelled into the radio looking at Sergeant Burns.

 _"Roger that Rawhide Two-Three, Pelican on your way. Callsign Kilo Three-Six."_ The radio replied as Luke moved to the Sergeant who had a milky and unfocused stare.

"Come on Sergeant, you've got to live." York grunted as he wrapped a thick bandage around his back and laid him on his back.

"Come on Sarge." Luke murmured, taking off his backpack and elevating his feet to protect him from shock.

"Come here. The both of you." Sergeant Burns murmured, blinking slowly and groaning with pain.

"You did a great job, from today on. You will remember me as you squad leader no more. I will be just another soldier who trained you in the path of life you are on." Sergeant Burns murmured deliriously as Luke took off his helmet.

"No Sarge, you were our mentor. Like our father, like my father who I never had." York replied as tears dropped from his eyes, his hands bloodied as he pressed on the bandage over the Sergeant's wound.

"Yeah right you maggot." Sergeant chuckled, coughing up blood.

"Where the fuck is that bird?" Luke yelled as he gripped the Sergeant's hand.

"James, take on my squad. Lead them like I led you. You did a good job kid…" Sergeant Burns whispered, his strength ebbing away as his eyes fluttered close.

"Shit we're losing him!" York grunted as Luke checked his pulse.

The Sergeant's pulse was weak and faint as Luke placed my hands on his bandage, York placing his hands on Sergeant's chest. He pumped his chest thirty times before placing his lips onto the Sergeants trying to revive him. Luke heard the faint whisper of the engines from a Pelican. Luke looked back to see the Pelican skimming the rooftops towards them. Luke stood up, waving the Pelican as they flared to slow. The engines kicked up a storm as Luke looked up into the dark sky filled with smoke. A crack of light shown through as he pressed his lips together. He felt the heat bath him in a warm glow as he closed his eyes feeling the thousands of dead Marines beside him and Sergeant Burns wasn't there. He was still alive he had to be.

 _2623 June 1st Earth Standard Calendar,_ _Entrallia,_ _CDR. Luke Sparrow._

It was normal day today. One day after the short flashpoint against the droids. They lost in total seven hundred and eight five men and women. Seven hundred eight five souls that were sent home in a casket, seven hundred and eight five souls that were missed by their friends and family. He sat inside the barracks with York silently as they contemplated the few days in the short skirmish. Chris was chasing around nurses in the hospital like his usual self and Tiang was having his leg healed in a military hospital not far from base. Sergeant Burns. Sergeant Burns was one hell of a hardass, he was in the ICU but stable. The medic that was told she would visit York didn't come, guess she knew he found out his my own after battle. Sighing, he stood up and shrugged on his vest. He heard someone step into the room behind him, the steel door closing. Turning around, He saw a woman who attire suggested she worked for ONI.

"Commander Sparrow, I need you to come with me."

"Yes ma'am." Luke replied as he followed her out the room. She led him through the base to the ONI section, where he was lead to an office on the right. Opening the door, it revealed a Spartan room with only a desk, computer, two chairs and a lamp. The walls, ceiling and floor where all dull grey. It seemed as though it belonged in a cliché spy film. On the chair behind the desk sat a man in his late forties with greying brown hair. He was a tall lanky man who didn't seem like much of a threat at first glance but then again he worked for ONI, that took some ruthlessness.

"Ah, you must be Commander Sparrow or Lieutenant Sparrow considering your next posting. Officer Smith, ONI." Smith said offering his hand.

"That is correct Sir." Luke said shaking his hand.

"Take a seat. I assume you can guess why you're here?"

"Taskforce 242, correct."

"Indeed. I know you know the rules about the sharing of classified information with foreign forces so I won't go over that. Instead I'm going to be briefing you on your new squad. You'll be part of Unit Callsign: Guardian. As you know this new taskforce will include Jedi, Clones, Mandalorians, Marines, Soldiers, Rangers and so on. You will be the O.A.G. member of course, Tracinya Vizla will be the Mandalorian member, she is a CQC expert and a master of hand to hand combat, extremely patriotic. Then you have Jedi Master Torak and his apprentice Padawan Tarkin, both heavily believe in the Republic and Jedi and their ideals."

"What kind of missions should I expect then, seeing as we're a four-man unit and not some traditional special forces unit? Recon? Hostage rescue? We will all be using different methods of combat, blaster and lightsabre, conventional tactics would be difficult to employ."

"You won't be doing much front line combat as you are used to. You will be more of a diplomatic unit that acts as the Jedi used to, assisting indigenous forces, force recon with some conventional warfare. You'll also be seeing less consistent action than your used to. Any other questions?"

"I assume that some of what you've told me is stuff we're not supposed to know considering ONI's desire to know everything?" Luke asked, not really expecting an answer. Smith simply smiled in a way that confirmed Luke's question.

"You ship out in five hours for Coruscant. Your handler will brief you on your first assignment with the rest of your unit. I suggest that you say your goodbyes and pack your bags. Dismissed."

"Sir." Luke said snapping a salute before turning and leaving.

 _O.A.G. Times article, Why was the Republic so adamant about fighting the Separatists? If they wanted to secede, they should be allowed to, right?_

 _I know it is said that it is all controlled by Count Dooku, but I felt the Confederacy's issues were legitimate, and they'd have seceded with or without Dooku's involvement._

 _If they felt the Republic was corrupt, and systems wanted to leave it, then they should be allowed too. Forcing them to stay seems wrong._

 _Republics are not the same as international treaties. International treaties are agreements among sovereigns. States that join a republic give up some of their sovereignty to do so._

 _I know, I know. You're asking, "But do they give up so much of their sovereignty that joining is a one-way street?" That is the sort of legal question that tends to be answered not with legal reasoning but with wars (e.g., the American Civil War). Is it morally wrong to compel a state that wants to leave your republic to stay, through military force? Well, plenty of people have thought so in our own history. Let me ask you this: why can't the Republic do morally wrong things? Why can't the Jedi be party to morally wrong acts?_

 _If you pooh-pooh the fact that the prequels to this war are about taxation and trade routes, as some are going to do, then you're going to miss this. This is the so-called "Separatist Council."_

 _Notice something about it? Who's represented there? The Trade Federation, the InterGalactic Banking Clan, the Corporate Alliance, the Techno Union, the Hyper-Communications Cartel, the Commerce Guild (also the Quarren Isolation League, but they aren't important for present purposes). Mega-corporations. Classic dystopian sci-fi mega-corporations, complete with world-class private militaries._

 _Now, why would mega-corporations be interested in supporting a secessionist movement?_

 _First, pause for a moment and recognize that the Republic even has mega-corporations. Mega-corporations with the military power to conquer entire planets. Mega-corporations so powerful that they can defy the Galactic Senate. Mega-corporations with their own senators. You remember this guy, right? Lott Dod, senator of the Trade Federation. You remember what he was objecting to? As Senator Palpatine put it, "We have become caught in a dispute you're all well aware of, which began right here with the taxation of trade routes …". The Republic is pushing back against the power of the mega-corporations, and they don't like it. They really don't like it._

 _Like, just think about that. Imagine if Microsoft had objected to the government's antitrust suit against it back in the 1990s by taking over the entire state of Washington. And imagine if the feds' answer was to do nothing._

 _One might suspect, in that circumstance, that the American republic was slightly dysfunctional._

 _This is all about establishing that the Senate simply does not work. Even its staunchest supporters (like Padme Amidala) agree that it doesn't work; they simply think that it can be fixed from the inside. We see this theme repeated over and over again as well: a planet calls to the Republic for help, the Senate either can't or won't provide it; the desperate planet turns to the Separatists, who actually can provide the help necessary. The Republic eventually intercedes, the CIS gets all evil strongman, no-you-can't-change-sides about it, the CIS looks like the bad guy to the kids while the adults go, "Well, actually, you did pick sides in a war …"_

 _We don't know exactly what economic impact the CIS systems seceding would have had on the Republic, but we can guess it wouldn't be pretty. Dooku apparently said on Geonosis that he is confident that "another ten thousand systems will rally to our cause." Another ten thousand. We don't know precisely how many systems the Republic has, but another ten thousand sounds like the CIS comprised a very significant chunk of the Republic, and a state whose commerce was already in thrall to mega-corporations probably doesn't have a lot of ability to absorb economic losses. Simply letting the CIS go probably would have meant phenomenal economic disruption to the Republic._

 _On top of that, the CIS gave the mega-corporations another state to deal with. If the Republic is the only game in town, there's a natural limit to just how much they can squeeze it. If the CIS succeeded, though, those mega-corporations could go "overseas," as it were. Now remember that these are corporations that the Republic is desperately tied up with, to the point that the Trade Federation can conquer an entire planet and the Republic's response is "Well, now, let's not be rash; we don't want to antagonize them …"_

 _In other words, even if the Republic could afford to let the CIS systems go (which it probably couldn't, not really), it absolutely could not afford to let the mega-corporations that kept it afloat go overseas. We see that the mega-corporations are quite willing to take advantage of the war to squeeze the Republic, to the point that senators like Amidala and Bail Organa warn that they will literally bankrupt the federal government._

 _And so attempting to reconquer the worlds of the CIS makes hard economic sense. Underlying the war is a story of a society's failure to keep its government sufficiently independent of its corporations._

 _Codex Update_

 _M60-AR_ _: The_ _M60-AR_ _has a range of 1200 meters and a rate of fire of 1200 rounds per minute. It has a low recoil and good stopping power._

 _Specifications_

 _Designer: Atlas Corporation_

 _Weight: 7.1 lbs (with 30 rounds)_

 _Barrel length: 18.2 inches_

 _Cartridge: 7.62mm plasma bullet_

 _It was part of the Z-plan to modernize the O.A.G. military to combat new threats from the discovery of the Republic._

 _( b690/f/2010/293/d/5/bullpup_battlerifle_by__ _link to image of rifle)_

 _F211 Heavy Sniper Rifle:_ _The F211, standardized by the O.A.G. Military, is a_ _recoil-operated_ _,_ _semi-automatic_ _sniper rifle_ _developed by the American_ _Barrett Firearms Manufacturing_ _company. It is used by many units and armies around the world. Despite its designation as an anti-materiel rifle, it is used by some armed forces as an anti-personnel sniper rifle. It is also called the Light Fifty for its_ _.50 BMG_ _chambering_ _and significantly lighter weight compared to_ _previous applications_ _. The weapon is found in two variants, the original F211A1 (and A3) and the_ _bullpup_ _F211A2. The F211A2 is no longer manufactured. This weapon system is recommended for military and law enforcement only as several rifles have failed with fatal results. It earned the nickname the Widowmaker._

 _It was part of the Z-plan to modernize the O.A.G. military to combat new threats from the discovery of the Republic._

 _(_ 5/4116/4871007899_c0c9061a59_ _image of the sniper rifle)_

 _T-740 Titan Hover Tank: The T-740 was significantly more advanced than the normal T-600 "Titans" that were used in service by the_ _O.A.G._ _The primary innovation was a series of heavy-lift turboengines against a generator that kept the vehicle afloat, allowing for much more mobility as well as strafing and tactical options._

 _The cabin of the T-740 was much more spacious than conventional due to it's larger turret. It had room for 4 seats, comfortably spread apart. The commander sat at the controls of the tank in the middle of the turret, while other crew members sat beside him/her._

 _As for weaponry, the T-740 was equipped with dual rocket pods mounted on either sides of the cockpit which launched homing rockets capable of targeting multiple groups of infantry; this is complemented by a smooth-bore main gun. Below the main gun is a separate EMP cannon capable of taking down aircraft with a singe shot. Also, a_ _Trophy System_ _provided defense from incoming projectiles such as missiles and cannon fire._

 _It was part of the Z-plan to modernize the O.A.G. military to combat new threats from the discovery of the Republic._

 _M309A1 'Havoc' Self-propelled Artillery: The Havoc Self Propelled Artillery serves as a mobile heavy artillery weapons platform with flight capability. Its large structure is lifted by dual fan blades imbedded in a fixed wing design and several turbine nozzles mounted to the undercarriage. The Havoc is capable of short "hops" to optimal tactical locations for combat as well as to evade enemies. The Havoc can launch an assortment of short-range missiles or artillery shells at enemy targets while keeping a low profile on the battlefield._

 _It was part of the Z-plan to modernize the O.A.G. military to combat new threats from the discovery of the Republic._

 _M88A2 howitzers:_ _The_ _M777_ _howitzer is a towed 255mm artillery piece. It is light enough to be carried by Pelican to prime locations. It is the maim artillery piece used by the O.A.G._

 _It was part of the Z-plan to modernize the O.A.G. military to combat new threats from the discovery of the Republic._

 _Longsword:_ _The inside of the Longsword presents a small corridor leading to the rear, stairs, and a higher corridor to the cockpit. In the two corridors, there are several equipment lockers, along with two secondary crew stations. The cockpit consists of two pilots' chairs and two auxiliary crew stations. With a total crew complement of four, along with the equipment and weapon lockers, the ship presents itself as less of a fighter-bomber and more of a dedicated bomber and close support craft._

 _The Longsword's main weapons are 110mm rotary cannons, as well as 120mm ventral guns, for dog-fighting Seraph fighters in space and are great for strafing ground targets when the need arises. This versatile fighter can be armed with an assortment of secondary weapons systems including ASGM-10 Missiles, bombs, Moray space mines, Scorpion missiles, and can even heft a single Shiva-class Nuclear Missile. Later it carried EMP bombs designed to knock out entire cities._

 _It was part of the Z-plan to modernize the O.A.G. military to combat new threats from the discovery of the Republic._

 _Broadsword:_ _The_ _F-41 Exoatmospheric Multirole Strike Fighter_ _, also known as the_ _Broadsword_ _, is a versatile and well armed A/X strike fighter typically used to engage space craft of equal or superior weapon capabilities and evasive flight capabilities in low to zero gravity conditions. As its kind has few equals within the O.A.G.'s arsenal, the Broadsword was designed to address the incredible firepower and speed displayed by the fighters of the Republic such as the the new ARC-170 and Separatist Vulture droids. The Broadswords shielding was influenced by the Sabre that covers the entire fighter and designed to withstand a direct hit from a pulse laser. Armed with Air to Air Missiles and one nose mounted cannon and two cannons mounted on each wing._

 _It was part of the Z-plan to modernize the O.A.G. military to combat new threats from the discovery of the Republic._

 _Sabre:_ _The YSS-1000 is a space superiority fighter, which can be launched vertically from a terrestrial launch platform using a system of detachable multi-stage rockets to propel itself out of a planet's gravitational pull and atmosphere. The Sabre's speed is similar to the V-19 Torrents and also has an afterburner ability which increases speed for a short duration of time. The Sabre is also capable of performing complex barrel rolls, Split S maneuvers, and Immelmann turns._

 _The fighter's armament includes twin 30mm autocannon, as well as linked "Medusa"-type missile pods that can lock onto enemy ships. The Sabre also possesses energy shielding technology, and its targeting computer can identify enemy contacts from a long distance, as well as showing the distance to a selected target._

 _It was part of the Z-plan to modernize the O.A.G. military to combat new threats from the discovery of the Republic._


	25. Induction

**The First Contact War**

Chapter 25

Induction

" _A professional soldier understands that war means killing people, war means maiming people, war means families left without fathers and mothers." Norman Schwarzkopf_

 _"Naturally, it is a terrible, despicable crime when, as in Munich, people are taken hostage, people are killed. But probing the motives of those responsible and showing that they are also individuals with families and have their own story does not excuse what they did." Steven Spielberg_

* * *

 _25031 Galactic Standard Calendar, Tracinya Vizla, Taskforce 242 Headquarters Coruscant_ _._

Tracinya Vizla strode confidently down the corridor to the briefing room where she was to meet the rest of her unit. She had been chosen from many promising Mandalorians to be part of the select few chosen to represent Mandalor in the new Interplanetary Taskforce to increase co-operation between Mandalor, The Republic and the O.A.G.. She knew that she was going to be paired up with two Jedi and a Special Forces Marine. She tucked a strand of her short dark auburn hair behind her ear as she approached the door to the briefing room. Her hazel eyes showed a mix of fear and excitement.

As the door slid open to reveal the two Jetiise. A master and apprentice. The master was a six foot four Zabrac cyborg. He had green eyes and visible cybernetic implants on his face and left arm. The apprentice was a smaller five foot six human teen. He had brown eyes and hair with a Caucasian complexion.

"Greetings Mandalorian, I am Jedi Master Torak and this is my apprentice Kleos Tarkin" Kleos merely 'tched' in response, disdain barley hidden, " It is a pleasure to work with you" Torak finished.

"Greetings master Jetii. I look forward to working with you." Tracinya replied respectfully, "I was under the impression there was to be another person present, a Marine?" Tracinya inquired.

"Yes, though he seems to be running late." Torak said.

"Trust a barbarian to be late." Tarkin spoke for the first time with his voice full of contempt.

"Tarkin!" Torak snapped at his apprentice's racism.

"It's true! They are not as advanced as we are scientifically or socially, they refused to join the Republic and they don't even have any mediclorians in their blood for force sake! They are beneath us! How could they be our equals in any regard?!" Tarkin ranted.

"And how exactly does that make us 'barbarians' as you so eloquently put, we far exceed any individual interplanetary power in both size, military strength and economic power. " Tracinya nearly jumped from the sudden voice she wasn't expecting. Turning around she saw a giant. Standing at just under seven foot the Marine towered over everyone present. His well-toned body evident even under the camouflaged fatigues. He had dark blues eyes, short messy brown hair and a strong jawline. His intimidating figure silencing anymore comments from Tarkin.

"I apologise for my apprentice's words, he still has yet to overcome his prejudices." Master Torak apologised.

"That's fine, I'm sorry for arriving late. Names Lieutenant Luke Sparrow, O.A.G.N. SPECWAR division." Luke introduced himself offering his hand to Torak.

"I've heard of you from young Padawan Tano and Master Skywalker, they speak highly of you." Torak said shaking his hand. Luke turned to Tracinya.

"Su'cuy Mando'ad" Tracinya was surprised by as not many learnt to speak Mando'a outside of Mandalor and its sphere of influence.

"You speak Mando'a?"

"A little, I'm not very good though admittedly. Served on Mandalore for a while so I thought it might be of use if I learnt to speak some form of Mando'a. It's nice to meet you...?"

"Ni Ceta, My name is Tracinya Vizla."

"It's fine, you were just surprised that I spoke your language."

"You were part of the O.A.G. Taskforce on Mandalore?" Tracinya asked.

"I was assigned to the group that dealt with the Death Watch in northern Concordia." Luke replied.

"I went to one of the boot camps that you guys set up. I couldn't believe that there was so much you needed to know to be able to fight a war, I thought you merely needed to know how to fight, look after your equipment and be able to work with others. But on top of that we had to learn history, code words and signals and tonnes of PT."

"That because traditionally Mandalorians could be seen as warriors and bounty hunters not Soldiers to some." Luke noticed that Tracinya was confused while Torak was curious from their facial expressions and Tarkin looked indifferent.

"Soldier and Warrior both mean men of war, but there is a slight difference in meanings. A soldier seems to imply someone who is in the army, and has been trained by some militia. A warrior seems to imply a more barbaric figure, or at least, someone who fights, but isn't necessarily part of a state army, but are fighting for personal reasons. The next difference implied is a soldier has discipline, and works together with other soldiers as a team to form an army. They march, move, and stop at the same time. Warriors don't do this, and although many warriors might fight in the same army, the term 'warrior' implies that there is no discipline, and that they just move of their own accord. Though neither Jedi or Mandalorians could really be considered barbarians. Mandalorians have probably not been this organised as a military force for quite some time due to Duchess Satines ideas and the way in which the Republic treated them." Luke elaborated.

"I guess that Mandalorians and Jedi could be seen in this way, at least up to this point in time." Torak commented.

"Jedi were never barbarians. How could they be?" Tarkin muttered.

"Actually, Mandalorians were once an intergalactic fighting force to be reckoned with. Following the end of the Mandalorian Wars, many Mandalorian soldiers did become bounty hunters and mercenaries. Despite the wide array of professions Mandalorians took, every Mandalorian was combat trained and they could band together into an army on short notice. When drawn together as an army, Mandalorians easily settle into an informal command structure, arranging their priorities on outcome rather than personal ambition, and it was this flexibility that contributed to their success as mercenaries. Its a common mistake to make in thinking Mandalorians aren't soldiers, it has fair been while, roughly 30 years ago, since we've had a standing army. Even then, every Mandalorian warrior is dangerous as most have been trained to fight since they were kids." Tacrinya corrected Luke.

"That's why the trainers I met seemed so impressed with the militia recruits."

"All right settle down all of you!" A woman dressed in grey Gray-green double-breasted dress tunic and trousers with corresponding cover with an officer's disc. Black leather belt with silver buckle and a buckle contained another officer's disc, black leather boots and a rank badge on left breast showing a rank of Captain. She was a Mon Calamari. Tracinya noticed that Luke had taken a seat and so had the Jedi. She quickly sat down on a nearby chair.

"All right. You four are here to boost co-operation between our respective governments. It will publicly show to the people, the level of co-operation of our governments and militaries. My name is Officer Sholn Jiye, part of the Republic Intelligence Agency. I am going to be your handler for the duration of your deployment with this unit. I'll be the one giving you missions, arranging transportation and handling logistics for your unit. You have been Chosen because you are either the best or the best suited for this job. You're going to be going through a month of adjustment to get used to each other and their different combat styles. Any questions?"

Seeing no one say anything Sholn continued, "Right then, your unit call sign will be Guardian. You have the rest of the Day to get acquainted with one another. Report back here tomorrow at 0800. Dismissed."

Tracinya and Luke snapped a salute while the two Jedi bowed. The doors slide shut behind Captain Jiye as she left. Torak turned to the other three. "I'll go first then. Well, I'm specialized in the Jedi form of Shii-Cho and Makashi. My outspoken apprentice is still learning the two."

"I can talk for myself… Master." Tarkin snapped. Tracinya was surprised by the level patience show by Master Torak.

"Well I was taught by my clan and then later my instructors in CQC, doesn't matter who my opponent is I can beat them. I was also the best shot in my batch of recruits."

"Well I learnt MCMAP in basic and specialized in other forms of martial arts. I am also the best shot in the military, doesn't matter the distance or complication of the shot, I'll hit it."

"I bet I can beat you any day." Tracinya said without thinking. Realizing what she had just said she was about to apologize before Luke spoke.

"It's been ages since anyone challenged me, you think you can win?" Luke said with a smirk on his face. Tracinya resolved to knock that smirk of his face.

"I don't think, I know."

"Well then, there's a training room in the lower levels. See you there in five." With that he turned and left. That did it in her mind. She was going to take him down a peg and sow him why the Mando'ad were feared and respected by many. She left the room in a hurry.

"Come on then Tarkin, let's go watch and make sure they don't kill each other."

* * *

 _Downstairs_

"Take one of the rifles from the table" Luke didn't even look at her, just staring to the side. Following his line of site and she saw an armoury of weapons in a room, a rifle placed on the table in front of the window along with some clips she assumed went with it.

He suddenly spoke, "C'mon, hurry up! We don't have all day, people are waiting!" She quickly walked over to the table and picked up the gun. She picked up the clips and slowly slide them into their slots in the vest on her Beskar armour. Tracinya guessed that she might need them or he wouldn't have put them there.

Once she placeed the clips in her pockets, Luke spoke up once more, "You know the drill. Go to station one and aim your rifle down range." Tracinya turned to see the Jedi walk to the side and up onto a viewing platform that is set up behind some cubicles. Going over to one of them, Tracinya stepped into the one with the number one on the floor. "Now aim your rifle downrange."

Turning, Tracinya saw the Luke looking down the range. Said range has some pieces of wood on the floor that have targets behind them she assumed he would make them pop up one at a time. "Bring it on!" She shouted up at him.

Once the butt is firmly snuggled against her shoulder, a target from the roof suddenly springs up. Squeezing the trigger, she loosed off three shots. She hit one of the targets and watched it fall.

"Shoot all the targets!"

She discharged a round-up at it, hitting one of the outer rings. Another target pops up and she shoot that one too. "Lovely," the soldier comments sarcastically. "Now, shoot at the targets while firing from the hip." _What targe_ -, three more targets spring up further down the range in a tight group. Tracinya shoulder the rifle and sent three bursts down the range that all went wide. Growling, she tried again and again until all three targets are down.

Luke called from behind her, "Now I'm going to block the targets with a sheet of plywood." A sheet of plywood comes up right as he finishes. "I want you to shoot the targets through the wood. Plasma will pierce thin materials like wood, plaster and sheet metal!"

"I already know plasma doesn't just stop, is this necessary?!" Sighing, She swept the piece of wood in a hail of hot plasma. The ding that echoes to show she hit something and the wood falls back down, leaving just a haze of dust that slowly settles to the concrete floor.

"Good, I am going to make the targets pop up one at a time. Hit all of the as fast as you can!"

Targets start popping up all willy nilly and falling. _He's kriffing with me!_

Tracinya shouldered the rifle again. Aiming through the dot scope, she lined up the shaky barrel with the first target and pulled the trigger. The gun jumped in her hand and she saw that she hit centre mass. The next one comes up and she shifted her stance over to hit that one as well.

She proceeded to do this again and again over the course of the next two minutes, hitting each target with increasing accuracy.

"Tracinya it is your turn for the CQB test. Everyone else who wants to watch, head to observation. For this test, you will have to run the cargo ship solo in sixty seconds." Luke gestures with his hand at the wooden construction project behind them that she somehow missed.. "A trooper called Boomer holds the current squadron record at twenty-nine seconds. Good luck! Climb the ladder over there."

Tracinya turned and looked for the ladder he spoke of. She heard Luke say "Pick up the M60 carbine and four flashbangs!"

Looking at the crates in front of her, she saw just what he'd told her. She place her rifle down on the crate next to the carbine and clips the new smaller rifle to her vest. She picked up the flashbangs,

"On my go, I want you to rope down to the deck and rush to position one! After that you will storm downstairs and hit position two. The hit position 3 and 4 following the programmes precise instructions at each position. Grab the rope when your ready!"

Grabbing the rope, she repelled down. As Tracinya landed and pulled up her carbine with a little hesitation. The sound of the programme informing for her to go filled her ears, invigorating me with the energy behind the voice. _"Hit the targets!"_ Tracinya looked to see three targets in the room. She brought her rifle up and fire a burst at each as she side stepped around the side of the building where she saw the door. She hit each of them thanks to the training of her clan and teachers.

As Tracinya rush down the stairs, a target popped up and she sent a shot into the leg, but it counted. Turning the corner, the programme yelled for a flashbang through the door. She pull the grenade off her vest and pulled the pin and held it for a second before throwing the primed grenade into the room and hiding behind the wall with her helmet protecting her ears.

Once the bang sounds, Tracinya entered the room to see targets coming up. She sent some plasma into each as she moved along. Three more targets popped up at position, five which she eliminated with the rest of the clip. Dropping the rifle, Tracinya took her pistol out of the holster on her leg and put a flashbang through the door.

Following the instructions and as she walked through the door, she could barely see a target in the room, she tossed the flash in. She aimed the pistol and fired a round into the human sized target.

" _Course complete. Twenty-Five point Zero Seconds. New Record."_

Tracinya smirked, she just set a new record. _Let's see that Marine beat that!_

"Sit back newbie, let me show you how a pro does it." Luke said cocking his M60-AR.

" _Sit back newbie, let the pro do it"_ Tracinya said in a mocking voice as she made her way her way to the observation platform. Reaching the railing she leaned against it with her arms crossed.

"That was impressive. Your clan has trained you well."

"Thank you Master Jetii."

"I could do better." Tarkin muttered.

"Let's see how our Marine friend handles." Torak said ignoring Tarkin.

Tracinya watched Luke aim the rifle. BANG. Tracinya watched him unleash burst fire mechanically into each target. She watched him methodically switch between them placing rounds in the head or centre mass. She'd bever seen someone so accurate, maybe he wasn't all talk afterall. She continued to watch as the plywood started coming up and blocking the targets. He still went on with his task, his entire being focused on hitting the target and nothing else.

Luke then walked over to a crate with some flashbangs on top. Attaching them to his vest he walked over to the start of the CQB test.

" _Round Begin"_

Tracinya looked on as he repelled down the rope and his feet hit the ground, his knees bending from the impact. He raised his rifle and hit the targets as they popped up. He quickly rounded the corner and proceeded down the stairs. As he came to the door he prepped a flashbang. He kicked the door open and threw it in before taking cover behind the wall. When the grenade detonated he pushed off the wall and entered the room placing a single round in each target. He moved toward the door scanning for any threats. He switched to his sidearm and then breached the door with a kick. He aimed at the targets head a squeezed the trigger. The plasma sailed into the targets forehead knocking it back.

" _Course Complete. Twenty-five point One seconds. Better luck time."_

"Looks like were equal" Luke said walking over to Tracinya and the others.

"No, I got the better time. I beat you." Tracinya replied not understanding his logic.

"True, you beat be by _point one_ of a second but I beat you at the shooting range. Luke one, Tracinya one." He explained.

"Technically he is correct." Torak supplied, causing Tracinya to scowl, "but you did get the better time."

"Fine then. We'll settle this hand to hand. Then we'll see who is better." She smiled knowing she had no way of losing this.

"Okay then, let-" Luke was interrupted by the beeping of all their holo-communicators. Activating hers, the image of Captain Jiye appeared.

" _I need you four to come upstairs immediately, a situation has occurred. Report to the briefing room on floor twelve."_

* * *

 _Upstairs_

Tracinya and the others filed into the room quickly standing around the holo-table that was projecting an image of what seemed like a bank in the old market district. It was a small two storey building which was a rarity on Coruscant. The buildings around it offered good firing positions for snipers. She could see the Republic police surrounding the building on the three roads that gave access using speeders and Gunships as roadblocks and cover.

"An hour ago an unknown number of hostiles took over this bank in the old market district, it has been confirmed that there are a large number of hostages. They appear to be Separatist sympathizers. We have received permission to go in if the negotiation team fails."

"A few questions. Have they made any demands? What weapons do they have? Do we have an exact estimate of the number of hostages? How will we infiltrate the building and lastly what are the rules on engagement?" Luke fired off in quick succession. He must have done stuff like this before. She wondered how long he had been in combat for and just what he had done.

"They have not made any demands as of yet. They appear to just have blaster rifles and pistols only but they may have scatter rifles or shotguns as you call them. It is believed that there could be anywhere from thirteen to twenty hostages, some people were able to escape out the back before the hostiles sealed the building. You will infiltrate the bank via a rear do to the bank, using explosives to knock the door down you will enter the bank and make your way to the lobby where the hostages are being held. Jedi General Russo oversees the Republic police in the area he'll be in command of the whole operation on the ground, you'll be backed up by Republic police and an O.A.S.D.F. sniper team. As for rules of engagement, you are shoot to kill unless otherwise instructed."

"Who's to be in charge then?" Tarkin asked.

"Usually it would be Jedi Master Torak but considering the nature of this operation I recommend that Lieutenant Sparrow take the reins, he has experience with these kinds of operations. The LAAT leaves in half an hour, I suggest you get prepped and head to landing pad Bravo on the east wing on the ninetieth floor. Dismissed and Good luck."

"Well then, Lieutenant I shall defer to your judgment in this matter." Torak said.

"Why? Were Jedi, why should we differ to this man? What can he do that we can't?" Tarkin asked.

"Tarki-"

"No its fine. Why should you deffer to me? Well, I have served in the Special Forces branch of the military for two years, fought in battles across a dozen worlds with different climates and urban environments. I have killed more machines and people that you have met in your life. On top of all that, this is something I have trained for since I joined the military when I was eighteen, nearly five years ago. Is that resume good enough for you or do I need to add detail?" Luke said, finally fed up with Tarkin's shit. Tracinya couldn't help but smile at Tarkins silence, glaring at the floor.

"Good, now then Master Torak can you and your padawan handle a pistol?"

"Yes. But not that well. Why?"

"It's good to have a back up and gives you some range. These are people were going up against, they aren't machines. They think, they have families and they bleed, not like some emotionless piece of scrape metal. You cannot hesitate, you cannot show mercy, you cannot get caught up with rushing to the civilians aid, until all hostiles are eliminated they, and we are in danger, only after the hostiles are gone do you help. Be aware, they may have hostiles mixed in with the hostages. Watch your corners, people can hide behind them and make sure every room is clear before you move on. Don't want someone to come out from behind and shoot you or a buddy in the back. Clear?" Luke finished explaining, waiting for the others to repond.

Tracinya nodded as did the others.

"Good, then let's get ready shall we. We'll make more fleshed out plan en route so we can get more details"

* * *

 _Timeskip_

"Are we going to be back before dinner?" Tracinya asked. The four sat inside a LAAT gunship. Each one of them were dressed in their combat gear. Tacinya always had her trusty blaster carbine and dual blaster pistols. She had her Mandalorian Shock Trooper Armour on, it was coloured blue and black. Representing Duty and Justice, two things she held in high regard.

"Might be just in time for apple pie," Luke replied with a small chuckle. He was dressed in the O.A.G.'s standard Marine armour, but it had some modifications. On his left shoulder, he had fitted a combat knife to go with his bayonet that was on his belt. He wore Multicam camouflaged fatigues under his Beskar armoured vest, shoulder and knee pads. The thought of non-mandalorians using Beskar armour did not sit well with her and many other Mandalorians, but at least it was being used by those, at least for now, who fought with honour.

"I'm guessing this appel pie is a dish from your home region?" Master Torak said. He was wearing his brown Jedi robes but had some plaststeel armour on. The white-cream cloured armour covered his legs, chest and forearms. The same applied for Tarkin.

"Correct, I'll make some if little Tarkin doesn't need his hand to be held on his first mission."

"I don't need your help!"

"Of course, of course." Luke said dismissively

Tarkin grumbled in frustration as the three seniors laughed at him. Blocks ahead, the police had sectioned out two blocks from the bank as the sympathisers had opened fire on anyone trying to get into the bank. They had left several clone SWAT members dead and threatened to execute the hostages they were holding inside. Guardian Squad had the pleasure of working with Black Team, a Grupa Reagowania Operacyjno-Manewrowego or GROM Sniper Team. Four of them had set up around the bank and had maintained eyes on the men inside.

 _"Black One, Delta One,"_ Tracinya heard the radio crackle her helmet.

"Guardian One, Black One, send. Over," Luke replied, the LAAT slowing down as they approached the police checkpoint.

 _"Eyes on ten tangos equipped with what looks like Separatist spec blasters. Black Team counting twelve..."_ there was a short pause, _"no eighteen hostages, break. Black Team will continue to report as situation develops."_

"Roger that Black Team. Delta One out," Luke replied, the LAAT halting at the checkpoint.

"Stop. This is a police checkpoint," one of clone four policeman said, walking up to the vehicle.

"Excuse me," Luke said and pulled out a small identification card.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. Right this a way." The police quickly waved the four through realizing they were the special forces being sent in. The pilot slowed the vehicle down to a crawl and expertly made his way towards the rear of the bank. So far, no one knew they were there and he had to move quickly to get inside before the terrorists had known they had slipped their net.

"Delta One, Black, friendlies approaching the bank's rear," Luke reported as he parked the vehicle at the bank's rear door.

 _"Black Three, eyes on you. No tangos in sight. Continuing overwatch,"_ the SEAL sniper quickly replied.

"Alright, everyone out. Get your game face on," Luke ordered, coking his M60-AR.

"Tracinya, take point and recon the door for a breach. Tarkin, Torak, form a defensive perimeter and make sure no one stumbles onto us," Luke said and pulled up a small balaclava from his shirt.

"Roger that Lieutenant," Tracinya replied and pulled out a small tube. Inside was a camera connected to her personal data pad. She reached under the door, feeling the small space between the floor and the metal door. He slid the tube in and activated the sensor.

"Nothing. Only one long corridor," She reported.

"General Russo, we are outside the bank and are prepared to breach. Are the NOCS in place?" Luke spoke into the radio. General Russo was the commander of the Counter-Terrorist NOCS, special unit within the SWAT Team and he was overseeing the entire operation in coordination between the special forces teams and the Police.

 _"Yes, they are in place. Do not worry Guardian. We will not interfere with your operation,"_ General Russo replied. Luke gave a satisfied nod to Tracinya whom was working on the door breach. She pulled out what looked like greenish clay from a pouch attached to the left of her utility belt. With careful and practiced hands, she moulded the clay on the door hinges then, he plugged two wires into the clay before giving Luke a thumbs-up.

"Stack up," Luke whispered. The four split up into pairs and pressed themselves against the walls on both sides of the doors. Luke and Tracinya were closest to the door with Torak and Tarkin bringing up their rear. The four tensed their bodies.

"Breaching," Tracinya reflexively said and squeezed the detonator. The green clay strip went off with a soft and gentle, pop. The metal door slammed into the granite floor as she and Luke rushed into the hallway. They were pressed against the wall, moving to cover the hallway in an effective crossfire. On the end of their barrels were thin metal cylinders to suppress the noise and flash of their fire.

"Corridor clear," Luke reported and continued pushing forward into the hallway.

 _"Delta, Black One, we have activity,"_ the radio crackled as Luke held up a fist to stop the team.

"Send it," Luke replied. They stopped right before a metal door. Slowly, he circled the door and stopped at the other side to let Tracinya get the biggest field of fire.

 _"One of the tangos look agitated and ordered his buddy somewhere. Tracking...tracking, yellow, yellow, red, no solution,"_ Black reported. Luke grabbed the doorknob and pushed the door inside.

Torak rushed inside.

Tracinya heard a female yelp as she entered the room next. Inside the room was a single female, she looked a bit older than her coworkers. Two of which were male and were pointing what looked like DC-17 blaster pistols at him. The four of them were at a short standoff. One of the two male workers noticed Luke taking aim at him from outside the room and tried to adjust his aim.

"Drop your weapons!" Luke ordered. The two men hesitated. Tracinya could see their uneasiness with two heavily armed soldiers pointing high powered rifles at their foreheads.

"Are you Republic?" the female asked, pushing her two coworkers aside.

"Identify yourself," Luke stated as he shifted his aim. Male or female, it seemed he wasn't going to let someone seduce their way out of this situation.

"I am Gina Mancini, manager of this bank. These two are my bodyguards," she said with an arrogant and pompous accent. She hated the woman in control, more so if they were someone who thought everyone below her was nothing but a savage animal.

"Torak, check the lady and the two grunts," Luke ordered. Torak nodded and walked over to manager while Luke was busy contacting General Russo. The manager gave out an earful of insults as Torak patted her down. Her bodyguards did nothing to intervene, they seemed to see it like some sort of payback.

"General," Luke said simply.

 _"What is it Guardian?"_ he replied.

"We've got a Gina Mancini here claiming she's the manager of the bank," Luke reported as Gina shrugged Torak off after the short pat down.

 _"That is correct,"_ General Russo said.

"I'm going to keep her here until your units clear the bank," Luke said, it wasn't a suggestion, it was a statement.

 _"Will do Guardian."_

"Secure the manager," Luke ordered, "we're leaving her to NCOS."

"You can't leave me here!" she cried out desperately.

"Let's go," Luke brushed off the comment.

"Who are you to tell me, Gina Mancini, that I'm going to sit here and wait with a bank full of robbers?!" the manager retorted. Panic and fear turned people into desperate animals, ready to do anything to get free. Soldiers don't feel that. The reason is because they are what sends people into a spiral of fear and panic.

"I could fucking shoot you and leave you here to rot," Luke growled in frustration, "I work for a unit so elite, you would be but a little shit stain in the galaxy compared to what we do."

The bank manager was frozen. Maybe she wasn't used to scolding. What Tracinya could see was that her coworkers were snickering behind her back. She probably did the exact same thing to them on a daily basis. Luke clearly didn't regret anything. This was his job. He was a Taskforce 242 member. Luke and Torak walked over to the door, closing it shut.

"Good day," Tarkin said before using his multi-tool to lock the room from the outside.

"Good riddance more like it," Luke scoffed.

 _"Black, Guardian, alert,"_ Guardian's radio squawked, _"one times foot mobile headed your way."_

"It's about to get really fucking loud," Luke stated and activated his polarised visor, activating his weapon's laser. The four focused on one large metal door at the end of the hallway. This area seemed to be where the information technicians and technology staffed worked. It was the perfect area for computers. The area slightly sank underground and the air was cool.

"Cut the lights," Luke ordered. Tracinya nodded and tapped at the PDA mounted under her left arm. The cool air felt crisp as she took a deep breath.

"Thirty seconds," She whispered calmly, tapping away on her PDA. Nothing moved. The bank seemed fairly sophisticated, how did these guys manage to infiltrate, Tracinya didn't know, her job was to eliminate them and make sure the hostages was safe.

"Five seconds," She said, waiting for her PDA to hack and assimilate into the bank's control system. Brushed aluminium walls and granite floors reflected the harsh tungsten light. Both were good at deflecting laser beams. He knew that this team was trained enough not to muddle their aim and shots.

"And..." Tracinya said, elongating, and, for dramatic effect, "lights out."

The hallway instantly became pitch black within the blink of an eye. Tracinya reached for the button on her helmet to activate the night vision that was able to turn the darkest of nights into day. It's only disadvantage was that it couldn't see in complete black out environments. She had a solution and came ready.

She squeezed a small pad in front of the foregrip to activate the infrared torch that bathed the entire corridor in a blinding, invisible greenish light. The metal doors slid open to reveal one individual. Dressed in a suit and grayish pants, he walked inside. His heels clicked against the floor in silence. Words escaped his mouth in a language unknown to her. In his hands and close to his stomach was a E-5 Rifle. His eyes were wide-open and clearly spooked.

"Hey buddy," Luke whispered, making the man jump.

In that instant, two bright green beams shot out from the darkness and dotted his chest. Luke's rifle coughed thrice. The man's chest exploded into a mist of darkened black before crumpling into the ground, his rifle echoing with a clatter. Two shots in the chest and once in the head. The Marine's famous double tap. Torak and Tarkin stood up from their position opposite of the pair's wall.

"Sad," Torak said, "didn't even stand a chance."

"The only rule in combat," Luke chirped, "is to fight dirty to win."

Torak's hand hovered over the dead robber's eyes and closed them for eternity. Cold, accurate, precise and above all lethal. These were the words that described Guardian's Marine in Tracinya's opinion.

The team of four continued moving. Through the door, the electricity resumed. Tracinya looked back at the dead body. Blood pooled out from underneath the corpse, the shining granite smothered by red liquid. Like rivers, the stream of blood flowed freely. She watched Luke moved on without regret and no emotion. Emotions affect judgment, muddled judgment leads to death and death was not what he wanted.

"Tango down," Luke reported.

 _"Roger that Guardian,"_ the radio crackled in reply, _"the men in the main lobby are getting restless. He's holding up one of the females in a choke hold. Pistol is pressed to her temple."_

"We need to move faster," Luke whispered underneath his breath.

They ascended a set of spiral stairs towards the main lobby. Tracinya could hear the fearful pleads of the civilians and their tearful sobs. At this point, any soldier would have a reaction. Something like a tug at their hearts, making them want to save the poor souls faster. Tracinya did not. She was trained for operations like these hundreds of times over.

 _"Break, break, break,"_ the radio crackled again, " _we have five blacked out vans moving towards the lobbies. Multiple snipers have set up on adjacent rooftops. Is this the NCOS?"_

"NCOS, what the fuck?" Tracinya muttered, the four of them reaching a wooden door.

"General Russo, what's happening?" Luke asked.

No reply.

"General Russo. What. The. Fuck. Is. Happening?" Luke asked with a frustrated tone in his voice.

 _"I'm sorry Guardian but the Republic will take it from here. We believe that you have done enough, stand down."_ General Russo replied with a confident tone, Tracinya looked at Luke who had a concerned expression on his face.

"General, pull back now. If you don't, there will be a fucking blood bath!" General Russo had already decided to ignore Luke.

"Fuck. We need to do this now," Luke grunted and stacked up by the door.

"Four flashbangs, first volley on three, second volley on four," Luke explained, seeing his teammates nod.

"Pull!" Luke grunted. She pulled the pin on his cylindrical grenade and waited. She counted, one thousand one, one thousand two, one thousand three. Slamming the door open, she lobbed the grenade with all her might and saw the small greyish tube tumble towards the centre of the room. She ducked behind the wall and covered his ears. She heard a fizzle, then a loud bang. Her hears rang as the flashbangs detonated with the loudness of a jet engine close up and the flash of a thousand suns, enough to blind one person for a short amount of time.

"Help me!" One screamed rose above the chaos.

Tracinya and her team sprang into action, storming out the door with rifles aimed. Tracinya started going through the steps in her mind. Five tangos, where did the other four go? She shrugged of the thought and concentrated on the ones in front of her. One was holding a teenage dressed in a casual tee and jeans, the pistol pressed to her head. She focused on the one closest towards him. The poor bastard was looking over the bank teller's counter, eyes shut to combat the bright light from the flashbang with his rifle pointed towards the ground. The carbine coughed. Two in the chest and one in the head. His head smacked against the granite top and tumbled into the ground.

"Tango down!" Tracinya screamed and shifted.

The one next to the door was already in the process of falling towards the ground, his chest having three plasma burns and head disfigured by what she guessed was Luke's powerful M60-AR. Her eyes moved to another trio standing watch over the hostages. They were recovering from the flashbang but no fast enough. Tracinya aimed her Westar Carbine's little red dot on the man's chest and tapped the trigger twice. She saw the robber fall backwards like he was hit with a strong punch to the chest. With just enough time, she readjusted and fired a bolt straight into his head. The two beside the downed hostile was quickly taken out by Tarkin and Torak.

"Stop or I shoot her!" a voice yelled. Tracinya froze and turned to see the one taking the teenager hostage had recovered with the girl fearfully holding onto the stranger's arm.

"Drop the weapon!" Luke yelled, taking point.

The tango made no move up tried to shield himself behind the defenceless female.

"Drop the fucking weapon!" Luke yelled again and took a step forward.

"Don't move any closer or I shoot!" the terrorist screamed.

 _"Black Team?"_ Tracinya asked.

 _"Black, Guardian, I have a solution. Yellow, try to move him a bit more to the right,"_ her radio responded.

 _"Black Four, Guardian, we have black vans stopping at the front of the bank."_ Luke circled the man's right to force him to turn. That man did just as Luke hoped he would, now Black One would take the shot and the team would continuing clearing the building but that wasn't the case.

 _"Green, I have the solution. Firing..."_ Black One didn't have time to finish his transmission.

One loud bang shattered glass in the entire room. Tracinya's vision went white, her body told her to go rub her eyes to clear out the flash. Her training told her to stand ground. And she did just that. The ringing in her ear blocked all noise. Tracinya stood still focused on what was in front of her. Slowly, the vision and hearing returned to him. It was a good thing he wasn't near the epicentre of the blast. But something else happened. One gunshot rang out among the confusion. The distinct sound of a pistol, one that she had hoped to never hear.

"You fucking bastards!" Luke shrieked, seeing the teenager's body slumping into the ground.

Adrenaline poured into her body, making time slow to a standstill. The tango still too confused to understand what he did, not to mention blind and deaf. Luke wasn't angry at the tango, oh no, he was angry at the NCOS. The ones who triggered the hostile to pull the trigger from a twitchy nerve, the one who fucked up the operation and the one who single handily want to glory hound. He aimed at the tango and poured his remaining hundred and fifty round clip magazine into him, his rage falling out like a water as he let out a warcry so fearsome that even the lions would rather go back into the den than face him. His rifle clicked empty. Luke was about to turn around to scream at the NCOS but something slugged his stomach.

Luke was lifted free off the ground just as his left arm went numb. Tracinya saw his back smack against the ground, hard. He felt his ears ring, his eyes looking at the aluminium brushed ceiling with fluorescent lights. Luke could have quit, stay lying down on the floor and looked at the pretty architecture. He was a Marine and Marines don't quit. She saw him push himself off the ground. Tracinya looked at his shoulder to see blood pooling out from the wound, he didn't care. He blocked out the pain and push onwards.

"Contact front!" Torak screamed, deflecting incoming blaster fire.

Tracinya aimed and squeezed the trigger. The rifle recoiled against her shoulder. Even with one arm down, Luke could still kill and joined in. They were trained for everything. The first of them went down, then the second, each one crumpled down like a domino. Each were killed without mercy. Tracinya paused, she was panting. The reality of what was happening was catching up to her.

 _"Delta Three, we have a man down. Man down,"_ Luke reported.

Tracinya turned around, dread creeping into her. There he was. Tarkin. He was on the shining black floor with blood pooling out from underneath him. Torak was next to Tarkin, pulling the plate carrier off of his body. His robe was soaked with blood but one spot was drenched with so much blood, it was black. The shot had entered through his abdomen and exited his back. His mouth was beginning to foam with blood and his breathing was staggered between choking on the red liquid and air.

"Someone get me a fucking doctor!" Luke's voice cracked, the fear of losing a man filled his voice. The NCOS just stood there looking at the four.

"Fucking medico, capire? Medico!" Luke screamed, kneeling next to Tarkin.

"Look at me," Luke ordered and smacked Tarkin on the cheek, "fucking look at me Tarkin!"

Tarkin began to cough up blood, getting some on Luke and Torak. Two clone medics appeared and settled down next to Tarkin. They injected him with anaesthesia to numb the pain.

"We're going to try and get him out, there is a slime chance if we get him to a hospital he'll make it,"

"Do it, I'll go with you, he's my Padawan." Torak said helping the clones carefully move Tarkin onto a stretcher.

"Fuck!" Luke screamed and slammed his fist into the ground next to where Tarkin's head used to be.

Moments later, Luke inhaled a deep breath. His eyes snapped open and devoid of tears, emotion and unwanted sadness. He stood up and walked out the building on a war path. Tracinya decided to follow.

Behind the bank, was General Russo. He stood with four other NCOS member equipped with DC-15 rifles. They looked like they were waiting for an explanation where one wasn't needed.

"What happened back there Guardian?" General Russo asked and stepped forward.

"Let me fucking tell you what happened," Luke's rage had burst into the flames of a thousand suns.

"Your team went in there knowing that my snipers and our assaulters had it covered," Luke pressed his bloodied left hand into the General, his pain being suppressed by his willpower.

"This is what happens when you glory hound General," Luke stated and saw Tarkin being loaded into the back of an LAAT.

"The mistake of a few are being answered by many."

The General and his glory hounding led to the death of many innocents. General Russo stood stoic, his mind at ease with the decision that he sent the NCOS in early. Tracinya followed Luke again as he stormed off towards the gunship. She had just finished her first real mission, she felt giddy. She had just saved fifteen hostages. She felt pride in her first action in combat. And on top of that she had killed three terrorists. Who probably had families... loved... Ones... They were alive, and now because of her... They were dead. The giddiness and pride she had felt moments before began to fade as the reality of her actions began to sink in. She had just killed three people.

* * *

 _2623 June 4th Earth Standard Calendar, LT. Luke Sparrow, Taskforce 242 LAAT gunship en route to Taskforce 242 Headquarters Coruscant_ _._

Luke sat in the gunship fuming. If it wasn't for that glory hound General, then that girl would still be alive and Tarkin wouldn't have been shot. Well, not that he would lose any sleep over it but Torak seemed like a nice enough guy. He looked up to see Tracinya looking out at the Coruscant skyline, her dark auburn hair blowing in the wind. Now that he thought about it, this was probably her first experience of real life or death combat and the first time she had taken a life… lives. He could tell from her body language with the slumped shoulders and far off look she was trying to deal with the fact she had ended the lives of flesh and blood people, not some blasted droid.

"Hey. You... err... You alright." He asked cautiously.

"Yeah, I'm fine," She answered a little too quickly. Shaking her head coming out of her own thoughts. "Why do you ask?"

"No reason." The two settled into an uncomfortable silence.

"I remember the first time I took a life, I was fighting in some city back in the Orion Arm and this soldier was running at me. I aimed my rifle at him and the armour did nothing. The shot went straight through the helmet. For a while afterword's it didn't bother me, there was a lot going on, I had a job to do. But then after some time, I thought back to it and I thought damn. That man had a family, a mother, a father, grandparents, possibly a wife and children and I just robbed them of a father, husband and son. I took a life of a person and they are never coming back. Dead. The end. And then I tried to justify it. It was life or death, him or me and my comrades. It was my duty and job. The truth is, pulling the trigger was and is the easy part. It's how you deal with it that's the hard part."

"And how did you deal with it?"

"At first I bottled it up and tried to forget. That didn't work. I tried to bury it in work. That to didn't work. In the end I just sat down and accepted what had happened one night. I still felt guilty, but I had come to terms with what I had done. I had taken a life, it didn't matter if it was self-defense or he was the enemy. A life is a life."

"Does it ever get easier?"

"Like I said, pulling the trigger is the easier part. Dealing with it for me… it did become easier, but the guilt still remains. That red will always be in my ledger, but at the end of the day. As long as my brothers and sisters in arms are alive, the people back home are safe and don't need to do it themselves. It is a burden I'll take." A brief silence descended upon the gunship. All that could be heard was the engines of the LAAT and the wind.

"Thanks… I needed to hear that."

"Your welcome. Remember, I have been fighting for a long time now. You can ask me for advice and tips for anything combat related kiddo."

"Don't call me kiddo."

"In this industry, you are,"

"Does that make you an old man then gramps?"

"If I remember correctly I beat you at those exercises."

"You must be losing your memory in old age, we're tying."

"Well then, when we get back let's settle this in a good old fashioned spar."

"You're on,"

Luke smiled, his talk and challenge had seemed to have done the trick. Her mind was at the very least for now, off the subject and focused on something else. And assuming her claim of being an expert at CQC was likely true, he was going to wake up with a lot of bruises.

* * *

 _2623 June 5th Earth Standard Calendar, President Keith Richards_ _on board the Earth Senate Station orbiting Earth_

Keith let out a sigh a gazed out of his office's window and looked down upon the mother world, Earth. If it wasn't for the war he would have to start running for a second term, but it was deemed for the best if he remained President as long as the war lasted rather than to get new leadership in. He had one last meeting before he was done and could go spend some time with his wife and children. His office featured three large south-facing windows behind the president's desk, and a fireplace at the north end. It had four doors: the east door opens to a small garden that his youngest daughter loved to tend to, she had a little rose bush in one corner that she looked after; the west door led to a private study and dining room; the northwest door opened onto the main corridor of the west wing; and the northeast door revealed the office of the president's secretary.

He was disturbed by a knock on the northeast door.

"Mr. President, the Secretary of Defence is here to see you."

"Send him in Carole"

"At once Mr. President." Keith watched Carole go. A man shortly walked in. He was in his late fifties, had greying black hair neatly combed back and stood like soldier with his shoulders squared back and standing upright. He still retained his physique from his time in the military. His name was João Lucas, a man of Brazilian heritage from the planet Reach. He was a pragmatic man above all else.

"Mr. President." Lucas said shaking Keith's hand.

"Lucas. How's life been treating you?" Keith spoke trying to delay the inevitable decision.

"I can't complain, in fact my wife is expecting." Lucas said with a smile.

"Congratulations. How far along is she and do you know if it will be a boy or a girl yet?"

"Thank you. She's about three weeks pregnant and we agreed that we'd let it be a surprise of which gender. But I think we both know why I'm here." Lucas said seeing through Keith's attempt at small talk.

"Yes, we do. Well... sell it to me good." Keith said taking a seat.

"As you know, we've been at war for nearly a year and a half, and our forces are becoming strained. We have the men, we just can't get weapons, equipment, supplies and vehicles to them in the quantities we need. This need to change or we need to throw the enemy off balance long enough to make sure more supplies get through before the enemy launch another offensive. Therefore, I propose that we either move towards Total Warfare, which I doubt either of us want," Keith nodded in agreement, he had put measures in place to build more factories to produce the needed materials and equipment the military needed and to modernise the military to meet any new threats from the east. The Z plan incorporated Orion Arm and Republic technology to build new weapons of war. All ready a new starship line was being built to replace the ageing fleets, the _Imperator_ _class_ Star Destroyer, it was designed to be a capital ship as well as a transport ship, space superiority starship and carrier. It would outclass any ship in service in the O.A.N., Republic and Separatist Navies, "So I suggest a second option. Unrestricted Submarine Warfare, so to speak. It would be limited to Separatist space of course but it would target any and all Separatist shipping, military vessels and merchant navy. We could use our Prowlers which have stealth in the same way the Germans fought in the Battle of the Atlantic and Americans in the Pacific theatre in world war two. They can use their stealth drives to sneak up on Separatist ships and torpedo them. It will damage Separatist commerce, troop movements and supplies. It can end the war faster than if we don't. It is a logical and practical solution. we are already using surgical strikes on Separatist industry, military instillations, communication, centres of government and so on. This is the next step."

"While I don't disagree with you in saying that it could speed up the rate at which it take us to win this war, the way in which it will make attacks and movement difficult for them. I question how many civilians will die because they were on a cruise ship taking them between worlds? I will not condone civilians being killed. What if they implement a convoy system?"

"If they implement a convoy system it will make the job harder but it will also be a success as they have had to divert ships and troops to guard them, taking them away from the front lines. And we can provide supplies, both medical and sustenance to those who escape the starships in their escape pods, or we can take them prisoner."

"But civilians would still be killed, I cannot support that. War is Hell Lucas. It is up to use to decide how hellish it becomes."

"But at what cost. We currently have lost over two million men and women so far, with millions more injured. Good men and women. If the war continues for another year, we lose another million men and women dead and millions more injured. Not to mention the thousands of clones dead and wounded. The Republic citizens dead and misplaced from what could be a decade of war at the rate things are going. If we do nothing the front lines will dissolve into a meat grinder like the great war did back in 1914 all those centuries ago. We should use every tactic, every weapon, every and any means we have at our disposal to achieve the quickest possible victory with the least amount of suffering."

"If I agree to this, then all survivors of any Prowler attack must be rounded up if there are no other starships nearby. Am I understood."

"Of Course Mr. President."

"Is there anything else you would like to discuss?"

"Yes actually. The new Zeus EMP bomb has been successfully detonated, its a non-nuclear EMP as you know, I would like authorisation to use it against Separatist cities, it has a one mile effective radius."

"I'll put it forward next when Parliament meets in two days."

"Thank you sir."

* * *

 _ **One EMP burst and the world goes dark,**_ _taken from an O.A.G. article on the potential of EMP based weapons._

 _The sky erupts. Cities darken, food spoils and homes fall silent. Civilization collapses._

 _End-of-the-world novel? A video game? Or could such a scenario loom in O.A.G.'s future?_

 _There is talk of catastrophe ahead, depending on whom you believe, because of the threat of an electromagnetic pulse triggered by either a supersized solar storm or terrorist A-bomb, both capable of disabling the electric grid that powers modern life._

 _Electromagnetic pulses (EMP) are oversized outbursts of atmospheric electricity. Whether powered by geomagnetic storms or by nuclear blasts, their resultant intense magnetic fields can induce ground currents strong enough to burn out power lines and electrical equipment across state lines._

 _The threat has even become political fodder, drawing warnings from former House speaker Newt Gingrich, a likely presidential contender._

 _"We are not today hardened against this," he told a Heritage Foundation audience last year. "It is an enormous catastrophic threat."_

 _Meanwhile, in Congress, a "Grid Act" bill aimed at the threat awaits Senate action, having passed in the House of Representatives._

 _Fear is evident. With Arcadia's sun's 11-year solar cycle ramping up for its stormy maximum in 2624, and nuclear concerns swirling about Iran and North Korea, a drumbeat of reports and blue-ribbon panels centre on electromagnetic pulse scenarios._

 _"We're taking this seriously," says Ed Legge of the Edison Electric Institute in Washington, which represents utilities. He points to a North Arcadian Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) report in June, conducted with the Energy Department, that found pulse threats to the grid "may be much greater than anticipated."_

 _There are "some important reasons for concern," says physicist Yousef Butt of the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Mass. "But there is also a lot of fluff."_

 _At risk are the more than 200,000 miles of high-voltage transmission lines that cross North Arcadia, supplying 1,800 utilities the power for TVs, lights, refrigerators and air conditioners in homes, and for the businesses, hospitals and police stations that take care of us all._

 _"The electric grid's vulnerability to cyber and to other attacks is one of the single greatest threats to our national security," Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., said in June as he introduced the bill to the House of Representatives._

 _Markey and others point to the August 2603 blackout that struck states from Michigan to Massachusetts, and south-eastern Canada, as a sign of the grid's vulnerability. Triggered by high-voltage lines stretched by heat until they sagged onto overgrown tree branches, the two-day blackout shut down 100 power plants, cut juice to about 55 million people and cost $6 billion, says the 2004 U.S.-Canada Power System Outage Task Force._

 _Despite the costs, most of them from lost work, a National Centre for Environmental Health report in 2005 found "minimal" death or injuries tied directly to the 2603 blackout — a few people died in carbon monoxide poisonings as a result of generators running in their homes or from fires started from candles. But the effects were pervasive: Television and radio stations went off the air in Detroit, traffic lights and train lines stopped running in New York, turning Manhattan into the world's largest pedestrian mall, and water had to be boiled after water mains lost pressure in Cleveland._

 _ **Simple physics, big worry**_

 _The electromagnetic pulse threat is a function of simple physics: Electromagnetic pulses and geomagnetic storms can alter Earth's magnetic field. Changing magnetic fields in the atmosphere, in turn, can trigger surging currents in power lines._

 _"It is a well-understood phenomenon," says Butt, who this year reviewed geomagnetic and nuke blast worries in The Space Review._

 _Two historic incidents often figure in the discussion:_

 _• On July 9, 1962, the Atomic Energy Commission and the Defence Atomic Support Agency detonated the Starfish Prime, a 1.4-megaton H-bomb test at an altitude of 250 miles, some 900 miles southwest of Hawaii over the Pacific Ocean. The pulse shorted out streetlights in Oahu._

 _• On March 9, 1989, the sun spat a million-mile-wide blast of high-temperature charged solar gas straight at the Earth. The "coronal mass ejection" struck the planet three days later, triggering a geomagnetic storm that made the northern lights visible in Texas. The storm also induced currents in Quebec's power grid that knocked out power for 6 million people in Canada and the USA for at least nine hours._

 _"A lot of the questions are what steps does it make sense to take," Legge says. "We could effectively gold-plate every component in the system, but the cost would mean that people can't afford the rates that would result to pay for it."_

 _"The high-altitude nuclear-weapon-generated electromagnetic pulse is one of a small number of threats that has the potential to hold our society seriously at risk," concluded a 2008 EMP Commission report headed by William Graham, a former science adviser to President Regan._

 _ **The terror effect**_

 _In the nuclear scenario, the detonation of an atomic bomb anywhere from 25 to 500 miles high electrifies, or ionizes, the atmosphere about 25 miles up, triggering a series of electromagnetic pulses. The pulse's reach varies with the size of the bomb, the height of its blast and design._

 _Gingrich last year cited the EMP Commission report in warning, "One weapon of this kind that went off over Omaha would eliminate most of the electrical production in the United States."_

 _But some take issue with that._

 _"You would really need something the size of a Soviet H-bomb to have effects that cross many states," Butt says. The massive Starfish Prime blast, he notes, was at least 70 times more powerful than the atomic bomb detonated over Hiroshima in 1945, and it may have blown out streetlights but it left the grid in Hawaii intact._

 _One complication for rogue nations or terrorists contemplating a high-altitude nuclear blast is that such an attack requires a missile to take the weapon at least 25 miles high to trigger the electromagnetic pulse. For nations, such a launch would invite massive nuclear retaliation from the USA's current stockpile of 5,000 warheads, many of them riding in submarines far from any pulse effects._

 _Any nation giving a terror group an atomic weapon and missile would face retaliation, Butt and others note, as nuclear forensics capabilities at the U.S. national labs would quickly trace the origins of the bomb, Butt says. "It would be suicide."_

 _ **Super solar storm**_

 _On the solar front, the big fear is a solar super storm, a large, fast, coronal mass ejection with a magnetic field that lines up with an orientation perfectly opposite the Earth's own magnetic field, says solar physicist Bruce Tsurutani of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif._

 _Tsuritani and other solar physicists view such an event as inevitable in the next 10 to 100 years._

 _"It has to be the perfect storm," Tsuratani says._

 _"We are almost guaranteed a very large solar storm at some point, but we are talking about a risk over decades," Butt says. Three power grids gird the continental Arcadia — one crossing 39 Eastern cities, one for 11 Western cities and one for the Capital._

 _ **Solutions?**_

 _In June, national security analyst Steven Aftergood of the Federation of Arcadian Scientists described congressional debate over power-grid security as "a somewhat jarring mix of prudent anticipation and extravagant doomsday warnings."_

 _Although the physics underlying the geomagnetic and nuclear pulses are fundamentally the same, they have different solutions. A geomagnetic storm essentially produces a long-building surge dangerous to power lines and large transformers. A nuclear blast produces three waves of pulses._

 _Limiting the risk from the geomagnetic-storm-type threat involves stockpiling large transformers and installing dampers, essentially lightning rods, to dump surges into the ground from the grid. Even if such steps cost billions, the numbers come out looking reasonable compared with the $119 billion that a 2605 Electric Power Research Institute report estimated was the total nationwide cost of normal blackouts every year._

 _"EMP is one of a small number of threats that can hold our society at risk of catastrophic consequences," Graham testified to a congressional committee last year, endorsing such mitigation steps._

 _Stephen Younger, former head of the Defence Threat Reduction Agency, last year argued against the catastrophic scenarios in his book, The Bomb, suggesting the effects of a pulse would be more random, temporary and limited than Graham and others suggest._

 _The June NERC report essentially calls for more study of the problem, warning of excessive costs to harden too much equipment against the nuclear risk. "If there are nuclear bombs exploding, we have lots of really, really big problems besides the power grid," Legge says._


	26. The Land of Sun and Sand

**The First Contact War**

Chapter 26

The Land of Sun and Sand

" _You will never had lived till you've almost died for it for those who fight for it. Life has a flavor that the protected will never know. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil for I am the evilest son of a bitch in the valley." U.S. Zippo lighter inscription, Vietnam._

 _2623 June 12th Earth Standard Calendar, LT. Luke Sparrow, Taskforce 242 on Ruusan_ _._

"Come on and take your mind off things," Tracinya said as she stood up and walked out of the tent, "Enjoy the endless sun." With his desert tan under shirt, trousers and boots on, Luke put on his Multicam Arid shirt and left it unbuttoned at the top as he then placed his armour and webbing over the top. He had found it to be boring without any action happening, he wondered how the clones or Tracinya could wear a full set of armour in this heat, maybe they had a cooling system or something. Tarkin had survived the attack on Coruscant but was still recovering. Torak had remained behind to help with his recovery. In the meantime, their handler had sent him and Tracinya to assist the three hundred and twenty-seventh Star Corps of the Grand Army of the Republic under the command of Jedi General Aalya Secura.

After that, he slung his scoped M60-AR rifle onto his back and with his helmet on slung under his arm, he went outside and walked along with Tracinya as they casually moved their way down the Republic camp surrounding us.

"Well, how's that for relief, Luke," Tracinya asked jokingly, "Sand and more kriffing sand for us to see." Indeed, there was nothing but sand and palm trees around. There was a small refreshing oasis to the right of them, but still, a sea of sand surrounded them. Here was where the clones made their position, forming a strong defensive line at the front, aiming towards the desert leading to Kasota, which in battle, would be defended by rifle and machine gun armed infantry, a couple of emplaced machine gun nests, and even a few AT-TE tanks to support the infantry from behind.

Behind the Republic line, was another line of positions, but then followed by the Republic camp, where soldiers were busy moving and maintaining weapons, supplies, ammunition and equipment around the camp to prepare for any assault, while other soldiers ate their lunch, drank some cool as ice water under the hot sun and conversed. Tracinya and Luke walked through the camp over towards the Republic front defensive line.

"So has your Aliit sent you any messages?" Tracinya asked.

"No," Luke said, "... I don't have a Aliit other than my brothers in arms. Well I did…but let's just say I haven't had a family since I was five."

"Oh... really… why?"

"I'd rather not talk about it."

"Okay then?"

"What about you?" Luke said, "Meg gar aliit sa. Ori'vod? Buir? ba'vodu?"

"Yes, my father is Jestar Vizsla. He is a respected warrior in our clan, he taught me everything from Mando'ad values, the Resol'nare what it means to be a ori'ramikad and how to fight. My mother, Lexie Tamohara-Vizsla, is a kind woman who taught me the importance of life and all living things. I don't have any siblings but I have a close friend in clan Wren. She's called Mesh'la Wren, we got into all kinds of mischief when we were younger."

"It must have been nice to have a loving family and friends growing up." Luke said wistfully.

However, as they walked down the pathway, soon we heard a man, the commanding officer, Captain Vaartje, as he readied his DC-15 rifle and shouted, "Clankers are assaulting our positions! Men, get into your defences now!" ...And immediately, all the clones in the camp began grabbing grabbing their rifles and manning machine guns and rushed over to their positions.

"Shit, the fucking clankers are coming here." Luke said as he readied his M60-AR, and then ran over and got in position in the defensive line with Tracinya and the others, with him aiming his rifle at the desert before him and Tracinya aiming her Westar 35 carbine. The defensive lines were filled a great line with clone infantry soldiers, all aiming their rifles at the desert where the droids would come from. They mostly had the standard issue DC-15 rifles or DC-15s blaster carbine.

As Luke was with the great defensive line of clone infantry, all aiming their rifles at the desert, behind them were a couple of E-Web heavy repeating blaster emplacements ready to give covering fire while there were a few other positions around just behind the defensive line that had soldiers that would give covering fire from snipers... And behind them, were a couple of emplaced AT-TE tanks, ready to give support fire or smash AAT tanks with concentrated fire.

...Yes, they were all ready for combat, strong and determined as Separatist artillery shells rained down around the camp, splashing into the sea of desert before the front line and sprinkling glistening grains of sand down on a few of the nearby clones as if they were being salted... The barrage looked intense, but had really only caused very little damage to the camp and the clones stayed ready... And after a few moments, large amounts of droid infantry swarmed across the desert, heading towards the Republic lines with blasters in hand.

"Kriff," a clone said, "Clankers!"

"Open Fire!" Vaartje shouted.

The line of clones all fired immense volley gunfire that cut numerous battle droids down while machine guns blazed incredible support, while Luke fired his assault rifle shots that nailed multiple enemies. Usual rifle fire just riddled enemy droids with plasma and ripped through metal, and most enemies died this way... But those who fell victim to stronger machine gun fire and explosives had a more violent demise, with powerful weapon fire ripping apart metal and tearing limbs off enemies. The clones all kept fighting and firing shots that hit multiple enemies, furiously defending the trench from assaults.

"Die, you fucking dirty machines!" a clone shouted.

Fighting viciously and hard, the clones were all firing their rifles and machine guns, firing hails of intense gunfire at the separatist forces and shooting numerous soldiers. Luke fired and shot seven enemies with burst fire, but the clankers kept converging on them in the desert. As Luke kept firing the M60-AR at the approaching forces, some blaster bolts came and struck the sand near him, as another large infantry force was making their way to our lines from the right side. "Shit... fucking shit!" Luke shouted and turned to fire at the newcomers, shooting multiple droids to pieces.

"Medic!" a clone shouted over the gunfire. More droids swarmed across the desert towards the defensive lines as AAT tanks rolled in from behind, firing shells down on the AT-TEs, one shot hit a walker in the cabin while another penetrated another walker that went up in a fireball, the other walkers fired back and destroyed a few of the AATs while blaster fire shredded infantry.

"Kriff," Tracinya shouted, "More clankers! I'll kill those clankers!"

Tracinya fired off some more furious shots at some super battle droids and gunned a couple more down. The vicious battle raged ever intensely, and while a few more friendly soldiers were gunned down, the weight of fire never let up. As a couple more clones got shot by enemy gunfire, Luke fired and knocked a head off a B1 droid. A few more clones got shot, some got back up, their armour doing its job.

"Shit!" a captain Vaartje said, "Hold the line!"

Tracinya and Luke kept blazing some suppressive fire at droids. Due to the intense fire the assault started to falter.

"That's it," Vaartje yelled, "Keep fighting, men! Push the them back!"

"Hah, they're falling back!"

"That's right you cowards," Tracinya shouted, "Run!"

Luke and Tracinya walked over to Vaartje as he stood up from the MG nest. Luke stood next the officer as he started speaking his next move, "We're not done yet, men... There's still the supply camp in the desert up ahead. We can use it to launch our assault on Khirsijine... Or else the sepi's will come back for this line."

"They can try." Luke said.

"Sparrow," Vaartje continued, "You and Vizsla help lead the men across the desert towards the camp. Walkers will provide support."

"Is the presence of clankers there heavy, Captain?" Tracinya asked.

"Heavy enough," the Captain replied,

"Shit... Well," Luke said, "Let's get moving, Tracinya." Luke reached down to his belt and pulled out his bayonet. The M8 OKC-3S bayonet was based off the vibroblade technology. It was about twelve inches long, seven of which made up the blade itself. Luke pitied anything that found its way on the receiving end of the blade.

Immediately, Tracinya, Luke, and most of the clones jumped out of the trenches and charged forth through the desert before them, while some remained to guard the defensive line and Captain Vaartje embarked on one of the tanks and he lead a few other walkers behind them. Once they had crossed over a dune, they found themselves overlooking a desert sea of tan sand with several dispersed palm trees, and a great numerous amount of infantry scattered around with several enemy rifle and machine gun positions and even a few tanks in support.

"Shit, speed is going to be key here," a Luke said, "Let's get the bastards!"

"Charge in!" Luke shouted, and immediately, he, Tracinya and the clones charged onto the desert sand, firing hails of rifle fire at droid forces in the sandy sea. A vicious battle erupted immediately in the sea of sand as the numerous dispersed clones fired at the droids, gunning multiple enemies down in fierce fighting as Luke fired his M60 and shot two B1s. It was complete chaos, as dispersed friendly and enemy soldiers were blazing immense fire at one another, and casualties on both side started amounting. But they kept advancing and firing more rifle fire.

Luke unleashed a burst of fire, striking down three clankers. Tracinya aimed and gunned a couple other enemies as well. Several clones took cover by scattered trees and kept firing their rifles at the droids, and as a few more clones were gunned down.

As the infantry kept firing at one another, the walkers opened fire, destroying a few AAT tanks, though returning shells took out a couple walkers. As Tracinya took out a couple other enemies with her carbine, Luke fired his assault rifle and another droid went down. After clearing away the infantry in the sand and trees, they came to another challenge, enemy defensive nests filled with machine guns and many riflemen as well.

"Shit, riflemen in the nests!"

"Fucking machine guns!" Luke said, "Use the trees for cover! Clear those bastards out!"

Luke held cover behind a tree and then surveyed the situation, managing to count five enemy defensive nests, each with a machine gun and a platoon of enemy soldiers armed with rifles... While he still fired some more shots and gunned two more enemies down, he looked further in the distance, seeing a few AAT tanks as well.

"Force," Tracinya said, "They have more tanks!"

"Let the Walkers deal with those," Luke said, "Concentrate on the nests!"

Luke noticed three droids in an isolated position just to their left flank. Pushing of the ground, he ran as fast as he could. One droid turned to fire at him but Luke was faster. The shot hit centre mass and the droid fell. The B1 unit next to it turned but Luke smashed it with the butt of his rifle before firing two more shots into its downed from. He spun round and speared the spearing the B1, his bayonet cleanly entering. He ducked to avoid some enemy fire before returning to where he had been previously.

Holding their cover behind the trees, Luke and Tracinya fired some more at enemy trenches. Luke paused to reload while Tracinya fired at the machine gun nests. The clones were still struggling with the machine guns as they kept battling the enemy infantry. As immense gunfire blazed and soared all over the open sand. From behind tree cover, Luke fired some more at two of the nests, pinning the gunners down with some shots until the return fire had him back behind the tree.

"Only a few more machine gun nests, Sparrow," Tracinya said, "Let's finish these fuckers!"

The other gunner kept blazing rapid bullets that splashed through the sand and splintered the trees... And one friendly had the unfortunate fate to get caught in the way... And have a wave machine gun fire shred through his throat.

"Shit," Tracinya shouted, "I'm pinned!"

The enemy machine gun kept blazing rounds at Tracinya's position, and so Luke fired some more rifle fire at the enemy gunner threatening Tracinya. Aiming at the gunner he released three rounds at it and nailed the gunner with a few precise rounds... Only two more nests remained.

As he kept fighting, a droid threw a grenade towards him. He quickly picked up the grenade and threw it back at towards the droids, it exploded in mid-flight and peppered the surrounding area with shrapnel.

While the two remaining nests kept up their defence, Luke rushed over to Tracinya's position. After reloading they were mostly concentrating their fire on the machine gun nests and enemy soldiers near them. The remaining two machine guns kept the assaulting forces pinned behind cover, unable to advance. The AT-TEs were still fighting against opposing AAT tanks, blasting a couple down to pieces, so it was mostly up to the infantry to take care of the nests.

Luke saw a crate that provided decent cover from enemy fire that was close to the MG nest. Seeing that both nests were not focused on him, he checked he had some grenades. Seeing he had two fragmentation grenades, he got ready.

"Tracinya cover me." He said before made a twenty-yard dash to the crate. Tracinya and the surrounding clones provided suppressive fire keeping the droids down. Luke slide behind the crate, his back colliding with the crate with a thunk. Taking a grenade from his webbing, he pulled the pin and held onto the grenade for two seconds. He then stood up and threw the grenade, it sailed through the air and landed in the middle of the machine gun nest. He ducked behind cover once again as some droids started to fire at his exposed form. The sound of a detonation and the silence of a machine gun meant that his toss had succeeded.

The last gunner was firing its machine gun frantically now, as it realized it was the last remaining machine gun nest. It blazed a great flurry of blinding fire to hold off the attack... But this would ultimately not help it, as Luke held his cover and Tracinya took aim and shot down the gunner and another soldier near him... The enemy machine gun nests were eliminated.

 _"The nests are eliminated,"_ Captain Vaartje said as from his AT-TE tank, _"Now destroy the remaining defences and seize that camp!"_

Tracinya and Luke fired some more and gunned a few more enemies down as other clones kept firing their rifles and hitting multiple droids down in the vicious battle. Luke charged at a droid and struck it down with a couple sharp swings with the stock of his gun... and then Tracinya and Luke ran rapidly across the desert alongside the rest of the clones... And they crossed over a dune they could see the enemy camp just before them... Along with two enemy defensive lines filled mostly with B1 droids.

"They're mostly just riflemen," Tracinya said to clones around them, "Move up and take them out!"

Luke and Tracinya moved up with the other clones to engage the trench line while the AT-TEs kept up their confrontation against the AATs. A nearby AAT blew apart into pieces from a shell, and as they got closer to the enemy trench, the droid line all blazed their rifles and cut down a few friendlies. However, amidst the blazing hot fire and the raging withering blaster bolts, they pressed on, and once getting close enough, they took cover behind some trees and other barricades while some others crouched down into prone.

Once behind his new position of two trees, Luke opened fire on the trench. However, the trenches three machine gun nests were quickly pinning down the attackers again. But unlike last time the AT-TEs were not occupied with AATs so were able to neutralize the positions.

 _"Move up,"_ Vaartje ordered, _"Take that trench line!"_

Immediately, Luke, the Tracinya and the clones entered into the former separatist trench, facing a second defensive line filled with B1 droids and two more machine guns before them. As the clones formed a line of infantry in the trench to face the separatist opponents. Luke peaked over the top of the trench and fired at the droids. Luke reached down do his belt and grabbed a HE grenade loaded it into his underslung grenade launcher. Making sure the elevation was right, he pulled the trigger and the grenade sailed towards the enemy line. It landed just in front the enemy trench. Loading a second grenade, he fired again. This time the grenade landed and exploded in the enemy position and took out a half a dozen droids. The remainder in the trench were taken out by mortar fire from the FOB, probably called in by the captain. This caused the surviving forces to pull back.

"Luke, try move into the camp!" Tracinya said.

Immediately, Luke went with some clones as they charged in towards the camp, running over the trench lines as we charged forwards. A couple clones blasted a few droids with their rifles as they hoped over the trench and took cover behind different buildings, tents and caches at the entrance of the camp. A machine gun position opened up and blazed some rounds while they took cover. However, as Luke fired at the enemy gunner, a clone flame trooper moved up quickly, yet cautiously to their position... And once he was in range, the clone aimed his flamethrower stick and blazed a menacing spray of fire into the enemy position, clearing it out as well as incinerating the few droids in the position as well, setting them ablaze. While the flames may not have done a lot to the exterior other than turn it black, it would seriously damage internal systems and force the droid to shut down.

As the flame trooper moved on to incinerate other entrenched enemies with fire, most that remained of the separatist garrison was just infantry and a few vehicles. Luke shot a couple others as Tracinya charged and knocked a B1 down with her Westar 35 carbine, before they then went further into the camp. As they were clearing out the camp, a MTT transport started to disembark reenforcements.

"Shit, more clankers!" Luke called out, "In the MTT and tents!"

"Ke nu'jurkadir sha Mando'ade!" Tracinya yelled.

From their positions behind tents and caches in the camp, Luke kept fighting enemies in the camp, clearing them from the tents with concentrated rifle fire as Tracinya gunned a few others down with her carbine. The clones kept firing rifle fire that shot more droids, though a couple other friendlies were cut down as well by enemy gunfire. As Luke shot a few more down, the clones had diminished the enemy presence, gunning down most remaining soldiers in the tents and supply buildings. The battle was close to being won.

After the clones shot down several more droids, an enemy tank appeared over a nearby dune, aiming towards the camp... But Vaartje's AT-TE took out the enemy tank with a well-placed shell. Afterwards, any remaining enemy presence gave up, with the several droids still alive lowering their guns and raising their hands up while clones aimed at them to keep them in order.

While the clones rounded up prisoners to take back to camp and other friendlies started moving supplies around from the camp, Vaartje exited his AT-TE and walked over to Luke and Tracinya, "Well done," Vaartje said proudly, "The camp is ours... Sparrow, Vizsla, good work."

Vaartje walked off smiling with pride. Luke went to the edge of the camp and stood on a dune as he looked across the sea of sand to find himself staring right at the town of Khirsijine in the distance... their next mission.

Tracinya walked up next to him and spoke, "Looks like the last of the clankers here Luke… Hmph... Maybe after this, we could go home."

"...Not likely, Tracinya." Luke replied, as he continued to look at the village of Khirsijine under the blazing hot sun. The plan was half of the three hundred and twenty seventh would drive on Khirsijine as a diversion while General Aayla Secura and her half assaulting the capital.

Being immersed in the scorching heat and surrounded by endless sand does get to be a bit tiring, especially when one was wearing heavy metal armour... But with a full amount of supplies from taking that camp and a fresh supply of water, that didn't stop them from driving forth towards Khirsijine, which was just a short distance away now... And they even had a bit of enthusiasm to take the town... It was rather odd to have this excitement. Luke and especially the three hundred and twenty seventh had been very hardened by war, and after some time, they started to feel that the war wasn't winnable... Still, they just seemed to be eager to gain one more victory for the division here before operations ended... Yes, it was nice to have a morale boost.

As Luke climbed aboard an AT-TE, the Captain himself stood out from the hatch of the tank and turned to me, "Sparrow, Separatist presence in the town is heavy. We need to clear away the perimeter defences and eliminate resistance in the buildings, as well as in the streets and bazaars. Destroy any machine gun positions and secure supply caches as we make our way to the town centre and hold it from any counterattacks... And be careful."

"I will, Captain," Luke replied, "Is that all?"

"Well... Not yet," Vaartje said, a bit wary now, which made him uncomfortable, "I received a message that I'll be meeting a contact there... Says there's something important there for him to get."

"...What contact?" Tracinya said with suspicion, "What do they want?"

"They didn't say," Vaartje replied, and that made me even more suspicious, "Just focus on your primary objectives... I'll handle that."

"Sure, Captain." Tracinya said, a bit annoyed by her own concern and suspicion of the contact.

"Everyone, move out," Vaartje ordered, and his AT-TE started rolling forwards with Luke and Tracinya sitting on top, two other AT-TEs and the surviving hundred and fifty or so clones, they ventured across the desert to Khirsijine.

Once they neared the outskirts of Khirsijine, enemy machine gun fire started to land around them, and Vaartje, who stood on the lead walker, shouted an order, "Get behind the tanks, use them for cover!"

Immediately, those on the ground followed his order following behind the tanks while Vaartje manned the accelerator cannon and fired at the enemy machine guns, blowing them apart. Being on the back of the tank, Luke pulled out his rifle. Resting it on the surface on the stationary vehicle, he zeroed in on a droid manning a machine gun on the west side of the town. Steading his breathing, he placed his finger gently over the trigger. His rifle cracked as the plasma bullet left the chamber and flew towards its target. The shot hit the droid in the chest and the gun fell silent. The AT-TEs took out a couple of the machine guns in the buildings with well placed shots, and once they got close enough, the tanks stopped, and after Luke jumped down from the tank and brandished his M60-AR, the men started to assault the town themselves with the AT-TEs in support.

Once emerging from the cover of the tanks, one of the AT-TEs was hit and set ablaze by a rocket, forcing the remaining armour to stay put... And immediately, great amounts of separatist droids emerged from the buildings and in the streets at the edge of the town firing at the assaulting republic forces.

"Shit," Luke said, "Get to cover!"

Immediately, a vicious battle ensued, as after taking positions at the edge of town, the clones were engaging droids in the streets and buildings. Luke took cover behind a low stone wall on the western side of the town. He peaked round the corner but quickly was forced to duck behind as blaster fire opened up on his position. Popping up he unleashed a burst at the droids. Ducking down to reload, he counted about a dozen droids. Four on the street, six in some surrounding buildings and two on the roofs. Loading another HE grenade into his grenade launcher he popped up again and fired at the one of the buildings that the droids were using. The grenade took out the second and third floor. Aiming round the corner he fired at the droids at the street, he hit two of them and had to take cover. He tried to move from cover but was unable too due to the enemy fire.

"This is lieutenant Sparrow, I'm pinned down on the west side. I've got two on the roof and street and three in the shop on the left side of the street."

" _I read you Sparrow."_ Tracinya's voice came in over the radio. It wasn't even a minute later when Luke heard Tracinya's arrival. A grenade detonated in the shop and she leapt down onto the street and blasted the two droids still there. Luke was then able to take out the two droids on the roof.

"Try not to make this a reoccurring thing." Tracinya said to him as he walked over.

"I won't." Luke said, he hadn't even walked three paces before he turned a fired at a droid getting up from the rouble of the shop.

"missed a spot."

"Shut up."

 _"Drive into the town, men,"_ Captain Vaartje ordered, a little enthusiastically, _"The Walkers will give support."_

Luke and Tracinya linked up with some clones and went forth down the main street into the village, escorting the two remaining AT-TE walkers. Still, as they entered they encountered more resistance in the streets and buildings. In response, the they scattered to any available cover on the sides of street.

 _"Sparrow,"_ Captain Vaartje radioed from his tank, _"Scout report says the droids are holed up in six different buildings! I need you to clear them out!"_

"First building, Tracinya," Luke stated, "Clear it out!"

Several droids appeared in the windows of the building, with a few others appearing one the street just outside the building. Tracinya suppressed some enemies on the top windows as Luke fired at the ones on the street. Whilst Luke and Tracinya kept the droids pinned a squad of five clones stacked up by the door. Luke spotted a droid about to throw a thermal detonator at the clones outside, pivoting quickly he blindly fired at the droid in the hope of stopping it. The plasma struck the droid as it threw the grenade causing it to land in the middle of the street and explode.

 _"This one's clear,"_ the clone from inside the first building said, _"Move up to the next!"_

"Move carefully," a clone said, "They could have something else in the next one."

They moved further down the street towards their next target building, engaging some more droids along the way. They came to the second building... Which was indeed answering truthfully to that clone's prediction, as a machine gun opened up in one of the top windows, with several B1's from other windows in support.

A few clones were cut down by the machine gun fire, but the rest of them took cover by positions in the street and fired back. Luke noticed a single clone who had been shot by the machine gun was still moving on the floor. Grabbing a smoke grenade, he flung it over to the base of the building. The white phosphorus smoke quickly covered the area in a matter of seconds. The blaster fire from the droids became confused as they were unable to see through the smoke. Luke got up and ran to the downed clone. Seeing no strap on the back of the clone's armour he slung the man over his shoulders in a fireman's lift and carried the clone back behind cover.

"Medic! We need a Medic over here!" Luke called out. A clone medic ran over to where Luke and the wounded clone were. Seeing as the clone was being taken care of he turned back to the second building. The machine gun cut down two more friendlies. Luke aimed at the gunner and held down the trigger, his rifle spewing round after round at the gunner. This allowed Tracinya to move up, and get herself right next to the building's wall, under the gunner. Tracinya primed a primed a droid popper and threw it into the gunner's window, the grenade short circuiting the droids. Seven clones then entered the building to clear it out.

"Second building's being taken," Tracinya said, "Let's get the next one!"

Making their way into a local Bazaar, filled with stands presenting food, trivial supplies, other goods... filled with droids. Their third objective was on the other side.

"Clear it all out!" Luke shouted.

Moving into the marketplace meant we had to continue on without Captains Vaartje's two walkers, which continued down the road... But still, they kept fighting in the market place. Two clones using rotary cannons came up to support them. The droids were cut down rapidly as they had not been expecting them to get so far so quickly and were unprepared for the attack. The droids quickly fell back out of the bazaar unable to prevent them from taking it.

 _"Get to the third building!"_ Captain Vaartje ordered.

Exiting the bazaar, Tracinya and Lue moved down the street with two dozen clones, coming up onto a street they were engaged by the droids in the third building. Once again, the routine repeated, they once again scattered to each side of the street.

"Spider, Haymaker! We're going to lay down covering fire. I want you two to run to the base of the building and throw droid poppers into the building."

"Yes sir!"

"Suppressive Fire!" Luke ordered as he Tracinya and the clones came out of cover and pour blaster fire into the building. Spider and Haymaker ran to the building dodging a few blaster bolts. Luke went back behind the pillar he stood behind to reload. While he was reloading Spider and Haymaker had primed and thrown the grenades into the building.

"Third building's neutralized," Haymaker said.

"Good work, let's move."

Moving past the building, they came to a street that looked rather torn, littered with different crates and barrels with buildings lining each side. Moving down the street to the next building, a machine gun opened up on the building's roof, forcing them into cover as three droids appeared in the windows.

"Fuck," Luke said in frustration, "this is getting repetitive."

"Fucking damn it, Vaartje, where are you?!" Tracinya cursed, frustrated at the lack of the tanks' presence since they diverted into the marketplace. It also appeared she had started to pick up on Luke's swearing.

Looking down to his webbing, he saw he had five 40mm grenades left for his underslung grenade launcher. Loading one he stepped out from behind his cover fired it at the machine gun position. The grenade flew in through the window and hit the rooms back wall. The force of the explosion killing the operator, dust and debris came out of the window in a cloud of dust and smoke. Loading a second grenade he aimed at the tow droids in the next floor above, while Tracinya and the others targeted the droids on the ground floor and roof. With the machine gun gone the remaining droids were quickly dealt with.

With the fourth building taken, they started moving up and securing positions on the streets, and as the lead AT-TE kept mopping up any resistance. Luke and Tracinya went over towards the AT-TE that had captain Vaartje.

"Sparrow, Vizsla," Vaartje greeted, popping his head out from the hatch, "How have you been doing here, run into much trouble?"

"No, but the clankers sure did," Tracinya responded rather mischievously, "Where have you been, Captain?"

"We got caught up by some defensive positions in the towers to the North side of this town," Vaartje replied, "As well as some AATs."

"They have tanks here in the city?" Luke asked.

"Yes, but we should have cleared them out already," Vaartje said, "...Should just be infantry and positions in the buildings from now on."

"Anything important from these buildings, sir?"

"Just two more buildings left, eh. The next one is... Well, where we'll meet our contact... He'll help us take the sixth building, the largest and toughest one situated on the edge of the city... There's something important there for him... So important that there may be commandos droids guarding it."

"...Kriff," Tracinya exclaimed, "...Well, no reason to keep him or them waiting. Let's go."

Immediately, they moved on down the street alongside the clones, with the two AT-TEs coming up from behind. They entered a long street and Luke was immediately on edge. He saw plenty of good spots for an ambush. The buildings were about three stories tall on each side with plenty of cover along the street that one could hide behind. They had made it about halfway down the street when a seemingly inconspicuous piece of rubble detonated underneath the second AT-TE blowing its front two left legs off and toppling on its side killing the pilot and wounding the gunner and several troopers around the walker. Luckily no ambush came and it was just the IED. About a dozen clones went to go help the wounded and Tracinya was about to go help as well but he grabbed her arm.

"What are you doing we need to go hel-" it was at that moment the second IED that Luke was expecting detonated killing the wounded clones and most of the ones that went to help.

"That was why."

"How did you know though and why didn't you warn them." Tracinya said, anger creeping into voice.

"I didn't know for sure so. As for how I guessed, it's a common tactic insurgencies use and it's also something I would have done in a similar situation."

"But why? There's no honour in it. It's disgraceful."

"I'm not saying it is honourable, it's combat pragmatic. The droids at this point are unable to beat us, however they can stop us by making the casualties so high we can't advance any further. That's why. Or they want kill as many as they can. Besides, honour shouldn't be a major part of how you wage war. You should be pragmatic. War is hell and should be treated as such, you should do whatever it takes to win."

"That doesn't mean you should resort to this." Tracinya said before walking away.

"Captain, be careful now," Luke said, "I suggest supporting us from the side, so we don't lose the last of our armour."

"I'll consider it, Sparrow." Vaartje replied. Finally they came onto a street heading right for the fifth target building.

"There it is," Luke said as he readied his rifle, inserting a fresh magazine. Approaching the building it appeared deserted. Entering inside the structure and clearing out the rooms, they took position at the backside of the fifth building.

 _"clankers incoming, and they brought tanks!"_ a clone said over the radio.

 _"Hold them off,"_ Vaartje responded, _"There shouldn't be much opposition here!"_

Luke peered out the window and counted three dozen droids. It was a rather weak attack, but an attack nonetheless, raising his rifle he opened fire. Tracinya had found a machine gun upstairs was was ruthlessly cutting down the droids. But as they were mowing down the droids, an AAT appeared coming towards them. The tank came in and fired a shell, taking out a portion of the top of the building.

"Fuck!" Luke shouted in alarm, "That tank gets any closer, we're done for!" But, just as soon as he said it, we saw the remaning AT-TE come in off the side of the building and fired a shell. The shot hit the AAT's rear, the resulting explosion lifted off the turret that landed a few feet away from the burning shell of the tank.

"That should be it," Vaartje said as he climbed out of his tank, "We need to get moving."

"Hey, weren't we supposed to meet that contact here?" Tracinya asked appearing from upstairs, her armoured covered in dust from the tank shot.

But right when she said that, suddenly, an enemy shell struck the side of the building, and the perpetrators rolled into view, revealing themselves to be two more AAT tanks.

"Shit!" Luke shouted, "get to cover!"

The AT-TE quickly took out the first AAT before it could fire again. But the other AAT still lingered, and it fired a shell at the building Luke was using for cover, before starting to aim its barrel at the AT-TE. Luke was very worried now, as it could very well destroy the last of their armoured support, and if that happened, they would be done for as well. But that's right when our luck showed up in the form of a mysterious ally. Two soldiers came out from a distant alleyway, aimed a SMAW at the AAT's back and fired a rocket, striking the tank hard and eliminating it from the battlefield.

Once the fighting was over, as the AT-TE moved its main gun to inspect the area, Luke and Vaartje, where more of those soldiers from that alleyway started coming over towards them... But as they got closer and Luke got a better view of them, his relief changed to despair... Like him, they wore desert camoflague uniforms and helmets, with a few wearing soft tropical caps, but these men were very different. While they appeared to be O.A.G. military their insignia gave them away. A black and white pyramid with three black and white circles surrounding it with another black circle in the centre. And clear plastered on the outer black circe read _Office of Naval Intelligence_. While that in itself wasn't all that bad, it was what was on their shirts collars that worried him. The three black stripes that represented ONI section III. They were armed with the M7 carbines, a shorter version of M60.

"Oh shit," Luke said as he also noticed the affiliation of the men.

"What? What's so bad about them?" Tracinya asked coming up next to him.

"What are the spooks doing here?!" Luke said to her in aggravated curiosity.

Luke and Tracinya kept their short but firm distance away from the ONI oparatives. Despite he and them all being Orionians, he and the operatives kept a distance from each other, looking very stern and suspicious of the other... Tracinya and the nearby clones seemed to share his exact feelings. He saw the ONI officer, a Major, step out and walk over, looking very stoic and tense at everything. Luke saw Captain Vaartje begin to walk up to the officer, and he too, looked very wary about their presence here from his body language.

"Sir," Vaartje greeted half-heartedly, "...You have any trouble getting here?" The ONI officer didn't answer, and instead, he just brushed past him and looked over to inspect their remaining walker, and that's when Luke took the time to walk up to Vaartje and place his firm hand on his shoulder.

"You knew about this?" Luke said with obvious frustration, "What the Hell is the ONI doing here, Captain... They're not supposed to be here. _They're_ your contact?"

"...They're here for something in that last building," the captain replied, "...They're a specialist division as you know."

"I'm sure they'd like to leave a name for themselves," Luke said stubbornly with tense wariness, "They'll be cruel here, just like anywhere else."

"I'll keep them under control, but these men are tough and the clankers guarding that last building have a hard defence... You'll be glad these guys are here right now." Vaartje responded to calm him with reassurance, "They're only here for that building, then they'll be on their way off of this dust ball."

Just then, the ONI officer walked over towards the two of them, and Vaartje spoke, "Sir, I'm Captain Vaartje, 327th Star Corps... I'm in command here."

"Well, now I am," the ONI officer spoke, almost interrupting Vaartje, "Captain, this AT-TE had better be suited to take that next building... I want to get that objective now, so I can get out of this heat."

"...Sparrow," Vaartje said to Luke as he spoke of the stern looking ONI officer, "...This is Major Karl Pershing... He'll be assisting us in our next objective... Major, this is Lieutenant Luke Sparrow and Sargent Tracinya Vizsla, the two taskforce 242 operatives. They'll be useful for taking the objective."

"They had better be." Pershing replied. Luke looked over the ONI officer named Pershing. He stood at six foot and had blond hair with strikingly deep blue eyes. He was a rather youthful, even handsome looking 35-year-old who had a rather strong, athletic, yet still slim looking build adorned in a tan ONI officer's uniform for his current situation, complete with section III markings and a peaked cap. He had a stern yet calm aura about him that seemed to be masking something even more sinister.

"Vanguard, I see you decided to re-join the Navy." Pershing said turning towards Luke, eyeing the navy insignia on his left shoulder pauldron.

"It's _Luke Sparrow_ now. Sir" Luke replied narrowing his eyes, emphasising his name.

"I noticed that you changed your name. I'm referring to the name you were given. The one you used before you ran away to the Marines."

"I'm no longer part of that."

"For now. You can't run from your past or what you are forever. Sooner or later you'll rejoin Honour team." Pershing then walked back over towards his men as two JLTVs rolled up and Pershing's ONI operatives started loading onto them. Pershing himself boarded one of the armoured jeeps and mounted the machine gun at the front. Luke watched with disdain as they drove off, right when Vaartje and Tracinya walked up to him, "We need to keep moving," Vaartje said as he put a hand on his shoulder, trying to reassure him, "The sooner they get their objective, the sooner they'll leave."

Immediately, Luke strongly doubted that, but he decided to stay silent this time and take his word for it. They and the ONI personnel proceeded down the street towards the sixth building.

"So, what was Pershing talking about when he mentioned Honour team and not being able to run from your past? And why did he call you Vanguard?" Asked Tracinya walking up next to him. He assumed she had a look of curiosity on her face underneath her helmet.

"Something that I've been trying to put behind me for the last five years." Luke said, the edge to his voice signalling he didn't want to talk about it. It frustrated him that Pershing had gotten a hold of his file, the one not covered in two layers of black ink.

"The bloody machines are entrenched in there," a nearby ONI soldier said, "Burn those cowards!"

Luke felt heat and light originating behind him, and he turned to see two ONI soldiers using roof mounted flame throwers from the JLTVs on the sixth building, setting the back of the building ablaze. The JLTVs were mounted with a M-9-8 flamethrower, it had a range of three hundred yards. Flamethrowers were a rarity in the O.A.D.F. due to the fact they were hardly needed in conventional warfare, plus the public relations due to the gruesome deaths inflicted. They tended to be mounted upon specially designed JLTVs, they received extra armour on the rear where two tanks filled with napalm were placed, they received the nickname 'Zippo Jeeps' after the lighter brand. Two burning B1 droids fell from a second storey window, their bodies melted by the heat produced from the napalm.

"Now..." Pershing said with a relishing smile, "Move in and burn the rest of them!"

Luke watched Pershing move into the sixth building, followed by a few of his subordinates. Luke watched them suspiciously, but as if she could sense his feelings right away, Tracinya quickly walked up and said, "Keep moving... We're almost done here."

Luke went into the building with Tracinya as Pershing moved in down a hall with some of his men, coldly gunning down a couple opposing droids down as if they were performing an execution. Then, a commando droid appeared, brandishing a vibroblade stabbing a ONI operative through the neck, the blade passing through the spine and out through the front coted in a layer of blood. The droid then moved on to the man standing next to the one that hadn't finished falling to the ground and pierced him through the gap under the arm and armour entering the man's left lung and piercing his heart. Pershing raised his pistol a fired a single shot at the commando's head.

"Commandos," Pershing said, "So they are here..." As though nothing had happened. Pershing turned in time to see Luke fire right at him. The blue plasma sailing towards him. Luke saw Pershing close his eyes together and grimace. Only to open them in surprise and look behind him when he heard the sound of a commando droid that had crept up behind him fall to the ground with a smoking chest as the plasma ate through the metal plating. Luke didn't bother to hide the smirk at the man's break of composure.

"Sir," an ONI soldier said, "This door should lead to it."

"Break it down," Pershing ordered regaining his composure, then turned to Sparrow, "Eliminate any resistance in the building, then hold it off from any counterattacks... My men and I will secure our objective... I know it's here somewhere."

The ONI soldiers then broke down the door and tossed a grenade inside the room. Once the blast went off, Pershing and his soldiers entered the room and disappeared from Luke's sight, which gave him some satisfaction that he didn't have to be around them anymore, at least, not for the remainder of the battle.

"Come on," Luke said, "Let's finish up here."

"Tracinya, Haymaker, you're with me," Luke said, then turned to several other clones behind them in the building, "The rest of you, clear these rooms and take positions. We'll be expecting a counterattack soon."

"Yes sir!" Following the orders, the clones went off to eliminate any resistance there might be.

"You know you abuse your marksmanship." Tracinya said to Luke good naturedly.

"I don't know what you're talking about, I just saw the dear Major about to be stabbed in the back, though it would be a fitting end to an ONI spook," Luke replied with a grin, "Stairs to the next floor are through here. Stack up."

Luke pressed himself against the wall next to the left side of the door with Tracinya next to him and Haymaker bringing up the rear. Luke reached for the panel to open the door. The moment the door opened Luke pivoted round the left side of the door and Tracinya was on his heels. Time slowed down for Luke. He saw five targets. Three on the left. Two on the Right. All commando droids. Raising his rifle, he aimed at the first one. Double tapping the trigger two shots struck the commando droid. One hit the upper left chest of the droid and the other on the neck. The second commando started to raise its blaster but Luke was faster and the droid fell to a three-round burst. He felt his armour shudder from being impacted by blaster fire from the third commando droid, however his rifle quickly finished the droid. Scanning the rest of the left side of the room, he saw no remaining threats.

"Clear left!"

"Clear right!" Tracinya called out having taken care of her two targets.

"Room clear! Move to the stairs."

They all rushed up the stairs and entered the second floor. Once entering the second floor, a commando was found right next to the entrance, but as it raised its rifle, Luke brandished the blade on his shoulder and charged to make a slash at it, stabbing the enemy before moving forward down the hall. As they came up onto a door, Tracinya kicked it down as Haymaker threw a droid popper inside, neutralising the droids inside. Peering down the corridor, Luke found that two more doors were remaining.

"Tracinya, take that door on the right," Luke ordered, "Haymaker, go with her."

"Right," Tracinya responded, "I'm on it."

Luke moved towards the door on the right as tracinya and Haymaker went straight down the hall towards the other one. Once Luke saw them go through the door, he turned and faced his target and kicked it down to enter the room. And that's right when he saw a commando. It immediately noticed him and tried to take aim with its blaster rifle.

"Shit!" Luke shouted as he rushed at the commando before it could take proper aim. He pushed his M60-AR against the blaster rifle, but it was swiped from his hands. Luke lunged forward and grabbed a hold of the droid's blaster and began to wrestle for control over it. In much vicious wrestling, Luke kept his grip firmly on the rifle as he struggled to get it out of the hands of the commando. But after much more struggling, the commando managed to get it out of his hands instead. Luke got back up and swiped at the gun with one hand, then he swiped at the rifle again with his left, grabbing hold of it. As he kept hold of the rifle, he hit the commando with his fist hard before he then punched it with his left, the droid staggered back because of the force behind the two hits. He then pulled out his knife and rushed it with it. The commando seized hold of Luke's wrists as he grabbed one of its arms with his free hand and then then struggled with one another over the knife. Luke swept his left leg at the droids causing its legs to be swept out from underneath it and fall the ground. The droid let go of his wrist and Luke used that moment to grab the droids head with his left hand. Placing a foot on the droid's chest just below the neck, he pulled his left arm back and attempted to pull the droids head off. Luke's arm shot up after a few seconds from the head coming loose from its socket.

Luke reclaimed and reloading his weapon and exited the room to the hall, where he regrouped with Tracinya and Haymaker. "You look pretty worn, Luke," Tracinya stated, "...You holding up?"

"I'm fine." He replied.

Suddenly, several clone troopers came towards them in the halls, with one speaking, "Rest of the building's clear Lieutenant."

"Good, everyone, take positions at the windows. Prepare for any counterattacks."

"Yes, sir." They all replied.

"Any attack should come at us from across the desert," Luke stated, "Be ready for anything."

"Yeah," Tracinya shouted enthusiastically, "we'll scrap 'em"

"Captain," Luke said with a hint of worry into his comm, "Did you see Pershing anywhere?"

 _"...No... I haven't."_ Vaartje replied.

Luke went back to scanning the horizon for the enemy. He spotted a large amount of B1 battle droids supported by some supers, with AAT tanks following in from behind.

"Here they come!" Luke shouted as he opened fire and was immediately followed by everyone else in the building. The droids were quickly learning that assaulting across open desert was a terrible idea. The desert was ideal for armoured warfare not infantry assaults. The building shook.

"The hell was that!" He heard over the noise of gunfire. He looked to the east and saw about twenty AAT tanks approaching. _Shit, we don't have any AT weapons and we only have a single walker. We don't stand a chance, we've got to have some assets in the area._ Reaching for his radio he ducked under the window.

"This Lieutenant Sparrow to any air assets in the area, we have an armoured assault of twenty AATs. We are in need of immediate support, does anyone copy."

" _This is…1-1… We're…. just…"_ came in over the radio before Luke lost connection.

"Shit, their jamming us!" Luke said popping up and shooting tow B1s and a super. The building shook once again but this time the west side collapsed as the walls holding it up were blown apart. _If we retreat into the town we could take the tanks out one by one, but we need to hold the building. We only have grenades but no actual anti-tank weapons, what do we do? Why do Republic troops not carry rocket launchers._ The building shook once again. Luke saw a Tactical droid sitting atop one of the tanks, likely giving orders to the other tanks. Luke aimed at the droid. He squeezed out five shots before reloading. The plasma struck the droid in the chest and head. Its body falling disappearing into the tank. Luke smiled at his success. That grin was soon wiped of his face when the tank that the tactical droid turned its turret to room he was in. Turning towards the door he began to run. _Oh shi-._ He felt himself being lifted off the floor from the blast wave of the tank shot, debris flying into and around him. He felt pain as his body smacked into a wall, knocking the wind out from his lungs. He coughed and spluttered as he choked on the dust in the air as his ears were ringing.

"Luke are you okay!?" Tracinya asked bursting into the room kneeling at his side and helping him up.

"I just got launched into a wall and was shot at by a bloody tank and possibly have a concussion. I'm fan-fucking-tastic."

"Good to see your fine, now get up. Still plenty of droids, not going to kill themselves." She said as she blasted a one of the few remaining B1 droids. Looking up he saw that the front of the room was gone, revealing the desert outside. The droid infantry had mostly been dealt with but the twenty AAT tanks had stopped about a hundred metres outside the village and were firing at the buildings that the clones had occupied. Suddenly a blue shot smacked into the AAT on the far right sending it up in flames, before another smashed into the AAT next to it. The third and fourth AAT turned to engage but one was destroyed before it could fire and the fourth only managed a glancing shot on the AT-TE, the shot bouncing off into a nearby building. It did not however get a chance to try again as it went out with an explosion. _Four down, sixteen to go,_ Luke thought. Four AATs turned to attack the walker. The walker got out one more shot before three shells slammed into the front of the walker. The tanks now turned back towards where Luke, Tracinya and the clones were hiding in cover.

" _This is red 1-1, coming in hot."_ Three Y-wings flew in overhead and dropped proton torpedoes onto the tanks below.

"Ha! Keep it up, everyone!" a clone said enthusiastically, "We're driving the bastards off! We've got them on the run!"

Luke kept firing his rifle at the now retreating droids, gunning more down as the clones began to fire upon the retreating droids with renewed vigor.

"They're running away," a clone said, "The city is ours!"

"Come back any time, you bastards!" Tracinya called out, "We'll be waiting for you!"

 _2623 June 13th Earth Standard Calendar, LT. Luke Sparrow, Taskforce 242 on Ruusan_ _._

Sparrow, Vizsla, I got an SIS woman on the comms requesting you two, get to the command walker." Captain Vaartje ordered. Luke and Tracinya stood up and walked over to the command AT-TE walker. Entering inside the clone comm officer activated the holo-projecter. The blue image of officer Sholn Jiye appeared.

"Ah, Lieutenant, Sargent. Good to see you are well."

"Thanks for your concern ma'am but why have you called us."

"Down to business I see. The planet Umbara has seceded from the Republic, already the 212th and 501st are being diverted to Umbara. You two will link up with the O.A.D.F. forces currently stopping on Mandalor before they leave for Umbara. You'll be working with the 3287th Airborne Division. Your shuttle will leave tomorrow at 0900. understood?"

"Yes ma'am." Luke and Tracinya responded.

"Good. Officer Jiye out."

 _O.A.G. new article,_ _Why is the Republic so adamant about fighting the Separatists? If they wanted to secede, they should be allowed to, right?_

 _I know it is said that it is all controlled by Count Dooku, but I felt the Confederacy's issues were legitimate, and they'd have seceded with or without Dooku's involvement. If they felt the Republic was corrupt, and systems wanted to leave it, then they should be allowed too. Forcing them to stay seems wrong. Republics are not the same as international treaties. International treaties are agreements among sovereigns. States that join a republic give up some of their sovereignty to do so._

 _I know, I know. You're asking, "But do they give up so much of their sovereignty that joining is a one-way street?" That is the sort of legal question that tends to be answered not with legal reasoning but with wars (e.g., the American Civil War). Is it morally wrong to compel a state that wants to leave your republic to stay, through military force? Well, plenty of people have thought so in our own history. Let me ask you this: why can't the Republic do morally wrong things? Why can't the Jedi be party to morally wrong acts?_

 _If you pooh-pooh the fact that the pretense to the secession are about taxation and trade routes, as some are wont to do, then you're going to miss this. This is the so-called "Separatist Council."_

 _Notice something about it? Who's represented there? The Trade Federation, the InterGalactic Banking Clan, the Corporate Alliance, the Techno Union, the Hyper-Communications Cartel, the Commerce Guild (also the Quarren Isolation League, but they aren't important for present purposes). Mega-corporations. Classic dystopian sci-fi mega-corporations, complete with world-class private militaries._

 _Now, why would mega-corporations be interested in supporting a secessionist movement?_

 _First, pause for a moment and recognize that the Republic even has mega-corporations. Mega-corporations with the military power to conquer entire planets. Mega-corporations so powerful that they can defy the Galactic Senate. Mega-corporations with their own senators. You remember this guy, right? Lott Dod, senator of the Trade Federation. You remember what he was objecting to? As Senator Palpatine put it, "We have become caught in a dispute you're all well aware of, which began right here with the taxation of trade routes …". The Republic is pushing back against the power of the mega-corporations, and they don't like it. They really don't like it._

 _Like, just think about that. Imagine if Microsoft had objected to the government's antitrust suit against it back in the 1990s by taking over the entire state of Washington. And imagine if the feds' answer was to do nothing._

 _One might suspect, in that circumstance, that the American republic was slightly dysfunctional._

 _This is all about establishing that the Senate simply does not work. Even its staunchest supporters (like Padme Amidala) agree that it doesn't work; they simply think that it can be fixed from the inside. We see this theme repeated over and over again as well: a planet calls to the Republic for help, the Senate either can't or won't provide it; the desperate planet turns to the Separatists, who actually can provide the help necessary. The Republic eventually intercedes, the CIS gets all evil strongman, no-you-can't-change-sides about it, the CIS looks like the bad guy to the kids while the adults go, "Well, actually, you did pick sides in a war …"_

 _We don't know exactly what economic impact the CIS systems seceding would have had on the Republic, but we can guess it wouldn't be pretty. Dooku apparently said on Geonosis that he is confident that "another ten thousand systems will rally to our cause." Another ten thousand. We don't know precisely how many systems the Republic has yet, but another ten thousand sounds like the CIS comprised a very significant chunk of the Republic, and a state whose commerce was already in thrall to mega-corporations probably doesn't have a lot of ability to absorb economic losses. Simply letting the CIS go probably would have meant phenomenal economic disruption to the Republic._

 _On top of that, the CIS gave the mega-corporations another state to deal with. If the Republic is the only game in town, there's a natural limit to just how much they can squeeze it. If the CIS succeeded, though, those mega-corporations could go "overseas," as it were. Now remember that these are corporations that the Republic is desperately tied up with, to the point that the Trade Federation can conquer an entire planet and the Republic's response is "Well, now, let's not be rash; we don't want to antagonize them …"_

 _In other words, even if the Republic could afford to let the CIS systems go (which it probably couldn't, not really), it absolutely could not afford to let the mega-corporations that kept it afloat go overseas. We see that the mega-corporations are quite willing to take advantage of the war to squeeze the Republic, to the point that senators like Amidala and Bail Organa warn that they will literally bankrupt the federal government._

 _And so attempting to reconquer the worlds of the CIS makes hard economic sense. Underlying the story is a story of a society's failure to keep its government sufficiently independent of its corporations._

 _Translations_

 _"_ _Ke nu'jurkadir sha Mando'ade!"_

 _"Don't mess with Mandalorians_ _!"_

 _"Meg gar aliit sa. Ori'vod? Buir? ba'vodu"_

 _"what about your family. Father? Mother? Siblings?"_

 **A/N: Belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!**


	27. Advanced Interrogation Techniques

**The First Contact War**

Chapter 27

Advanced Interrogation Techniques

" _To call something an 'advanced interrogation technique' doesn't alter the fact we thought of it as torture when the Japanese used it on American prisoners, we thought of it as torture when the North Koreans used it, we thought it was torture when the Soviets used it. You know it's almost the moral equivalent as saying rape is an advanced seduction technique" Ted Koppel._

 **A/N:** **WARNING** **, this chapter contains** **torture** **.**

" _speech" spoken in Mando'a_

 _2623 June 19th Earth Standard Calendar, LT. Luke Sparrow, Taskforce 242 orbiting Mandalor._

Luke sat gazing out the window of the cockpit of the shuttle. He, Tracinya and a dozen clones were on board. He watched the blues, blacks and whites of hyperspace that seemed so similar to the colours of slipspace. Ever since Ruusan, Tracinya had been giving him the cold shoulder. He assumed that she was still upset about the second IED and him not warning the clones about it. He didn't understand why she was so upset about another dozen people dying, people died in war all the time, he knew that all too well. Sighing, he looked out the window. He was so bored, there was no action, no gym, no shooting range, no routine for him to do. He'd cleaned his weapon and armour, four times. The door to the cockpit opened and he saw Tracinya walk in and sit down in the co-pilots seat next to him without sparing him a glance, evidently still upset over Ruusan.

"I see you still not over what happened on Ruusan." Luke said trying to get her to respond to him.

"And why wouldn't I be?" she said after a moment.

"People die all the time in war."

"You think I don't know that? You think because you've been fighting since the start of the war you know better than me. You abandoned those men to the IED. No warning, no heads up. You did nothing! Just because their clones doesn't mean their expendable. They. Are. People. Too."

"What was I supposed to say? 'Hey there _might_ be a second IED in the vicinity'. I didn't know for sure if there was a second IED. Back in the O.A.G. you are trained to expect a second IED."

"But they weren't O.A.G. were they! Because you treated them like you did over a dozen clones died. A dozen that could have been avoided. Men are not expendable."

"We are grunts in a galaxy wide war! I'm one man in a military of nearly one point two billion from a population of eight hundred twenty-three billion. That was a dozen clones from a military of nearly five hundred million. In the grand scheme of thing we're all expendable."

"Is that how you see yourself! Expendable!? A resource that can be replaced when no longer needed. To be discarded. You are a human being, you are worth something that nothing can be of value to. You. Me. The clones and Jedi. We are not expendable."

"Anything, or anyone, that is sent out with a good chance of not returning, is by definition expendable. Everyone of us knows that if the need arises, our government will send us on a mission against hopeless odds, and abandon us if it suits their needs. We are expected to walk into perilous and hazardous situations unhesitatingly and be prepared to risk our lives regardless."

"But the government has a duty to its troops! Just look at the gear you carry. Advanced guns, part Beskar armour, mine protected vehicles, first class medical treatment within hours of being wounded. You are not expendable or cannon fodder! And neither are the clones!"

"We were attacking heavily defended positions that had MG nests everywhere, no matter what we did we were going to sustain heavy casualties. Any other thought is just naïve!"

"Do not call me naïve! True I may be younger and less experienced than you but you should never abandon a comrade regardless of the situation. Something my parents taught me, and they are far more experienced and wise than you. You had your 40mm grenades, you could have used those!"

"I had a limited amount, I couldn't just keep firing all trigger happy!"

"You could have flanked them! Out-maneuvered them, called for an air or artillery strike!" Luke faltered at that point. She was right, he could have used alternate means but he hadn't thought of that at the time. _Stupid, you were trained better than that, but then again urban combat is brutal, no quarter to be given without blood._

"The problem you have," Tracinya said calming her voice, "is that you are too pragmatic and machine like when you fight. You do exactly as you are ordered, while not a bad thing, you go about it like you are just a weapon. Like a tool. To be pointed in a direction and attack. I know you don't mean to discard lives like you did but that doesn't make it's acceptable. So please, next time. Don't just treat them as cannon fodder. Like their expendable. They're not droids." She finished. Silence descended upon the cockpit. Luke was just staring out the window, he was sure he had a guilty look upon his face as he mulled over her words. Tracinya was just a quite awaiting his response.

"Fine… I promise." He said letting out a sigh. Tracinya smiled at him.

"So you going to visit your aliit whilst were on Mandalor?"

"Yes, I called ahead to let them know I'll be therefore for a week before we ship out. What will youare doing?"

"I'm staying at an FOB named Gladius, near where clan Varad is located."

"Be careful, they're currently in the middle of a civil war. My father has received some threats from a member called Cassuis Varad, a real piece of work."

"I'll be fine. I'm me." Tracinya just shook her head at his comment. He could be so prideful.

* * *

 _Date Unknown, Luke Sparrow, somewhere on Mandalor._

Luke opened his eyes slowly, squinting at the light that was just a few feet away from him. He could barely remember what happened to him and the company he was staying with. They were staying in a base near were clan Varad was located, who had been having disagreements with the current Mand'alor. After that, Luke remembered blaster fire whizzing past his head and the heard the dying screams of the company. Then… after that, nothing but pure blackness. Tracinya had gone off to see her family and clan whilst she could before they left to the staging grounds to assault Umbara.

"I see that you are finally awake."

Luke raised his head to find a Mandalorian of clan Varad face a few inches from his own. Luke suddenly felt a surge of rage go through every muscle in his body. The mandalorian. just stared at him while smoking a cigar.

"Ahh! Aahh!" Luke turned his head slightly to find one of local garrison, Pvt. Pyle. His wrists were tied behind his back to ensure that he couldn't counterattack. Another mandalorian man was standing in front of him, mercilessly beating Pyle with a small wooden stick. Pyle's face was bloody and Luke could swear that Pyle was missing some teeth as well.

"Orionian pig." The man said. Luke turned his head away from Pyle's beating and back to commanding man, glad that he didn't have to see Pyle suffer.

"You have nothing to say to me pig?"

Luke just stared at the man, he tried to move his wrists, but they were tied as well. Usually, Luke would do whatever it took to kill this piece of shit. But he knew that the other units would surely have known about the company's absence and would try to save him and other survivors. All Luke needed to right now was to hope for rescue and to drag this out as long as he could.

"You think because you saw nothing, you are strong?" The Mandalorian took another drag from his cigar and stood up. Luke's eyes followed him as he walked to the other man that was wailing on Pyle. The man said some gibberish to the other man and he stopped his attacks. Luke was ashamed to know what the man said in Mando'a. It translated to, _"That one wouldn't talk. Stop and let me see to this one."_

"What can you tell me about your army pig? The man grabbed Pyle's bloody chin and raised it up to his face. Pyle's jaw was too sore to curse the man, so he responded with a blood-filled spit.

Luke shook his head and wanted to yell at the young man. _"Pissing off the enemy is only going to get you killed idiot,"_ Luke thought.

The mandalorian wiped the spit and blood of his face and took another drag from his cigar. He took the cigar out of his mouth and tightened his hold on Pyle's chin. Then he jammed the entire cigar into Pyle's left eye. Pyle's screams were loud enough to be heard throughout the surrounding area, likely the clan compound.

Luke couldn't bear to look at the horrid scene. The man said to his comrade some more Mandoa, this time attracting Luke's attention. _"Kill this worthless soldier."_

The man bowed to his commanding officer and grabbed his hidden knife from his belt. He grabbed Pyle's chin and slice his throat. Pyle fell back and his scream came out as gurgles due the blood pouring out his neck.

 _"I need to get out of here before that guy remembers that I'm still here."_ Luke took one last glance at Pyle's corpse and started to crawl backwards using his legs.

"Where the fuck do you think you're going?" Luke heard as the man walked towards him, his knife still dripping with blood. He then bashed Luke over the head knocking him unconscious.

* * *

 _Date Unknown, Luke Sparrow, somewhere on Mandalor._

Consciousness was horrible.

Between the dreadful heat, pounding headache and utter confusion of where he was, Luke would've preferred to stay out cold. But he knew couldn't do that… He pushed his eyes open slowly and blinked a few times, where exactly was he? Looking around he saw he was in a small bland room, just three by four meters. He remembered being hit over the head. That would explain the headache…

The ground being at a ninety degree angle only told him he was laying on his side in what appeared to be in a small room. The room was completely bare. There was something else… or rather, there lack of. He tried to push himself up off the dirt to further assess the problem but came to the unpleasant realization that he couldn't move his hands; they were bound behind him. The next thing that hit was the stench. A damp mouldy smell permeated the air.

"Ugh…" With some effort he managed to roll onto his back and look around. The only way in an out of the room was an entryway covered with bars. He could see the outside; the dark corridor was visible along with a Mandalorian with his back turned towards him, seemingly guarding the cell.

It was clear then; he'd been captured. He closed his eyes briefly; it would do no good to panic in this situation. Opening his eyes he pulled himself into a sitting position, absentmindedly testing the bonds. The rope didn't budge one bit. The Mandalorian turned and looked into the cell.

"What are you looking at?" Luke hissed, not knowing nor caring if he understood him. The Mandalorians had their own language. Very few if any couldn't speak English or Galactic Basic but at this point he just didn't know.

"Such a violent clan…"

Luke froze, his eyes widening. If there was one of the many voices he never wanted to hear again it was _that_ one. A familiar figure stepped into view, a grin played on the person's lips at seeing the surprise on the young man's face. "I suppose they aren't entirely useless though, if they managed to capture _you_ of all people _._ "

The person sighed and leaned on the bars of the cell, crossing his arms, "It's rather pathetic if you ask me. The girl is the one they're aiming to capture, and if I'm not mistaken, you are working with her." He glanced at Luke over his shoulder, "Are you not?"

Luke remained silent, but his eyes were fixed on Pre Vizsla with an almost livid glare, anger shooting through him at the Death Watch leaders words.

"Has he talked yet?" A new voice said as a new Mandalorian appeared in the room. He stood a few inches shorter than Luke did, "Remember I need him alive. For now..."

Vizsla chuckled, "It doesn't matter anyways. This all works out in my favour."

The Varad clan Mandalrian took his helmet off and tossed his snowy hair out of his face, "You see… I still am not any closer to finding the whereabouts of Tracinya since the last time we met, sad as that is to admit, _but_ I think you can help me out."

"And I wish to know the OADF's plans for the Death Watch."

"Lieutenant Luke Sparrow, B-55-850-999 " Luke bit out, clenching his fists.

The Mandalorians smile widened, he turned to Luke fully with an almost abashed look on his face, "Oh! I'm sorry. I must have given you the wrong impression Sparrow, you have something I want. No I am not asking for it, I'm _demanding_ it this time. And you can drop the whole rank, name and serial number, save us both the trouble."

"Lieutenant Luke Sparrow, B-55-850-999" the Luke growled.

The man's smile vanished, his eyes fixed on Luke, filled with malice and contempt for the teen. "Information. Now." He stated simply.

Unconsciously, Luke shrank away from the man, being trapped in a relatively small space with the person he probably despised the most in the world right now did _not_ sit well with him. Especially when the person clearly had an advantage over him. This wouldn't be like their previous other encounters. Luke couldn't fight; all of his weapons had been taken away, and without help he was pretty much screwed. He couldn't run; the only exit in the cell was blocked by bars and beyond that, who knew, Vizsla and his Varad allies could have a whole army lying in wait. Worst of all he couldn't even defend himself with his hands tied, he was truly cornered.

His jaw clenched and unclenched, he uselessly tried to struggle against the rope.

Vizsla watched with dark amusement, he took a step towards Luke, smirking when the he pushed himself backwards in a futile attempt to get away from him.

"The last time we fought you killed two dozen of my men." He said, "Two dozen of some of the best mandalorians to ever serve the Death Watch." He continued to advance. Luke narrowed his eyes in the best warning glare he could muster up, Pre Vizsla stopped a few feet away from him. Sighing, the other Mandalorian brushed his hair back over his ear, "You know, your defiance was cute at first, boy, but now it really just grates my nerves. I fear I am growing impatient with you, so I'll make this easy, tell me the location of Tracinya Vizsla, troop movements or any plans your military has and I _might_ consider sparing you whole lot of torment."

They would most likely kill him if he talked or didn't talk, it didn't matter either way. Luke's glare never wavered. If anything, their words only gave him more reason to rebel. "Why do you even want her anyway." He spat acidly.

"It's really not about her, so much as it is at getting back at her parents."

"Why's that?"

"Your attempts of stalling really won't help you."

"I'd tell you as much as a corpse would."

Vizsla expected this, his lip curled, "That can be arranged."

Then a hand closed around Luke's throat and in the blink of an eye, he found himself slammed against the back wall, air completely knocked out of his lungs. Vizsla tightened his grip, making sure that Luke getting his breath back was all the more difficult for him.

" _I wasn't planning on letting you live anyways."_ The Vizsla hissed venomously, his face now mere inches from Luke's. "No, I made that mistake once, _twice_ even. I never expected a brat like you to cause me so much _trouble_." Luke struggled in vain, it was useless. He couldn't breathe. He felt himself growing weaker by the moment.

Pre Vizsla kept on talking, "Rest assured it won't happen again, I learned my lesson from letting you run free." He then noticed that Luke's eyes were closing, he was blacking out from the lack of oxygen. Without a word, he dropped to the floor, coughing and gasping for air, and stepped away.

"This is your last chance, Sparrow. I'll ask you just once more." He said, his voice deadly calm.

A few moments passed. Luke was breathing heavily, he leaned against the stone wall, eyes closed. He opened them, bright blue eyes shooting daggers at the man across from him. Yet he refused to say anything, and didn't look like he was going to anytime soon.

The other Mandolorian regarded him for a moment with one hand on his hip, he then shook his head and began to laugh slowly.

"Mistake."

A sickening _crunch_ filled Luke's ears, he was jolted from his initial anger to shock in the blink of an eye. It took him a moment to realize what had happened; the man's foot had come down, _hard,_ on Luke's right ankle, the bone had snapped effortlessly.

And then the pain set in, Luke let out a screech as the agony shot through him.

The sound was incredible, to Vizsla he was sure it was like music to him. He grinned devilishly.

"You're going to regret the day you _ever_ crossed me." He said, eyes flashing with malicious intent, watching Luke slowly compose himself.

Luke bit down on his tongue to keep from making any more of the noise the sadistic bastard seemed to enjoy so much. He took a slow shuddering breath and let it out. It hurt… a lot, but he could handle it. He closed his eyes, teeth gnashing together in frustration and anxiety. How exactly _could_ he get out of this?

"I'm sure I can imagine what's running through your head right now."

The man's voice was uncomfortably close.

He opened his eyes to see man's own grey ones staring back at him. If Luke had the space to jump back in surprise he would have. The man was kneeling in front of him, one hand was out to the side, middle finger and thumb pressed together in a snapping position. "You're looking for a way out, analysing every possible angle, like a cornered rat. But, dear boy, _there is no way out."_ He reached for his belt and pulled out a darksabre, activating it with his thumb. Luke's eyes darted to it warily. "That wretch, Mand'alor won't come to your rescue, nor that pathetic Republic,?" He pondered for a moment, "neither your precious O.A.G. "

He traced Luke's jaw line with a single finger as he said, "But believe me, the death I'll grant you will _not_ be a quick one. _Oh no,_ by the time I`m done with you you're going to _wish_ you were dead."

"You can't do this, I'm a prisoner of war. There are rules in place. I know the O.A.G. does as I'm sure the Republic and Separatists do as well."

"Let's see. Neither of us respect the Republic, the Separatists betrayed us and we don't care for some upstart barbarians that have just appeared. So no, we can do this."

"Your government hasn't declared war on either Clan Varad or the Death Watch. They said they were coming to help rebuild Mandalor and keep the peace. Your no different from any other galactic power. You helped Mandalor, in order to get access to a military ally and the Beskar iron that is found here. You helped the Republic, in order to get better treatment and access to their markets. Your fighting the Separatist to get concessions out of them at the end. So, you see, your beloved government is attempting and succeeding in exploiting the galaxy. Therefore, we don't respect any POW rules in place, which they aren't. Won't you help us free Mandalor from this oppression that your people inflicted upon her? Just tell us what we want to know."

"Lieutenant Luke Sparrow, B-55-850-999"

What happened next was a blur, numbness washed over Luke. A flash of black was all he saw and that was it.

At first, he didn't feel anything. Then it hit him, breaking through the haze. He was jolted from his initial anger to shock in the blink of an eye, his head snapping back as a strangled cry escaped his lips. Pain more intense than the heat of the volcano seized him. He twisted and turned, anything to stop the cruel agony.

Then, as quickly as it had begun, it just stopped. Whatever had taken over him released its hold, he could think and he could breathe again.

But the actual pain never left and when he cast his gaze downwards, he realized why. He had stabbed down, driving the coal black sabre straight into Luke's leg, the same leg as his previous injury, and twisted. It was all there, the cauterised blood, the wound, and the blade; cold unrelenting darksabre buried in flesh and bone.

Luke resisted the urge to scream again, it was unbearable! Nowhere near as unbearable as it had been a few moments ago but he was definitely not in a pleasant state now.

He could have sworn the Mandalorian outside was chuckling.

Luke saw red for a split second, all pain forgotten for the moment and replaced by anger. He wanted to make the mandalorian feel even a fraction of the agony he was feeling at the moment. Without thinking, he lunged forwards only to regret it. With the sword still impaled in his leg, the only thing he managed to do was tear open the injury more. He gasped as he pulled himself back, gritting his teeth.

Vizsla only laughed harder.

"Now that really was adorable. What were you trying to do?" He tilted his head, feigning a sweet smile, "Hurt me?"

 _'No matter,'_ he thought, withdrawing the blade with deliberate slowness, a cold-blooded smirk tugged at his lips as he watched the boy writhe in anguish- oh, the sight was almost heart-breaking!

 _'Hahaha! Yeah right.'_ Vizsla thought with maniacal glee. He brought his black sabre close to his face, examining it before his eyes were drawn back to Luke's heavily mutilated leg. A lot of treatment would be required to heal that, it looked way beyond repair on its own. If the broken bones and torn muscles and ligaments weren't proof of that, then the blood was. So much blood…the metallic scent of it was driving him up the walls. With that Vizsla turned and left. As he did, he motioned to the guard.

Luke exhaled slowly, releasing a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. He glanced around with unease, shifting slightly in a vain attempt to loosen the ropes a bit. Unintentionally he moved his severely injured leg and agony shot through him, he sucked in air through his teeth and clenched his eyes shut, trying to will it away.

It wasn't doing much good.

Still, he refused to show weakness and masked his pain with a fierce glare. He knew the other man had wondered off but was probably still here, so why didn't he just show himself already?

Then movement to the right caught his eye. There he was, sitting on a crate in perhaps the most arrogantly casual pose one could manage in this situation. With one leg crossed over the other, he leaned forwards, resting his chin on his hand and his elbow on his knee. He appeared to be almost bored.

"I could end this right now." He stated, not even looking at Luke, "You truly are helpless, it would be so easy…The only thing keeping you alive is what you possibly know on the whereabouts of the girl… feh." He sighed melodramatically, "But killing you now would be no fun of course… wouldn't you agree?" It was a rhetorical question, but he at least expected some sort of response from the Marine. Luke only remained silently glowering at the man.

"You can talk, can't you? Or are you just at a loss for heroics at the moment?" He cast Luke a scathing glance, who still refused to say anything. He was doing that on purpose wasn't he?

"Speak." And to Varad's surprise, he did.

"If you're going to kill me anyway, then there's no need to." Luke growled, the man blinking before leaning back on his hands with an expression of something caught between amusement and annoyance.

"Oh, you misunderstand me." He pushed off the crate, pacing back and forth slowly in front of Luke, "It's true I am going to eventually kill you, but I'll keep you alive as long as it takes to get the information I need or I get it from other sources, if only just. So you see, it's better you tell me now and spare yourself the suffering while I'm in a good mood…" He pretended to examine the black sabre still in his hand and still coated with Luke's blood.

"If this is you in your good mood I'd hate to see you when you're pissed…" Luke mumbled dryly.

The mandolorian ignored him, "…Rather than later, when I'm in a bad mood and you're barely breathing." He flicked his blade to the side, "Even then I might just let you live a little longer, be it a few minutes or a few seconds, to prolong your torture." He gave a cruel grin, "But it really is up to you."

"Lieutenant Luke Sparrow, B-55-850-999." It wasn't easy to miss the obvious strain in his voice even with the slight smirk Luke had across his face. The man rolled his eyes inwardly, trying to hide pain from him was foolish and pointless on its own, but it was Luke's never faltering spirit that infuriated him the most. Threaten him, smack him around a bit… it didn't matter apparently, his promises of torture had no effect. Absentmindedly he grabbed a dagger and twirled it above his fingertips.

He intended to break the man mentally, emotionally and physically, oh especially physically, but the question was: where to start?

 _'Well if I want to get anywhere, that resolve definitely has to go...'_ He thought.

With a flick of the wrist, he sent the dagger flying at Luke's head, but he was annoyed when Luke didn't even blink. It stuck to the wall beside his ear. A long but shallow gash appeared on his cheek below his eye.

"It must be frustrating," The man was walking forwards; Luke looked up calmly as he neared, "not being able to do anything I mean." He reached forwards and Luke cringed away, shutting his eyes and expecting pain. It never came. A few moments later he opened his eyes to see him on the other side of the room again, retrieved dagger in hand and grinning at Luke's reaction.

"I can do anything I want with you, and you'd be powerless to stop it." Excitement flooded through him at his own words. He threw the dagger again, this time aiming for Luke's shoulder. The boy gave a sharp grunt as it stuck deep into his bicep.

Another scream ripped from his lungs. He wanted so desperately to escape the pain; he thrashed around but only succeeded in agitating his injuries further...

Finally, it was over. He was left breathing hard, head lolling on his shoulders. He felt so weak, weak and angry... and he was suddenly aware of a certain monster invading his personal space yet again.

"So please," The man said, face inches from Luke's own, "do tell me how that makes you feel." Blood beaded at the small line on the boy's face, a few drops spilling down his cheek, Luke shuddered in disgust and turned his head away, but threw the sadistic man a stone-cold glare from the corner of his eye.

"What, the fact that I can't do anything or being stuck with you?" He tried to reply as sardonically as he could, but his voice sounded so feeble and came out as not much more than a whisper, it was sickening even to him.

The man tilted his head slightly, narrowing his eyes as a small smile tugged at the edges of his mouth. "Both." He reached up to grasp the dagger still embedded in Luke's shoulder and put the slightest amount of pressure on it, eliciting a wince from Luke. Luke wanted to get away from him so badly, if only he... wait! It took all of his self-control not to cheer as he felt one side of the rope binding his hands finally loosen a bit, allowing him to slip out his hands easily but without the man noticing.

"...Kind of like this."

The man had a split second to wonder what he meant before a fist smashed into his face, his face! Luke had thrown the punch with as much force as he could muster, which had surprisingly been a lot, fuelledby the sheer amount rage he felt for this man. And it got its point across. The mandalorian caught his fist before he could throw another one, head angled away from the boy due to the strength of the first punch. He could not believe he'd just been caught off guard like that, especially by someone in such a defenceless position.

"You..." He turned his head back slowly to glare at Luke, hissing in a low, menacing tone, "You will regret that."

He grabbed Luke by the collar of his shirt and lifted him up against the wall, by no means easy feat, eliciting a cry of pain from him

"Why won't you give up? Can't you see it's over? With you here it's only a matter of time before get revenge on Jestar Vizsla and the humiliation he brought me."

Luke had his teeth bared in a snarl, "It's not over," he said much more confidently then he felt, "and it won't be over until after you and the death watch lie dead and defeated!" There it was again, that goddamn resolve of his!

Varad scoffed and raised his free hand, snapping his fingers, "Keep thinking that, Orionian, but it won't get you very far."

Twin chains snaked down from nowhere and wrapped around the Luke's wrists, that jolted with a yell and tried to break free. It was no good, the chains held him fast to the wall. Varad smirked and lowered his hand to his side, pointing the black sabre he was still holding towards the ground, "Adorable little stunt that was before. A punch to the face. REALLY cute." He said, voice dripping with sarcasm, "I'll admit though, it was a good effort, but futile all the same." He looked Luke up and down. The man was trying not to put weight on his severely injured leg. He was covered in blood, sweat and dirt, a grimace on his face as he desperately attempted to push back the immense pain he must be feeling. It was quite the impressive picture actually… "At least this way there'll be no more significant resistance from you."

With his other hand, he grabbed Luke's chin, forcing him to look at him, "See?"

Anger, hatred, resentment… that was what he saw in the young man's blue eyes, but there was something else; the slightest flicker of panic, of actual fear from the marine since their first meeting when the O.A.G. first arrived on Mandalor. He'd forgotten how utterly fitting the emotion looked on him. Varad's smirk deepened.

"Get… the hell away from me," Luke tried to jerk his head away, resuming his struggles, he had meant to sound intimidating but his tone took on an edge of anxiety, ruining the illusion that he wasn't scared of Varad's advances at all. _'Good, he has every right to be afraid of me.'_

"No, I don't think I will…" his hand trailed down, leaving the hero's face and finding the deep wound in his shoulder left by the dagger previously. He dug his fingers into it, relishing the way Luke squirmed and the little gasps he made… He didn't know how torturing the boy came to be so much fun, but honestly, he didn't care.

"Since we began I haven't heard you beg once for me to stop," Varad murmured, withdrawing his bloody fingers from the wound much to Luke's relief. The young man hung his head, breathing heavily. "I suppose I should admire your spirit. Not that it will last much longer."

"Really…" Luke huffed, glaring up through his dirty-brown bangs, "And why's that?"

Impressed, but annoyed that he still had the nerve to talk back, Varad positioned the sharp edge of the black sabre on the hero's left shoulder, "I want you to plead for mercy, and when I want something, I don't stop until I get it." He inclined his head slightly, "That should be fairly obvious by now."

With that, he slashed diagonally across Luke's torso, slicing clean through his shirt and through skin as well. The blood that welled up from the deep gash quickly stained the brown material a dark red. A horrible searing pain spread throughout his body and he screamed, oh God, his screams. The man could listen to them all day.

And he realized he had the time to do so as well. A dark grin crossed his face. The soldier wasn't going anywhere, and the only thing left to do was figure out where the other little brat was hiding out… through interrogation. Luke could put on his best tough guy act all he wanted, but sooner or later he would cave, reach his limits. And Varad was perfectly fine with that. The time between then and now was going to be oh so enjoyable for the silver haired man.

"Dar'manda …" he purred, getting right up to man's face which was now contorted in immense pain, his eyes were shut tight and he didn't dare open them. He didn't want to see the Varad clan Mandalorian at the moment… or ever again for that matter. "You can tell me where she is anytime, anytime at all…" Varad continued, gently running the tip of the blade along Luke's left forearm and coming to a stop at his palm.

"N…no." his voice still held defiance and rebellion, but it was weaker this time around and that was a start.

"In truth," Luke's eye's snapped open at the sudden bloodlust that had crept into the elder's tone, "I actually prefer it this way. Where's the fun in it if breaking you is no challenge at all?"

The cold fingers of dread clawed their way up the young soldier's spine. Varad pulled back his arm with a growing smirk of satisfaction, he was finally getting to him, he had to be.

Luke clenched his eyes shut, he knew he had to remain strong, he would find a way to get out of this, he knew he would…

Not hesitating another moment, Varad swiftly plunged the dark blade into the Luke's hand.

* * *

 _Date Unknown, Luke Sparrow, somewhere on Mandalor – likely clan Varad compound._

It could've been days that went by, it sure felt like days to Luke. He'd completely lost the feeling in both arms, and was barely conscious, covered in harsh lacerations from head to toe. He briefly wondered how much blood a person could lose without blacking out. Apparently Varad knew and was purposely keeping him from doing so.

In reality it had only been a day, though to Varad it seemed like hours. He wanted to play with him a bit longer… but it looked like any more damage to the soldier would surely kill him, and he couldn't have that… not so soon anyways. He'd continue this later…

He snapped his fingers and the chains dissipated into the roof, Luke crumpled to the ground like a ragdoll. A small pool of blood began to gather under him.

"Oh dear… " Varad said out loud, stifling the urge to laugh, "…perhaps I went a little too far today."

Luke didn't even hear him, in a few seconds he was out like a light, falling into blissful unconsciousness. A clan Medic walked in to patch the soldier up somewhat, he wanted to draw this out and the man dying would be problematic.

"That's enough," he said after a while. A split second later, the medic quickly exited the room. He didn't want Luke completely out of pain when he woke up.

But he still couldn't believe it, no begging, not one single plea from the man, no cries of _'please stop!'_ How disappointing that was… In some way though, it intrigued him, he suspected a lesser man would have broken already but oh no, this one was special. The mandalorian rolled his eyes; the child was still nothing compared to him though. Stubborn as he was, he couldn't keep this up forever.

"Rest now, Orionian… this was only round one." He rose to his feet, turning to leave, but not before he threw one last glance over his shoulder.

"Everything has a breaking point." He muttered, before disappearing.

* * *

 _Date Unknown, Luke Sparrow, somewhere on Mandalor – likely clan Varad compound._

Luke groaned as he pushed himself up, slowly and steadily, with one hand braced against the greyish stone wall. The other hung limply at his side. Mere minutes ago he had awoken in the same cell, no surprise there.

And he'd thought he'd felt horrible before.

Searing pain had greeted him instead of a raging headache this time around. He found that he much preferred the headache. He brought his hand up to his face, wincing with every movement. Anger soon began welling up inside him.

"I'm going to kill him." He hated how hoarse his voice sounded. How pathetic he must look right now! Covered in blood, clothes torn where the demon's blade had struck… repeatedly. His arms had probably gotten the worst of it all, it was a miracle he could still use them… actually it was a miracle he could even stand after all of that.

Wait, that didn't make any sense. He was standing.

Luke's eyes were drawn to his thought-to-be-wounded leg. Partially healed. No sign of any broken bones or twisted joints, though a dull pain still lingered, reminding him that he even had had the injuries in the first place. After further inspection, he realized it went like that for the worst of his wounds, the rest were either half-healed or just not healed at all. Not that he was complaining, but how? Why?

He found the answer pinned to the wall, a note, one of Varad's kunai-like daggers sticking out of it.

But why would – oh, right. The psycho mentioned something about 'keeping him alive until he got the information he needed'.

 _'That's just too bad for him because he isn't coming anywhere near Tracinya or getting any info. Not if I can help it.'_ Luke thought with renewed determination. Even after hours of the brutal stabbing he still hadn't broken or even cracked, and that was the important thing.

 _"Remember what I said before, it's entirely up to you though. But, mark my words, you will eventually tell me where she is."_

* * *

 _25031 Galactic Standard Calendar, Cassuis Varad, clan Varad compound subterranean-complex holding cells._

Cassuis smiled in satisfaction, folding his arms over his chest.

The dar'manda who had caused countless problems and had even defeated the Death Watch not once, but twice, was now the same dar'manda practically crawling in a futile attempt to get away from him. Yes, it was indeed much more fun to break him down this way…

Still… it impressed him that he'd lasted this long already… and it equally infuriated him.

Cassuis sighed, shaking his head slightly. Sometimes he wondered why he even bothered to play these games… he could kill him at any time he wished, but that would hardly be productive. True, finding the girl would be… difficult without the information the man possessed… but not impossible. The dar'manda technically wasn't required, though it would be so much easier if he would just give in and tell me where the little girl was. But Vizsla still needed information on the OADF.

Maybe it was the challenge he posed that intrigued Cassuis so much, breaking such a spirit was not a simple task… that much was clear to him already. That was probably it; it was some desire to prove that he didn't need to kill the child to get what he want, that he was still stronger than him and he always would be.

Jolted from his thoughts, Cassuis blinked. _Oh? What was this?_

To his surprise, he saw Sparrow slowly getting back to his feet, seemingly finding the motivation to continue. Cassuis felt a slight twinge of irritation.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk… you're far too slow, dar'manda …" Cassuis tantalized, taking slow steps towards him, "Oh and you almost had it too! Such a shame."

He gives no response. _He's not unconscious, is he?_ He drew closer. No, his eyes were open, though not staring at anything in particular. Cassuis circled around so that he was on the other side of him, his back facing the door, which gives a few whirls and creaks before sealing shut once again. They we're locked in – well, mostly he is locked in.

"By the way, that was over five minutes. I was being considerate and gave you extra time, but in the end, it didn't look like it made much of a difference…" Sighing with feigned wistfulness, Cassuis shook his head, "Oh, if only you were quicker…"

Cassuis leant over his head slightly. He was upside down glaring at Cassuis now – it was a glare of resentment and poorly concealed pain. This pleased him.

"So, it looks like you've wasted both of what precious time we have…" Cassuis said, crouching down to balance on the balls of his feet, his elbows resting on his knees. "Time that could be spend attending to more important matters."

He striked out at Cassuis's face with his fist, Cassuis effortlessly bat away the trivial blow and grabbed his wrist, pinning it to the floor beside his head. Stupidly, he tried again with his other hand, the result was the same. Cassuis now held both hands above his head; he's was not in a very good position at the moment…

He still tried to sit up, but his current physical condition, combined with Cassuis's strength, does not allow him to. He squirms, trying to free his hands, twisting his shoulders this way and that.

His struggles made Cassuis giggle, Cassuis let him tire himself out. He stopped, panting, narrowing his sky-blue eyes up at him in absolute loathing. Cassuis merely gave him a smug grin that he knew would infuriate him.

"Hate me, do you?" Cassuis teased.

"What the fuck do you think?" He snapped back, resuming his struggles. This time he tried to bring his leg around to land a kick on Cassuis, he switched his wrists over to one hand, using the other to grab one of his index fingers.

"Now, now… no need to be like that…" Cassuis put the mildest amount of pressure on that appendage, he winces and stills, "Continue struggling and I'll have to break your fingers!" Cassuis intoned cheerfully with a happy smile. His eyes widen slightly but he says nothing and does not move.

"Good boy."

That earns a growl from him.

Cassuis chuckled and released his finger, instead opting to run his hand through his hair, pulling it back over his ruined ear.

 _Oh! I just remembered something…_

"You still haven't given me your answer," Cassuis crooned, leaning over him more. "I believe I've given you enough time to think about it…"

On his chest and stomach there are numerous gashes, most of them scarring – it's such a lovely sight… Cassuis reach out and press my palm to a pretty recent looking one just over his sternum, applying pressure gradually. He glanced down to gauge his reaction, he let out a sharp gasp and when Cassuis pulled his hand back, his glove is stained with blood. _Ah, I've reopened the wound._ Tiny rivulets of crimson branch out, contrasting nicely with his lightly coloured skin.

"I don't… know what you're talking about…" He grimaced, Cassuis scowled. Honestly, he had such short attention spans!

"Don't tell me you've forgotten?" His voice betrayed the slightest hint of annoyance, "Let me refresh your memory…" Cassuis bowed his head low to look him straight in the eye, their foreheads almost touching, "I gave you two choices, that Marine FOB, or the information that me and my ally seek. If you don't answer me now I'm going to assume you picked option number one." Cassuis hissed in a low voice.

Suddenly he jerked forward, bashing his forehead into Cassuis's. Cassuis reeled back, genuinely caught off guard.

"Bastard!" He shouts, resuming his struggles once more, "Why don't you stop acting like a coward and fight me?"

For a moment, he actually almost managed to get free. That fact alone sends anger coursing through my system – the little brat!

Snap!

That wasn't Cassuis's fingers.

Sparrow gritted his teeth, suppressing a cry of pain as the uppermost joint of his index finger broke easily under my hand. Though it did little to pacify my temper, Cassuis wanted to hear him scream… again… and again… and again…

"That's just it, dar'manda," Cassuis snarled under his breath, his eyes boring into Luke's, "I tried playing nice before… but you've pushed me too far and now…"

Snap!

"…we play the game by my rules, and my rules say you will lie still and accept punishment."

Cassuis worked his way down, finger to finger, each snapping joint wrenching sharp grunts and cries from the soldier's throat, and Cassuis still wasn't satisfied by the time his left hand was nothing but a mess of broken bones, rendered completely unusable. All throughout it he struggled, he jerked, he writhed, fruitlessly trying to free himself. Quite the fighter he was.

Now he lay, eyes screwed shut, face contorted in agony, shuddering panting escaping his lips. His chest rose and fell rapidly; Cassuis could only imagine what kind of pain he was in right now.

"Hurts, doesn't it?" Cassuis muttered lowly, still keeping his wrists pinned down with one hand. He gives no response, not that he expected one from him. Cassuis much preferred that he remained silent, unless the only reason he wanted to open his mouth was to reveal the information… or to make more of those delightful sounds of anguish. Either way is perfectly alright with him.

"So… since you aren't going to tell me the location of the girl or anything OADF, I suppose I should go pay FOB a visit then…"

"No." He answers automatically, his voice is strained.

I raised a brow, "Oh, so you are going to tell me?"

"No." He repeated, turning his head to the side to hide his face from view. Cassuis could have sworn that he saw a tiny glimmer on his cheek, but he might've just imagined it. He gave an exasperated sigh, feeling like he was talking to a young child.

"There is no third option, boy. Do not test my patience, believe me, you walk a very thin line between life and death at the moment." Cassuis growled, forcing back his simmering temper.

"So I'll ask you once again, what is your answer?"

He mumbles something too low to hear. Cassuis frown in annoyance, cocking his ear towards him, "What was that?"

"I said I'M NOT ANSWERING TO YOU!" He yelled, eyes snapping open into a fierce glare.

At once all of Cassuis's fury bursts forth; he acted immediately, unable to control himself. He was not entirely sure what happened but suddenly the dar'manda is at the other end of the room, collapsed on his side in a pitiful heap. His hands grab the blade at his side.

But his grip on the weapon is unsteady, his fists were shaking… He was trembling with rage…. and this brat was responsible for it!

Cassuis clung to the only calming thought he possessed at the moment – the soldier lifeless in a pool of his own blood.

Exhaling slowly, he managed to bring himself back to a coherent state of mind. If he acted on impulse and accidentally ended his life, he would be deprived of the sheer enjoyment he'd get out of torturing him… and that really would not be any fun at all. No… he wasn't going to kill him. At least not yet. But he wouldn't get off without punishment.

Cassuis sauntered forwards, towards him, and towards a sword lying nearby. He reached the blade first and rested his free hand on the hilt, staring at the crippled man across from him. A soft groan was heard from Luke, he pushed himself up on his forearms with some difficulty, when he raised his head he saw that a trail of blood ran from his hairline to the edge of his jaw. Luke glared directly at Cassuis to show he was still defiant, even though he looked as if he'd been to… what was it they called it? Hell? Yes Hell. Hell and back.

No, hell would have been too generous.

Cassuis almost laughed - did he not realize how pathetic he looked right now?

But he was just about tired of that spirit of his. If it was a fight he wanted, then so be it.

Something clattered to the floor in front of him and his eyes widened in surprise and puzzlement, before narrowing suspiciously. Never the less, he grabbed the sword Cassuis had thrown to him and staggered to his feet. It simply remarkable how he was able to even stand after all of the physical abuse Cassuis had put him through thus far… looks like he was a lot more durable than he thought. Especially with that leg.

He was still no threat to Cassuis in the current condition he was in, with or without his sword. He'd be surprised if he even managed to defend himself!

He faced him in a ready stance, blue eyes blazing with determination, but he looked ready to crumple. His left arm and mangled hand dangled at his side… damn, he should have broken the other hand – how funny it would have been seeing him trying to wield a sword with the hand that wasn't dominant.

But that wasn't of any real importance right now… no, right now Cassuis longed for bloodshed. And guess whose blood that would be?

Cassuis licked his lips – an odd habit he had developed – as he approached.

"Dar'manda," he hissed venomously, "I hope you know that after I'm done beating some sense into you, that FOB… is finished."

That provokes a reaction,

He bares his teeth in a grimace, eyes widening in apprehension as he drew closer, raising his own onyx coloured blade.

"Understand this now. You're nothing to me, you're scum. And I will enjoy draining every last drop of fighting spirit from your body!"

With that, Cassuis lunged.

* * *

 _Date Unknown, Luke Sparrow, somewhere on Mandalor – likely clan Varad compound_

It could hardly be called a fight.

Luke strained to turn just in time, blocking Varad's vertical strike with a horizontal one. The impact reverberated throughout the blade, he grunted, stumbling back a few feet to recover, but Varad wouldn't let him. He cried out as he felt another gash open up on the skin of his stomach, not deep enough to be fatal but at the rate he was losing blood… it definitely could turn out to be.

Several times he had tried to make a run for the door, if he could just make it to the statue outside… he wasn't exactly thinking it through, what would he do if he got out? He didn't know where he was or what forces were outside.

Then again, ones thought process is a little less than coherent when you've got a blood crazy Mandalorian mercilessly beating the life out of you.

It didn't matter anyways, each time he'd tried, Varad would move to block his path and knock him back.

Two more gashes joined the ranks, one on his arm and the other on his side. Trying to ignore how badly it hurt, he swung his sword, but he was so exhausted that even if it had hit if probably would have caused minimal damage. He barely had the energy to stand much less land a blow.

Varad danced backwards and away from him, surveying the damage he had caused to the young hero. Luke teetered on his feet slightly, but out of sheer willpower alone, remained standing. Several new lacerations riddled his upper body, cutting into previous wounds and bleeding profusely.

Again he dashed forwards, slicing and stabbing. He deepened the previous wounds that were drawn across the boy's skin like deadly art. The Marine's attempts to block the assault were weakening with each passing minute; he was becoming more and more unresponsive. Soon he was nothing but a standing target – though not standing for long.

The tip of the sword scraped against the tile, before falling from his hand. Soon after, his knees buckled, sinking to the floor with the rest of his body soon following, finally succumbing to gravity and numerous injuries. He did not move.

Through his dimming vision, he could still see the other approach. He closed his eyes – willing him to go away…

Of course Varad did no such thing.

He felt a sharp tug at his hair as his head was pulled up off the ground slightly, he grunted, clenching his teeth at the pain he was in. The demon lord got down close to his face.

"You see? Even with a sword you still have no chance of escape… if you had the capacity to, you would have done so already." He murmured, Luke didn't make any sort of retort, just stared blankly ahead. Varad shook him a bit to get his full attention.

"I've given you two days of my time and while it has been fun playing these little games with you, I believe it's time to take more… drastic measures." He gave the man a few moments to process that, before continuing, tightening his grip on the sandy blonde hair gripped in his hand, "But know this, I am not finished with you. You are mine to toy with and once I grow bored of you, I will discard you like the worthless piece of human filth you are."

His lips brushed the man's ear as he spoke in a hushed voice, "Understand me?"

Even in his position, Luke managed to give a small nod. Varad released his hold, letting the man's head fall back to the floor. The sword lay nearby; he glanced to it before looking back at Luke. He nudged Luke's hands so that they were out in front of him, overlaying each other, then he picked up the sword.

"See what has become of you now…" he muttered, plunging the blade downwards and through Luke's hand, skewering it to the floor with his own blade.

An ear-splitting scream filled the chamber, the sound sending a pleasant shiver up his spin – he was never going to tire of that. Feeling decidedly in a better mood, he stood to leave.

"I'll tell the men in the FOB you send your best regards." He gave a wink, punctuating the end of his sentence with a snap of the fingers, and then he was gone. Luke was left alone with those dreaded words ringing in his ears.

* * *

 _Date Unknown, Luke Sparrow, somewhere on Mandalor – likely clan Varad compound_

A sinister laugh echoed around him and he was roughly dragged back into consciousness, senses utterly disoriented, his heart pounding. For a moment, everything was just a jumbled mess of the confusion that comes with waking up, he didn't know what was real and what wasn't. Had he imagined that laugh? Where was he? Was he dead?

He half hoped that last one was true.

But no, he could feel his body, and it felt like it weighed a ton, like his muscles were anchored to the earth beneath him. And how he hurt, for an instant he actually thought that he might have gotten burned alive, but that was impossible considering he was still breathing. As he calmed himself, gradually, the effects of the nightmare wore off and reality took over.

It wasn't much better… he felt so utterly weak. To his dismay, his stomach was practically screaming for sustenance, when was the last time he had eaten or drank anything? He couldn't remember…

Biting the inside of his cheek he decided that he didn't even want to think about that right now.

His throat felt the worst, raw, dry, and burning like hellfire had just ripped through it – most likely the cause being a combination of screaming his lungs out and dehydration. Not one drop of moisture remained in his mouth. He tried not to let that fact cross his mind, but the harder he tried, the more he thought about it. He found that it was difficult focusing on anything else; he needed food, water, something.

With extreme difficulty, he pushed open his eyelids halfway, seeing nothing but blurry shapes and colors he immediately let them fall closed again. The stone of the wall was cool against his back and the air was considerably less dry.

Footsteps echoed off the walls of the room that he was now being held in. On instinct, he tensed and didn't move a muscle – not that he possessed the strength to.

Oh God… those footsteps were coming closer. _Please leave, please leave_. Then they stopped, a shadow fell over where the young hero was lying against the wall, feigning sleep.

Or playing dead. _Not the last one,_ he thought, _that could end rather painfully._

A hand gently – almost lovingly – stroked his face and he flinched, ruining whatever illusion the boy was going for.

"Rise and shine, dar'manda," that same despised voice practically sang, "I know you're awake so it's no use pretending not to be!"

Luke grimaced, trying to turn his head to the side, willing him to just back off. He was sick of this… being used like some chew toy.

"Aww… poor boy," the mandalorian said with mock sympathy, brushing the hair out of the Luke's face, "I've been thinking that perhaps I have been rather hard on you lately…"

Luke's eyes slowly fluttered open, shooting the man a tired glare, if it could even be called that. He saw those pale white lips curve up in satisfaction at the exhaustion the other was feeling, that fighting spirit was diminishing… little by little.

And Luke knew it as well.

"Oh don't give me that look!"

A snap of the fingers.

And the Luke's eyes widened. That pronounced click could only mean one thing.

More pain.

At once he cringed away, reacting on reflex and instinct, doing his best to press himself further back into the wall he leaned against. He was going to be hurt again. Clenching his eyes shut he braced himself for the imminent suffering that was about to be brought upon him.

No more… he didn't want anymore… he couldn't take it…

There was a pause – a horrible drawn out pause.

Then Varad threw his head back and laughed.

Nothing happened; Luke tentatively opened his eyes after a few moments. The man was chuckling as if he found something incredibly amusing. Why? What was so funny?

He gritted his teeth, frustrated far beyond the point of sanity. Why wouldn't Varad just get the damn punishment over with already?

It was at that point he saw that the man did not have a sword in his grasp, nor a dagger, whip or anything of the sort. No, what he held in his hand was what looked like a cup of all things. He must have looked pretty confused right then.

"Relax, I'm not going to hurt you… well, at least not now anyways. However, I'll have no choice to if you refuse to cooperate," he held up the clear chalice in front of the boy's face, the unmistakable sloshing sound of liquid inside could be heard, "but I doubt that you will…"

Water. It was water.

Luke's throat suddenly seemed to grow ten times drier as his eyes fixated on the glass. He swallowed uncomfortably, this had to be a trick… there was no way that he was just being offered water after all of this. It was poisoned, it had to be. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously at it, before forcing himself to look away and trying not to think about how any liquid would sooth his agonizing thirst at the moment...

As if Varad had read his mind, he suddenly sighed in mild irritation, "It's water, only water, you have my word that it's not poisoned."

The edge of the goblet was pushed towards Luke's mouth. Using all of his self-control, he stubbornly turned his head away from it. He didn't care if the lack of hydration killed him, he was not accepting anything from his enemy, especially if it was force fed to him.

But Varad was in no mood for this. Roughly seizing his jaw, he forced him to look forward again and brought the rim of the container to his lips.

"Drink." He said sternly.

This time Luke just refused to open his mouth at all, pressing his lips together in a tight line. This got a roll of the eyes from the man, who merely reached up and pinched the boy's nose to cut off his air. Luke realized he'd lost; soon, the urge to breathe became too great. With a frown, he reluctantly opened his mouth.

Varad smirked and tilted the goblet, his throat clenching automatically around the welcomed rush of cold liquid. His eyes slowly closed, after days without water – or food for that matter – he didn't realize how badly his body needed it until now. He drank deeply and tilted his head back, suddenly finding it incredibly easy to ignore the fact that his worst enemy was watching him with growing amusement. For the moment, he didn't care, all he knew was that his thirst was blissfully depleting and bringing him the utmost relief…

And then, far too soon, the chalice was pulled away and he let out a poorly contained whine that he immediately regretted.

"Parched, are we?" Varad taunted. Oh, this was far too entertaining… he was originally just going to give the boy all of the water, but if he had been so resistant before, then why not make him work for it?

He grinned, liking that idea very much.

It appeared that Luke had regained a small fraction of his strength; he opened his mouth to speak, though it was in a raspy, barely audible voice, "I… hate you… you bastard."

It was evident that he still wanted and needed more water, but the fool was trying not to show it. Varad sighed, not the least bit surprised by the typical hard-headedness.

"You are free to hate me, I prefer it actually. But name calling… now that just hurts my feelings." Those weren't the only things Luke wanted to hurt…

"I would love to give the rest of this to you," he continued, shaking the chalice a bit and watching the boy shift in discomfort. The mandalorian had just invented a new kind of torture… "…but I'm not sure if you need it considering you've summoned the strength to throw meagre insults…"

Then he stood from his previously crouched position to leave, taking the water with him and turning his back on the young hero.

He didn't see the look of distress flash through those blue eyes but he could practically feel the desperation rolling off of the other, and he knew he was getting to him.

"Wait." It was so quiet, barely a whisper, spoken before the boy had a chance to stop himself.

Varad stopped; he'd heard it loud and clear.

Luke bit his lip, looking away, "Please…"

"Please…?"

This was way too amusing.

"Please… give me the rest of the water." He clenched his eyes shut, unable to believe what he was saying.

The mandalorian turned back with an infuriatingly smug look, "Forgetting something…?"

Luke gave him an incredulous look, "What more do you want?"

Varad turned to leave again.

Desperation got to the young hero, he dropped his head, defeated and unable to believe what he was about to say.

"Please, Varad Sir."

A few moments of silence passed, letting the horrible realization sink in that Luke was actually begging his enemy… and he was unable to stop himself. He knew how badly he needed the water, he could hardly move… how weak he was.

This was exactly what that bastard wanted… the submission of his pride.

He didn't look up when the sound of footsteps once again signalled the approach. He didn't look up when he knelt down in front of him once again. And he most definitely didn't look up to see the triumphant smirk adorned on the other's face.

Then he felt his chin caught between the man's thumb and forefinger and he was forced to tilt his head up, locking his gaze with those dark eyes devoid of any humanity.

"That's a good soldier…" Varad spoke softly, "you see how much easier it is to just cooperate? Maybe next time I'll bring you something to eat if you continue to behave yourself?"

Once again, the cup was brought to Luke's mouth and he was allowed to sip. Slowly he was fed the entire container of water, and as his thirst decreased, the mortification he felt from the whole situation increased. Physically, he felt better but Varad had left his mark on the mind, and he wasn't going to forget this anytime soon. How humiliating it all was.

He finished off the liquid, breathing heavily. Varad made the container disappear and stood up, chuckling a bit to himself.

The urge to strangle the man was almost overpowering.

He ground his teeth together in frustration, he wanted to scream, attack, throw a punch, something – his limbs weren't tied so it was certainly possible, but he knew that it wouldn't get him anywhere. The man was in complete control and had been from the moment he'd gotten captured.

Lord, he hated how helpless he was!

"Oh by the way, about that FOB of yours…"

Those works struck Luke dumb.

Oh no…

How could he have forgotten…? Had Varad actually…?

The man laughed, watching the soldier's expression, full of vexation and hate, shatter like he'd just been hit with a bombshell. Luke's eyes widened, uncomprehending and disbelieving, he glanced up at Varad as if he was searching for some sign that the man was bluffing.

"You doubt that I would actually go through with destroying that pathetic little base?"

Something was tossed to his lap. He looked down and recognized the object instantly, horror washing over him as he realized what it was.

It was a familiar looking, bloodied helmet.

Luke could only stare in complete shock at the object he held in his hands, unsure of what to think first.

This… this was a Marines helmet… a comrade… there was no mistake. No one else in the galaxy wore armor like theirs.

The FOB… Varad actually went through with… He couldn't wrap his head around it.

With shaking fingers, he turned the helmet over, feeling wetness beginning to seep from the material. Blood, and it was still fresh.

And it was a brother in arms blood.

He flung the helmet away like it had stung him, but it was still on his hands, covering his palms in red. The blood was already drying and sticking to his skin. Gripping at his hair, he hung his head as the new barrage of emotions bombarded him.

This couldn't be happening… he refused to believe this was happening. Varad could be lying for all he knew. He had to be lying.

But if he thought about it, what reason exactly would the man have to lie? This was a Varad he was dealing with; he'd probably have no qualms about murdering innocent people.

That fact sunk in slowly, excruciatingly.

It suddenly got extremely hard to draw breath. He clenched his eyes shut.

Why? Why couldn't he do anything to stop him? What exactly had he been doing while this man was free to waste an FOB? Bleeding? Dying?

Varad merely stood by and watched the scene unfold with growing satisfaction, finally the boy was starting to crumble and lose his composure. He thought he'd drive the nail in a little further…

"Not even a decent fight out of that one…" he said, observing for any sort of reaction, "him and his little friend, that other girl."

Luke visibly stiffened, but said nothing, though it told the man enough.

Varad laughed, "Ha! They didn't even put up a fight," he examined his nails with boredom, "They died like the rest, not even a worthy fighter among them."

An evil grin spread across his face. His eyes flickered from the helmet that had been tossed to the floor, then back to Luke, who still hadn't given any verbal response.

Luke didn't raise his head, he uselessly tried to block out the words that the other spoke, wishing that he would just be left alone. He didn't want to imagine what had happened to the men and women stationed there… but the images wouldn't stop. And neither would Varad.

He hated being reduced to this! He didn't understand… how was it that he'd managed to beat droids, insurgencies, soldiers' countless times before, yet now it appeared that the mandalorian really had complete control over him? The only thing keeping him alive was that small piece of knowledge he possessed; Varad could kill him anytime he wanted to. It was as if he were some… play thing that could be easily disposed of, as the sadist had put it earlier.

That fact alone sent stabs of anger through his system, the sudden rush made his head spin as the raw current of rage seized his limbs. It spread its fire all the way to the tips of his fingers where his hands were clenched so tightly into fists that his knuckles blanched. He let his arms fall to his sides.

Slowly, very slowly, he lifted his gaze up, opening his eyes into a venomous glare. His piercing blue eyes were fixed on Varad, who merely raised a brow at this. If it was even possible, the young hero's hateful stare intensified.

"Ooh, how I'm shaking!" Varad mocked, sarcasm dripping from every word, "That's quite a nasty look you've got there, dar'manda, something upsetting you?" He innocently put a finger to his lips and feigned sympathy, Luke bared his teeth, snarling in response.

"My, how intimidating," he chuckled, and then took a step towards him, "but what can you do besides shoot hateful looks at me?"

He noticed how when he drew closer, the little man would push backwards as if he were attempting to merge himself with the wall, yet he still glared daggers at the man. That expression was more than hostile, not unlike a cornered, terrified animal, ready to lash out at whatever came near it.

"Oh, that's right…" he continued, stopping a few feet from him. He then looked thoughtful for a moment before leaning down slightly and looking the younger directly in the eye, "Nothing."

He saw the wavering look flash across the boy's face before Luke and looked away. Varad knew he was getting to him.

"Do you see where defiance gets you?" Luke didn't meet his gaze as his enemy spoke to him, just continued to try and burn holes in the opposite wall with his eyes.

"So much bloodshed… all for one girl, she must be very important to you, him?"

He was sick of this, sick of the taunting, sick of whatever games he'd been forced to play.

Luke dropped his head in what Varad mistook as defeat.

"That's what I thought." A smile graced those pale lips as he said it, it would be so easy now just to break the man while he was so devastated. He drew closer once again.

Through the peripherals of Luke's vision, he saw the man get down to his level, he didn't look up. If he did, he knew that he would lose it.

But then he saw that gloved hand reaching towards his face again.

Right there, something snapped.

Heedless of whatever was left of the rational voice in his head, he threw himself forwards and knocked the somewhat startled Varad man to the floor. Not thinking, only acting, following instinct – and that instinct said that he wanted hurt.

And hurt that was not his own.

This bastard had caused him enough trouble.

Fingers easily finding the pallid skin of the other's neck, he clenched with both hands, gripping the man's throat with all of the force he could muster. The initial shock faded from Varad's eyes, darkening to a deadly calm even as the boy tried to strangle him. Then a cruel smirk spread across his face – amused, he was amused. If it was even possible, Luke's anger increased threefold and he tightened his grip.

But no, it wasn't enough; Varad hardly felt what pressure the other was trying to apply.

Reaching up slowly, he grasped both wrists belonging to Luke, and then squeezed.

Pain shot up Luke's arm and he visibly winced, the bones in his arm straining against the mandalorian's hold.

At once he tried to twist away, but it was like trying to wriggle out of iron shackles; it couldn't be done.

There was a sudden change in gravity, and then he found himself on his back with weight sitting on top of him. His eyes widened before he immediately began to thrash and struggle, which was insanely difficult considering his restricted movement – Varad had both of his arms pinned to the floor on either side of his head.

He let out an almost feral snarl, desperately trying to break free and land a hit. Punching that infuriatingly smug expression right off of the man's face sounded incredibly appealing right now. Though he saw red, his mind was white with blind fury.

Varad effortlessly straddled his hips, tilting his head to the side in a taunting manner which only fueled Luke's rage. Suddenly he grunted and then narrowed his eyes, jolting forward slightly – the marine had managed to kick him in the back of the head with all that flailing… That was really getting irritating.

Releasing one of his hands, Varad pulled his fist back and rained down a nasty blow on the Luke's upper abdomen, hearing the satisfying, choked gasp of the younger as the breath was forcefully driven from his lungs. All struggles momentarily ceased.

Luke coughed harshly, feeling like he was about to throw up. He was too disoriented to notice the snap of gloved fingers as he tried sucking in air again, but it wouldn't come and he was left gasping in agony, unable to move as he felt chains snake around his wrists and ankles. As the pain in his chest slowly lessened, his panic rose, yet he refused to show it, instead once again narrowing his eyes at the man sitting on top of him and straining against his bindings.

"Get… off…" He huffed, trying to skewer Varad with his glare.

"Tsk, tsk, you have such a temper, you naughty boy." The man chuckled, before raising his arm out to the side, "And you were being so good before… perhaps you are in need of further punishment?"

Again, he reached for a dagger, but Luke thought nothing of it – he didn't care; he was far too aggravated to care. He'd like to take that dagger and shove it straight up the mandalorian's pompous a–

Suddenly his jaw was grabbed and his head was tilted back, forcing him to look upwards at the stone ceiling. He gritted his teeth, frowning at the bizarre action. Varad's hold was firm, preventing him from twisting his head from side to side. A growing sense of unease was building in his gut, along with unexplainable panic – all he knew that he needed to break free and he needed to do it now.

With a grunt, he attempted to squirm away from the hand holding his jaw in place, but stopped himself short.

The deadly point of the dagger was ominously hovering less than an inch over his left eye.

Luke's blood ran ice cold.

The other's implied threat literally hung right over him. He didn't dare move, the breath catching in his throat as he went absolutely rigid. Gradually, his anger ebbed, taking with it the rush of temporary adrenaline and strength it had given him and leaving in its horrible wake fear and weakness that had been long overdue.

A dark smirk crossed Varad's face at seeing those blue eyes widen in apprehension - terror was such a lovely emotion when it came from other people, especially the Orionian. Ah, such power he felt with his enemy in this wonderful petrified state underneath him. How pathetic Luke was! The man was truly nothing without his strength- that and his weapons without it or them, the boy was nothing but a frail, weak, human.

Varad leaned forward slightly, speaking in a poisonous tone.

"It's almost pitiful how much you're willing to endure for her. Think about this, what has she done for you in return? Fight by your side for a week? And for what?" He paused, more for dramatic effect, not actually expecting an answer. Then he cocked his head slightly, "That hardly seems like compensation for what you're going through. You've sacrificed your comrades for her already, and now you're seriously prepared to sacrifice your own eyes?"

Luke's heart pounded wildly in his chest, he could hardly focus on what Varad was saying. Small beads of moisture formed on his forehead as he watched the dagger lower at an agonizingly slow pace. He had the sense to clench his eyes tightly shut, not that it would do anything to stop the demon lord.

 _'Just get it over with...'_

In a way though, he knew that Varad's words held some sort of truth to them. For an instant, something flared inside him... something that wasn't entirely directed at his enemy. It was quickly chased away the next second as the point of the dagger was lightly trailed over his eyelid, fear once again taking its place.

"Hm… imagine, the last thing you'd ever see would be my face, permanently embedded into your memory…" that same voice practically purred, casual tone sending shivers up his spine. "I'm going to ask you something right now, Luke. Do you want me to do this to you? Do I really have to do this to you to get what I want?"

Luke was too stunned to respond it seemed – who in their right mind would want to get their eyes gouged out?

But Varad wouldn't settle for that.

"I asked you a question, I expect an answer." He hissed, leaning over further and narrowing his dark eyes menacingly.

A few seconds ticked by, as the silence stretched on, Varad's impatience grew. Luke had his eyes screwed shut, lips pressed firmly together to stop any sort of noise from slipping past them.

But the man wasn't one for sympathy, nor would he ever be, so Luke was given a small but sharp shake.

"Answer me!" Varad growled.

Finally, Luke opened his mouth to speak, though it was in a shaky voice, "The Fuck do you think."

Varad snarled, clearly annoyed by Luke's response. He raised his hand to slash Luke's eyes. And he would've done so had a Mandalorian not burst into the cell at that moment.

"Brother, we have a problem."

"Can't you see I'm in the middle of something!"

"I can. But a… situation, has arisen. You are needed."

"Fine. Well dar'manda, it's your lucky day today. But don't worry, I'll be back for you soon enough."

Once Varad had left, Luke crawled over to the wall where he propped himself up against. The cool surface feeling nice on his burning wounds. He thought back to what Varad had said. _Why am I enduring this, it could be over so quick?_ Bu then he realised why. There wouldn't be a reason as to why he suffered if he did, the man would likely continue even if he told him what he wanted to know. He would have outlived his usefulness. He would be killed. As he drifted off into unconsciousness from the exhaustion. A single phrase echoed in his mind.

 _We are not expendable…_

* * *

 _Date Unknown, Luke Sparrow, somewhere on Mandalor – likely clan Varad compound_

A shiver passed through Luke's body, seizing up his muscles as a small exhale left his lips. The darkness lifted slowly, leaving him in a dreadful state of half-consciousness.

Cold… everything was cold… but not sub-zero as it had been before. A weak moan left his lips, body still in agony from the burns and lacerations inflicted upon him. He felt one last gasp constrict his throat, the remnants of the pitiful sobbing he'd done over the past several hours. His face was still wet with hopeless tears.

Weak. He was so weak.

He couldn't cry anymore even if he wanted to, he'd completely exhausted himself and was now in need of hydration again. But the idea of begging for water once more from that… that… he didn't even have a word for the monster that had done this to him, it was too much to handle at the moment.

He wanted – no, he needed to get out of here.

His blue eyes opened a crack, vision blurring as the leftovers of sleep drifted away with deliberate slowness. It was odd… there was no way he'd imagined freezing to death, the temperature had dropped below the freezing point no doubt. He'd seen his limbs turn black from the cold as it bit into him and drew him into its icy clutches. He'd felt the numb agony as it swept over him without mercy and he'd heard the mocking laughter as the scene was observed by whatever had been lurking in the shadows. Another shudder passed through his being as he remembered.

There was no way he had imagined that, right?

Yet still, he found himself able to move his fingers and curl his toes. Hesitantly, he shifted his eyesight down to his hands, breath shaking. Normal – not blackened with the skin coming off in several placed as previous visions had suggested. He felt himself let out a relieved sigh, his body wasn't rotting. Whatever that gruesome nightmare he'd just experienced had told his mind that it wasn't real, but the fear it had instilled remained. He felt sick just remembering it.

Sick and tired and helpless.

So what would he do now…? He didn't want–

Footsteps. Outside the cell.

His eyes widened briefly, before squeezing shut as he went rigid, not daring to move an inch. An all too familiar emotion creeping up on him once again: fear. Again, it was coming.

 _'No… no… no…'_ He didn't want more pain. No, he was at his limits. _God, it hurt too much. No. Please no._

Something slammed against the door of the cell, the sound ricocheting around the small room and making him jump slightly. Again, another slam – something was trying to get in. Luke didn't know what and he wasn't thinking clearly enough to rationalize what it could possibly be. All he knew was that it most likely wanted to cause him more torment and he just couldn't take that at the moment. Instinct said to hide, but he hardly had the strength to accomplish that, so he just curled up in the middle of the floor and prayed for whatever was trying to enter would just leave him alone…

* * *

 _25031 Galactic Standard Calendar, Tracinya Vizla, Varad clan compund sub-complex holding cells._

With one final heave, Tracinya tumbled into the room as the door burst open. All was dark, not so much that she couldn't see at all, but her helmet still had to flick over to night vision.

It was surprisingly cool in here despite previous temperatures. She didn't bother questioning it; it was way too hot in this place anyway. This was best estimation of where any prisoners were being kept, and they could be right. Glancing around, she quickly spotted a shape lying down on the floor.

Tracinya approached slowly, cautiously as she drew near and took in the person's form. The person had a bloodied and torn camo shirt on; if she looked closely, she could see the raised lines of various scars and bruises. She couldn't see the person's face; he or she had their back turned. What clothing they had left was very familiar, and the dirty brown hair that spilled out on the floor was a tell-tale sign of who it was.

"Luke!" She gasped and ran forward towards her friend. A soft, pained sound was heard from him. Her stomach twisted, never before had she heard and seen him so… defeated.

She knelt down beside him, reaching her hand out to roll him over. Surprisingly, he reacted almost instantly.

Luke pushed himself away from her hurriedly – or as hurriedly as he could with the amount of injuries he'd sustained. He scooted back until he was pressed against the wall, face turned to the side and emitting small whimpers. Tracinya just stared in confusion at how her friend was acting.

"what did he do to you?" she whispered in shock.

She could see him clearly now: angry looking gashes riddled his chest and stomach as well as his upper arms. Some of them were beginning to turn a strange shade of color; possible signs of infection. His trousers were stained with blood – unquestionably his own – in various places. His wrists were wrapped in painful-looking red marks. Though his face was mostly obscured by his hair, she could still see the few bruises and cuts that had been inflicted there. It was such a horrible sight. Seeing her friend like this was just…

"Luke?" she said softly, slowly making her way towards him as he pressed himself further back. He was frightened, but why? Did he not see it was her?

Her eyes widened as she realized that could be exactly it; it was a very likely possibility that he couldn't be thinking properly and was mistaking her for someone else. A flash of anger overtook her; from what abuse had been inflicted upon him, she had a pretty good guess of who that someone was…

Pushing aside resentful thoughts for the time being, she came to the conclusion that she had to make Luke see it was her.

"Luke, It's alright! It's me, Tracinya!" She said, coming close, but not too fast, like how one would approach a scared child, "I'm not going to hurt you… I'm your friend."

Luke didn't move, but just stayed motionless in the same position, even when she was right in front of him. He still didn't look at her, just continued to try and blend with the wall. Unsure of what to do, Tracinya just remained there and watched her friend cower. Seeing her friend like this was too painful. What exactly had he done to deserve something like this? Why hadn't they come sooner?

"Please…" he spoke, so lowly that she barely heard, "don't…"

That was it. He had to see now that it was her and not Cassuis. Tracinya reached forward and gently tilted his chin up, careful to avoid the huge bruise on his jawline, her other hand brushing the hair out of his eyes. He visibly flinched but didn't move or try to get away.

His eyes were blank and dull, but fearful. Then they widened slightly, finally starting to actually see who it was.

"You… but…" he stammered, blinking and shaking his head as if coming out of some horrible daze. Tracinya gave him a small reassuring smile.

"Yes, it's me. We're here to help."

Luke seemed to process this for a few moments, complete bewilderment coming across his expression before he reached with both arms and pulled her into a tight embrace, hoping that this was rescue and not some other cruel illusion. But she felt real and she was real. His eyes burned with tears that would never come.

Tracinya hugged her friend back, but cautiously as to not agitate his injuries.

"But… you… the FOB… what?" he struggled to say, grimacing slightly. Tracinya noticed this immediately; he must be in terrible pain from his wounds.

She reached into a pouch she carried and pulled out a bottle full of bright green liquid, quickly activating it she placed it against a part of his right arm that wasn't too badly damaged, and pressed a stud that injected it into him.

"They took some heavy damage…" she explained. She winked with her next words, "But they weren't wiped off the map just yet."

"I thought you were…" his eyes drifted to the corner of the room where an object lay. Tracinya followed his gaze before spotting the O.A.G. helmet cap on the ground.

"I was, but when I heard what happened. That you went missing. I volunteered to come help rescue you."

"Why?" He grunted out as she helped him to his feet. He had to lean against her as she saw he was avoiding placing wait on his left leg.

"As I said on the ship. No one is expendable, that includes you. Now, we better get out of here,"

"There was something I had to do, but it can wait. You're right, let's go. I'm just about tired of this place…"

"I will contact the commander and tell him to call for a medivac." A mandalorian outside said, as they started out of the cell and into the dimly lit corridor. Tracinya couldn't help but notice how off something was in her friend's eyes, a hollowness there that she'd never seen before and it made her uneasy. His step would falter slightly every so often, as if he were fighting some great fatigue. She kept close by his side, frowning and wondering what he'd been through in the past days.

* * *

 _Date Unknown, Luke Sparrow, clan Varad compound._

With a gasp, Luke collapsed to his knees once again, coughing and clutching his stomach. He felt absolutely horrible. His stomach tried forcing up whatever was in it, which was nothing, so all he threw up was sickly yellow bile. He spat it out onto the tiled ground, the bitter taste it left in his mouth making him want to retch again.

Tracinya stood by, concerned for her friend's well-being. Though his physical wounds had been healed, somewhat healed, it appeared that other damages had been inflicted. They'd been making their way back to the surface, but Luke looked like he was getting worse. She rested a hand reassuringly on his shoulder as his body shook and convulsed.

Ijaat appeared by her side, "Vizsla, I am concerned. Your friend is not well."

Luke hastily drew the back of his hand across his mouth, his throat burning and desperately wishing he had some water to wash the foul taste away. "I'm well enough to get through this," he said, raising his head as something ignited in his eyes: determination. He had a chance of getting away, he could make it out of this, but he needed to move.

Forcing himself to his feet, despite the protest his body gave, he started walking forwards again with Tracinya keeping close to him. Ijaat bringing up the rear.

They proceeded, making their way through the underground compound and finally out along a staircase that led to the clan compound. For Luke, every step felt like absolute hell, he half collapsed a few times again but Tracinya helped him up.

"Tracinya… don't take this the wrong way, but when we get back to base, I might eat all the MREs." He said dryly with a small smirk as he was helped to his feet. Tracinya couldn't help but smile and shake her head at his humor in this situation. It really wasn't that funny though, he did look thinner. He must have been truly desperate to willingly eat the MREs, she had tried them once when he had offered her one, she had no idea how any soldier could eat them. They tasted like shit.

"When was the last time you ate?" she asked with concern.

"I hadn't eaten a lot before base was attacked to come to this place… I really didn't think… this… would happen," Luke explained, then looked slightly sheepish, "how wrong I was…"

They soon made it to the entrance of the tunnel that led to the Varad clan compound. The walk to the exit felt like miles to Luke, but the both of them managed to get through it. They seriously hoped a medivac was nearby so they could just leave already.

* * *

 _25031 Galactic Standard Calendar, Tracinya Vizla, Mandalorian Medical station._

Tracinya paced back and forth, Luke had been brought in three hours ago, and the state he had been found in left her pale. He was covered in cuts and scars with broken fingers, left leg and ankle. He had only disappeared a week and a half ago when Clan Varad was still split in a civil war which had been going on since when Mand'alore Tar Mav had come into power. One half wanted continue the ways of Mavrix Varad, the previous leader during the Cold War thousands of years ago who only accepted the strong and best of his warriors, they supported Death Watch to a degree and as result also got support from them as well. The other side supported the Supercommando Codex and wanted make better future for their clan and allyed with current Mand'alor. While few in number, the supporters of the ways of Mavrix Varad had attacked and wiped out three O.A.G. bases before they were stopped. Tracinya and a battalion of other Mandalorians had attacked the clan compound that was being used by the Mavrix Varad loyalists. They were assisted by Varad clan ori'ramikad supporters trying to redeem their clans honour after the loyalists had dishonourably slaughtered the O.A.G. personnel. Ijaat Ordo and his squad were the ones to find Luke in the middle of being tortured by Cassuis Varad, a contemptable man who was notorious for his sadistic attitude and bloodlust. Her father had clashed with him many a time and from what Ijaat had told her, the man was seeking to capture her to get back at her father. This had led to the torture of her squad mate who had revealed nothing.

She turned and looked at him floating in the bacta tank. His lean frame now covered in multiple scars. One went diagonally across his chest, another was the length of his right arm. Three vertically down his back. One on his knee where it had been stabbed, the O.A.G. had managed to fix it but it would never fully recover. On top of that his leg and all his fingers on his left hand had to be broken and reset, a surprisingly difficult task as his bones appeared to be reinforced by something. He was malnourished, dehydrated and sleep deprived. Yet he had endured somehow, he truly had an unshakable will. She felt her stomach weaken looking at him in that state.

Luckily the door to the room opened and her father and a doctor walked in forcing her to avert her gaze. Her father was fully armored in his grey crusader armor. He had two scars going over his right eye that left it a milky white. His green eyes flickered over to her.

"Your friend is lucky Mrs Vizsla. Most of his wounds will fade but the scars will always be slightly visible and his knee will never fully recover, but it shouldn't prevent him in the field to any degree other than an annoyance. But we will have to wait until he gets out in two weeks' time to see if there are any mental side effects from his time… imprisoned. Now if you'll excuse me, I have other patients to tend to."

"Thank you doctor," Her father said as the doctor left. He now turned to her. " How are you holding up my little flame?" he said placing his arm around her and pulling her in for a hug.

"Buir! Don't call that, I'm not little anymore." She replied pouting.

"You'll always be my ad'ika, no matter how old or tall you are. You didn't answer my question. And don't lie."

"I… I… don't know. He seemed so strong, powerful, invincible even. He always knew what to do in any situation in the field. But to see him like this, so weak… defeated… because of what _Cassuis_ wanted, I just don't know what to feel. I feel somewhat responsible for it. If it wasn't for me he wouldn't be in that state."

"There may be some truth in your words, however it's because of his knowledge of where you were. That is what prevented Cassuis from killing him. So indirectly you saved him from being killed even if what happened is arguably worse. I'm sure he wouldn't blame you for something you had no control over. If he's even half the man you painted him out to be, he'll pull through. It might take time, but he'll pull through. Besides I and your mother both want to meet him."

"Vor'e Buir," Tracinya said "Don't go too hard on him, he can't even beat me in hand to hand."

Jestar chuckled, "Will do."

* * *

 _Translations_

 _dar'manda =_ _non-mandalorian_

 _Ad'ika =_ _Daughter_

 _Buir =_ _Father/Mothe_ r

 _Vor'e Buir =_ _Thanks father/mother_


	28. Scars

**The First Contact War**

Chapter 28

Scars

" _After a traumatic experience, the human system of self-preservation seems to go on permanent overload, as if the danger might return at any moment_."

 _2623 July 10th Earth Standard Calendar, LT. Luke Sparrow, Mandalor._

The explosions ripped Luke from his sleep. He sat up with a startled cry, white shirt clinging to his back with sweat while a tremor wracked his body. With a groan, he raised his hands to cover his ears as the whistling filled them, the screams and gunfire. It never ended and he doubt it ever would. He remembered with a shiver the last memory of that reoccurring nightmare, ' _Dar'manda'._

"Every fucking morning." he swore bitterly to himself, collapsing back down onto the bed with a heavy sigh. His body still shook slightly and he felt sick with the pain sitting up had caused to his hip. Luke lowered his hands and let them rest atop the feather pillow, eyes clenching shut. Would the sights, sounds and smells of war or… that… cell, ever leave him? He didn't think so.

The bedroom door clattered open and Luke's instincts kicked in instantly as his hand snapped to his hip for a gun, but of course, there was nothing there.

"Luke?" his Tracinya asked, worry in her eyes as she stood in the doorway with her face as pale as a sheet at the sight of him frozen at the sight of her.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't think..." Luke felt guilty when tears filled those violet eyes of hers and he relaxed, shaking his head, making sure to avoid looking directly at her.

"It's okay" he told her gruffly, yanking the covers up over himself, shame trickling through his veins like sand in an hourglass; if he'd had a gun, he would have shot his own squad mate without a pause for thought. It horrified him. War changed a man, and not for the best.

Tracinya shifted slightly as if to step closer, but didn't – he'd been yelling for her to go away since he'd come home four days ago. They had been the most awkward four days of Luke's life. He'd rather be back out in the field with a gun in his hand and an enemy dead before him than faced with his sobbing squad mate who had been quite inconsolable at first.

"Do you... want something to eat? I was going to make some breakfast" she asked hesitantly, hoping he'd start to eat something at long last.

"No" Luke told her, voice softer than before. His heart pounded in his chest, the shells still whistling loudly inside his ears even now. "I just want... to be alone." He turned his head away and sighed, tugging the covers even higher over himself with his back facing her. When Luke heard the door shut, he rolled onto his back and lay there staring up at the ceiling for so long he lost track of time while his body throbbed painfully.

 _Fuck the world. Fuck everything._

He didn't know how the hell he was going to cope. How could he? The life he knew before, the life he loved and was comfortable with had been shattered nearly beyond repair.

 _25031 Galactic Standard Calendar, Tracinya Vizla, Apartment in the upper wards Mandalor_

Tracinya glumly walked down the stairs. It had been a week since Luke had been taken out of the Bacta tank and had woken up. He had been extremely jumpy at first, lashing out at doctors when they had tried to help, but after two days he had calmed down. He had healed rapidly, physically, at least. He was already able to run, but his knee still played up from time to time. The scars that covered his body had faded. Some of the deeper scars along his arm and back were still visible and likely to be permanent. His hand was almost fully recovered from its broken fingers, but still needed another week to fully heal.

He had been discharged from the hospital a couple days later and had been staying at her family's residence for the time being. In that time he had only left his room to eat, or go on runs. Aside from interactions between her and her parents he kept interactions with the world and the people in it to a minimum. He seemed distant. Well… more distant than usual. He had woken up nearly every morning screaming and had refused to talk about why. She assumed, like her father and mother had, it was due to the experiences he endured under the sadist Cassuis Varad.

Entering the kitchen, she saw her father sitting at the table looking at the news on his data-pad. He looked up at her.

"Well?"

"He's not coming down."

"He's been up there for four days now, he has hardly eaten anything. It's not healthy." Her mother said walking over and taking a seat at the table.

"I know but he keeps on rejecting each attempt I make at getting out of that room."

Tracinya's ears picked up the nose of someone coming down the stairs. Seeing as only four people were in the apartment and three of them were downstairs, that left Luke. Maybe he had finally decided to come downstairs and talk. There wasn't a way of avoiding it, the apartment was compact. The front door was part of the kitchen with a living room next door and the stairs on the right-hand side of the room opposite the living room. Upstairs consisted of a bathroom and three bedrooms.

Luke appeared at the base of the stairs dressed in a light grey shirt and dark grey tracksuit. He seemed alright if a bit tense. As if ready to leap into action in a moment's notice. His eyes also seemed distant, as if he wasn't entirely here, and where scanning the room.

"Good Moring Mr. Sparrow, how was your night?"

"It was fine, ma'am."

"Please, call me Lexie or Misses Vizsla at the least."

"Yes ma'a-, I mean, Misses Vizsla."

"Are you going out?" Tracinya asked.

"Yes, for a run and some light exercise."

"You should be taking it easy. You have just been…" Tracinya paused, trying to find the right choice of words, "Injured."

"I'm fine. I can handle some light exercises. I can't afford to get out of shape."

"Do you at least want any breakfast before you go?" her father asked.

"No thank you Sir." Luke said before putting on some running shoes and walking out the door.

"Is he going to be alright?" Her mother asked.

"He's a hardened combat veteran, he'll be fine."

"That's not what your mother meant. Even I noticed it as I'm sure you did. He was tensed up, ready for the slightest sign of hostility to spring into action. Assessing the room for weapons, us for strengths and weaknesses and quick escape routes. He still in combat mode. And while that is fine in the field. In peacetime or off the battlefield, when he's not fighting. He is not going to react well to aggression or perceived aggression. And he won't be gentle."

 _2623 July 10th Earth Standard Calendar, LT. Luke Sparrow, Mandalor._

Luke had been out jogging for two hours now, he had left the apartment the Vizsla's had owned and had been running non-stop since. Out of the corner of his eye he spied a small park. seeing no-one was there, he decided to take a quick break.

The park had a stone path that wound through the park. There were a plethora of plants, bushes and trees of various colours that he didn't recognize, that dotted the park. The vegetation was so thick in places that it obscured parts of the Outer wall of the city and the two buildings that squeezed the park on both sides. There was a small intricate fountain in the middle of the park with a statue of some Mandalorian warrior on top. Likely a commemoration to some part of their history or a fallen warrior.

He spotted a wooden bench tucked away on the far right of the park. It was shaded by a tall tree and half hidden by two bushes. He walked over and sat down on it. The old bench creaking in protest to his weight. He leaned back against it, he looked over at the city opposite it. Speeders used the invisible aerial highways that stilled seemed alien to him, in the O.A.G. they still used wheeled vehicles, albeit they were A.I. controlled for the most part. The lights off the buildings that seem to rise from the darkness below into the light above seemed just like the cities back home though. But from where he sat, the noises were distant and dulled. It was… peaceful. It felt… strange. He couldn't remember the last time he had just sat back and relaxed. The peace. The relative quite. The calm. It felt unnatural, uncomfortable even. He was used to combat, action. Constant noise bombarding him. Soldiers crying out for a medic. The sound of gunfire and artillery shells. The engines of a Pelican dropship or a tank. Giving and taking orders. But now, he had a few days until the phycologist interrogated him on his mental state. If he passed that, he'd be on his way to the battlefield of Umbara with Tracinya by the end of next week.

But what to do until then. He had two days until the test. A day until the results came back in. Assuming he passed a day for transportation arrangements to be made then four days to gear up until he was sent to Umbara. But what to do in the time between then and now. Clean his weapons, he didn't have any, or his armour. There was no base to protect or positions that need to be protected or patrolled. What was he supposed to do. He was only allowed to do light exercises for now but he knew he could do more. He was designed to.

He needed a routine. Something, anything. So long as he didn't have to think or reflect on past decisions or… events.

 _No! your not a POW anymore. Your alive and free. He can't hurt you or anyone anymore. The Mandalorian Special Forces saw to that._ He reminded himself. Looking around again to properly gage his surroundings, he noticed that the roof of that adjacent three-story building was perfect for a sniper, how the narrow street was ideal for an ambush. That you could- _Stop it. This is Mandalor, the war isn't here._

Reaching into his tracksuit pocket he pulled out a packet of cigarettes and a lighter. Pulling a cigarette out, he held it between his thumb, middle and forefinger. The smell of tobacco reached his nose as he lit it. Placing it in his mouth briefly, taking a puff, before he removed it a few seconds later. He felt calmer than he had before.

"You bitch! You'll pay for that!" Luke turned his head and saw a tall, muscled man clutching a broken bleeding nose, the blood running down his face. A young woman was running away from him and two obvious goons were chasing her. The woman turned into the park, not realizing it was a dead end. The two goons close on her tail. Luke followed them with his eyes as they pursued her over to the far left of the park near where he was sitting. Luke placed the cigarette in the left of his mouth, teeth keeping it in place as he inhaled once more and stood up.

By this point the woman had been cornered and her back was literally against the wall, the two men surrounded her. Luke casually walked up behind the left goon. _Tall, muscled, no visible sign of armour underneath shirt, likely to rely on boxer or brawler style CQC techniques._ He reached out with his arm and tapped the goon on the shoulder.

"What! Can't you see-" was as far as the man got as Luke threw a haymaker that connected with the man's jaw, dislocating it. Before the man could react, Luke threw another punch at the man's head. His fist connected again and the man went down with a thud.

The man's comrade recovered from his shock and threw a wild swing at Luke with his right arm. Luke ducked under the swing whilst grabbing the man's arm. He twisted the arm using the momentum of the swing to get the elbow facing up. He brought his free arm's elbow down. Hard. The man's arm broke with a sickening snap and the man cried out in pain. His arm bent unnaturally. The man started to go into shock and hyperventilate whilst crying out in pain as Luke released his grip. Luke placed him in a choke hold, the man struggling in vain to escape, working limb flailing at Luke. Luke waited until the man passed out before releasing the hold and let the man fall to the ground.

"Thanks for the assist, but I had everything under control." The woman spoke with a thick South African accent. _How does she even have that accent, it doesn't make sense. I just… Fuck it, I'm done questioning how much the galaxy has in common with us,_ Luke thought, pulling out another cigarette.

A brief glance at her was all his mind needed to analyse her. Tall, thin, brown hair down to the small of her back, some visible muscle, tense and analysing the threat level he posed to her.

"You Mandalorians are good in a fight." She continued.

"They are, but I'm not a Mandalroian."

"Then who are you?"

"Luke Sparrow, Lieutenant, O.A.G. SPECWAR."

 _The room was cold, so cold… his leg hurt, his arms too and so did his entire body… pain... so much pain…_

" _Lieutenant, Luke Sparrow, B-55-850-999."_

"Hello! You okay? You spaced out for a moment there." She said as Luke's mind realized where he was again.

"I'm fine… just… memories."

"Right… As I was saying, I'm Jaina Mered. So your part of the O.A.D.F."

"Yes, been five years now."

"That makes you a year older than me as from what little I know, you must have joined at eighteen."

"Correct. So, what did these men want with you?"

"They were pressing me for money. My father is ill so to buy medication, I… I had to go to them, we are a poor family. It was the only way. I hadn't been able to pay them back. So , they threatened to kill me, or worse… If you hadn't shown up… then…" She said, appearing to be on the verge of tears. Closing herself in as to appear more vulnerable as possible. Luke gave her a quick once over with his eyes. He spotted a slight, dagger shaped bulge in her left boot. He noticed in her jackets inside pocket the unmistakable outline of blaster pistol cartridges. _So she has a hidden blade and at least one blaster._

"I suppose it would be seeing as you managed to afford a DL-18 or a Westar 35 pistol. Plus the hidden blade in your boot."

"For my… own protection?" She said with her voice pitching slightly higher toward the end. Luke simply raised an eyebrow.

"I think you can drop the act now, it's clear from weapons and your attire that your either a dealer of some kind or smuggler."

"Fine you got me. The Black Sun paid me to bring some Red Sand shipment to them. They thought they could kill me and get my ship and the Sand. I promise I've learnt my lesson and won't do it again. So if you let me go I'll be on may way."

"Fine."

"You sure, I'll make it worth your-. Wait, really? Just like that. Even though I'm a smuggler, a person regarded widely as a criminal."

"I'm injured as I'm sure you've noticed with the lack of weight I'm putting on my left leg. So a single kick would likely leave me out of action and you'll get away. Besides, I only saw a woman trying to help her sick father being harassed by some black sun thugs, no smuggler anywhere." Jaina grinned.

"Glad we came to a understanding. I got to go check on my ship, see ya around stud!" she said walking off. Luke took one last puff from the cigarette before spitting it out onto the ground and crushing it under his shoe. He probably needed to start heading back now. Besides, he had that psyche evaluation to pass to get back into combat. Where things felt normal.

 _25031 Galactic Standard Calendar, Tracinya Vizla,_

Tracinya walked side by side with Luke. She was walking with him on the down the hall of the mental health hospital to meet with the psychologist who was 'sent' to look at Luke's metal state. It was around noon, near lunchtime. Since Luke's run two days ago, he'd become less tense and withdrawn. He'd interacted with her and her family more but he still spent most his time either in his room or exercising. He was like a machine with a strict routine, never stopping even though he had been told to take it easy. Her stomach rumbled. She hadn't eaten that morning, deciding to do some training herself. Now it was lunch and her stomach was demanding something to eat.

"If you're hungry we can stop somewhere and grab something to eat on the way back?"

"Sure, that sounds like a good idea."

"Here we are, room 446. Time to get this over with." Luke said as they came to a stop outside the room.

"You'll do fine. Just be honest with the doctor and everything will work out. I'll wait out here." Luke's only response to that was to sigh and knock on the door.

 _2623 July 12th Earth Standard Calendar, LT. Luke Sparrow, Mandalor._

"Come in." he heard from inside. Pushing the door open he entered a small room. A wooden desk was crammed in the right corner of a room with papers and files scattered all over it with a small lamp on the right most corner. The window on the far wall had the blinds down and closed, preventing people seeing into the room and blocking out the light. There were two chairs in the room and on top of one of them was Doctor Gavins. Doctor Gavins was a middle-aged woman in her late thirties. Her blonde hair reached down past her shoulder and sported glasses. She was also the designated ONI section III shrink assigned to the Praetorians from the Gen II's, Gen III's and his own Gen III.5's.

"Doctor." Luke greeted.

"Ahh, Lieutenant, good to see you again. How have you been since I last saw you?" she greeted warmly.

"Can we just get to the point of me being here." Luke said taking a seat at on spare chair.

"As always. Straight to the point with you. I know you don't like the small talk and the pleasantries. So then, let's get started. Do you have repeated, disturbing memories, thoughts, or images of a stressful military experience?"

"Some."

"Could you elaborate?"

"My recent time on Mandalore and Tarhassan."

"Have they affected you in anyway?"

"Personally? Or in my job?"

"Both."

"No effect on my job. No noticeable effect on my personal life."

"Any repeated, disturbing dreams of a stressful military experience?"

"None that spring to mind." Luke lied.

"Suddenly acting or feeling as if a stressful military experience were happening again, as if you were reliving it?"

"None."

"Have you had physical reactions, like heart pounding, trouble breathing, sweating, when something reminded you of a stressful experience?"

"No."

"Do you avoid thinking about or talking about a stressful military experience or avoiding having feelings related to it?"

"I was taught too." _It would have been a compromised asset if I stopped to consider every action I was ordered to do and the morality of it I would lose effectiveness._

"Yes right, your training under the inni's. Are you avoiding activities or situations because they reminded you of a stressful experience?"

"No, I've found myself wanting to get back into the fight even more."

"Do you have trouble remembering important parts of a stressful combat situations?"

"None, I can recall most of my missions and combat."

"Any loss of interest in activities that you used to enjoy?"

"I'm not in combat so I couldn't answer." She frowned at his answer.

"Do you feel distant or cut off from other people?"

"No more so than usual."

"Do you feel emotionally numb or are unable to have loving feelings for those close to you?"

Luke merely raised an eyebrow.

"Right, yes. Praetorian. Silly question." Doctor Gavins said exasperatedly.

"Are you feeling as if your future will somehow be cut short? Outside you being a soldier."

"No, I'm good at what I do."

"But you were captured."

"But I got out."

"And how does that make you feel?"

"Like I need to get better at what I do."

"Moving on, any trouble falling or staying asleep?" Dr Gavin's said seeing that she was getting nowhere with that topic.

"None, sleep is a luxury that makes one get sleep whenever they can, wherever they can."

"Do you Feel irritable or have angry outbursts? Any difficulty concentrating?"

"None."

"Being "super-alert" or watchful or on guard?"

"No more so than usual." _Not untrue._

"Feeling jumpy or easily startled?"

"Not really."

"Okay then. I'm going to say a word and you will say the first word that pops into your mind."

"Understood Doc."

"Friends."

"Dead."

"Family."

"None."

"Red."

"Blood."

"Earth."

"Protect."

"Enemy."

"Eliminate."

"Home."

"None."

"Pain."

"Motivation."

"That concludes that. Now you might find this next part difficult, you don't have to do it if you don't want to. I going to need you to describe in detail what happened to you whilst you were captured."

 _Shit. If I don't I'll probably not be allowed back out to the field for quite some time. But I can't make light of what happened or that will also get me prohibited from returning to active service. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit._

"No, of course, I shouldn't avoid the issue." Luke spoke, _The fuck do say!,_ "Well I was kept in an underground cell, no natural light, humid, damp, claustrophobic-"

"And how was it like."

"Well, I would be lying if it wasn't disconcerting and uncomfortable, but I had been trained for this eventuality as any soldier is, more so in my case. So I was somewhat prepared for it."

"So what happened next?"

"Well, I had my leg and ankle broken on the first day. After that I was starved of water and food for nearly two weeks and when I did finally receive the two I was forced to grovel at that bastard's feet like some slave or pet. It was degrading to say the least. During my time there…," _Pause for effect. close eyes. Inhale. 1, 2, 3. Exhale. Open eyes looking at the floor,_ "He used a knife usually, blade… sword thing otherwise. As my… arms, legs and torso can attest to. It was never just brief shallow cuts. It was either long and shallow or being stabbed. It… it… went on for days. It just didn't end. Day after day. Night after night. It just didn't end. He just kept on going." He allowed his voice to become a little cracked and shaky towards then end, to _convey_ just how traumatic the experience was for him.

"And how have you been coping with this experience?"

"Well… I have been exercising more frequently, running helps to keep my head clear."

"Good, some people don't always find a healthy coping mechanism. But can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"You mentioned earlier that you wanted to get back into the 'fight'. Could you elaborate on why?"

"Uhh... I mean.. Well. I suppose I feel safest and securest when I know that I have squad mates watching my back and my gear on me. I'm used to it."

"So it's some form of comfort zone?"

"Exactly. It's my comfort zone."

"Not sure many people would say the military is a 'comfort zone', much less a combat zone."

"Well I can't argue that. We Praetorians don't fit the conventional norms."

"That statement couldn't be truer. Before you go I was wondering if you wanted to talk about your time with the Inni's. Specifically how you were-"

"We're not talking about that." Luke growled out.

"Listen, I get your not exactly keen on opening that can of worms. But it's a can that needs to be opened. You can't keep hiding from what happened behind the 'I'm a clone excuse', your going to have to face what he did to you sooner or later."

"We're done here." Luke said. Why did every time he had to see the shrinks did they insist on bringing up _him._ Couldn't they just leave him be with the cover file said was the case.

"That will be all for now, I'll send my report to your CO and he'll decide if your clear for service."

"Ma'am." Luke said as he got up and left.

 _2623 July 14th Earth Standard Calendar, LT. Luke Sparrow, Mandalor._

Luke heard his communicator ring for a second time that night. Looking at the caller I.D. he saw that Hex was calling him. He hadn't seen or heard from her since their last call about over a month ago.

"Hello Hex."

 _"Hey Luke, I wasn't able to reach you earlier a couple weeks back, what happened?"_

"I got captures by some Mandalorians and was held captive for a little over two weeks. Got some first-hand experience of clan Varad hospitality." Luke said revealing his scared right arm so that hex could see it on her communicator. He saw her eyes fill with worry and concern for him.

"You don't have to worry about me I'm fine, a shrink looked at my head and didn't find anything wrong seeing as my CO cleared me for service."

 _"That may be true but you seem to be taking this whole thing in stride a little to well, as though you are completely unaffected by this horrific thing you've experienced."_

"Hex... trust me on this... my training was unique, very unique. What I went through with clan Varad has nothing on what training I went through did to me."

 _"You keep mentioning this 'training' you've been through yet every time someone asks you what it was you say it's classified."_

"Because it is."

 _"I know...,"_ he saw Hex let out a sigh, _"so anything else happen to you since we last talked?"_

"Not really I'm leaving for Umbara within the week and will be joining up with O.A.S.D.F. and Republic forces. Until then I'm staying with Tracinya and her folks."

 _"She's already introducing you to her parents. You move fast."_ Hex said with a teasing grin.

"It's not like that and you know it."

 _"Sure, sure..."_

"So what about on your end."

 _"I got transferred to the Pathfinders brigade."_ Luke let out an impressed whistle. The Pathfinders were a recon force that were trained to scout and fight in swamps, mountains, jungles, deserts and any other extreme condition one could think off, it took a certain type of person to qualify and join.

"Your trying to make me jealous aren't you."

 _"A little."_

"Damn, that's impressive. It's no easy feat, congratulations. If you were on Mandalor I'd take you out for drinks, my treat."

 _"Aren't you a lightweight when it comes to alcohol?"_

"My metabolism is very high so it gets into my system quickly, I can still drink more than you. I just become really drunk really quickly " Luke said defensively.

 _"Tell you what then, when we next meet you by me drinks if possible. Deal?"_

"Deal. So, do you know where you're going to be deployed to yet?"

" _Some tropical-esque planet on the Southern front."_

"Promise you'll be careful, I won't be there to look after you this time?"

" _Only if you promise too."_

"Fine, I promise I'll be carful."

 _"Good, I have to go now, ping me when your next able to talk."_

"Sure thing."

 _"See ya' Luke!"_

"Bye Hex."

 _25031 Galactic Standard Calendar, Darth Sidious, Coruscant_

Sidious slammed his fist down on his desk in frustration, despite his many spy's best efforts they had been unable to gather any clues as to where the Orion Arm was. He had gained insight to the Orion Arm's geopolitical situation, its sociology and other such things that would only become useful once he knew where it was and he had it under his thumb. Until he did they would remain a thorn in his side and a threat to his grand plan to take over the galaxy. The size of the Orion Arm's size was unknown, it's full military power was unknown, it's economic strength was unknown, it's technology was unknown. The Orion Arm Government was an unknown, and therefore a threat. Its offensives and operations so far in the war were fast, efficient and perfectly executed, mixing speed with firepower and flexibility. The Separatist's had been unable to stop them until General Zhao had lead two masterful defensive operations on the Northern and Southern fronts. There had been massive expenditure of droids to do so but the seemingly unstoppable force of the Orion Arm military had been weathered. General Grevious was currently planning an offensive into the core worlds now from the Eastern front which had fallen to the supervision of the clone legions and Mandalorians, with a token force of O.A.D.F. in the region. Luckily due to Zhao stopping the O.A.G. all fronts were now at a stalemate and now the attritional warfare he had been planning for could begin.

Sidious looked back at the report he received about the one O.A.G. planet that could be found. As it was the one planet the O.A.G. had that was known about due to the agreement between them and the Republic. Albion. A temperate world with two large continents. It had a population of two million Orionians, mostly military or there for business and another million inhabitants from the Republic. A single Orionian fleet was always in orbit and a million and half personnel were permanently stationed on world. Leaning back in his chair he let out a frustrated sigh as he turned and gazed out upon the Coruscant skyline. The O.A.G. was causing a headache. He'd just send his spies to infiltrate Albion, it would be a better to infiltrate Albion than the Orion Arm. Not to mention easier.

 _25031 Galactic Standard Calendar, General Zhao, CIS cruiser Indomitable_

"Send the 712th armoured division to reinforce the 901st infantry division and see if you can get the 81st fleet on escort duty for the convoys, we need to increase the protection of our lifelines if we wish to keep the O.A.D.F. at bay. And mobilize the reserve infantry and armoured divisions."

"Yes Sir." His aid scampered off hurriedly to follow Zhao's orders. Zhao unlike many other CIS commanders and higher tier leaders in the Separatists chose to use organics over droids as part of his crew and staff. He felt as though it gave him greater flexibility and adaptability when new tactical situations arose and would allow for out-side the box ideas rather than the standard battle plans from the Tactical droids. Zhao believed it was this quality that allowed him to stop the O.A.D.F. on both the Northern and Southern fronts. Unfortunately the price of stalemate between the O.A.D.F. and Separatists on the two fronts was billions of credits worth of droids, resources and ships which could be replenished over time, but time was a luxury that didn't exist in war. The Separatists armies that had started out at the start of the war from the get go were exhausted, undermanned and underequipped. The new armies and their leaders where inexperienced and too eager against the Republic and this new foe in the form of the O.A.G. that was proving to be too much for them to handle.

Zhao brushed a hand through his hair as he laid back in his captain's chair. His wife had mentioned he had a few more grey hairs. He supposed being a leading hand in the Separatist war effort would do that to a person.

"Sir Count Dooku is contacting you."

"Put it through immediately." Zhao knew better than to keep the Sith waiting if he wanted to keep his head. Count Dooku's blue image appeared before him.

"General Zhao."

"Count Dooku." Zhao said bowing.

"Congratulations are in order. You have successfully held back the O.A.G.'s onslaught on two fronts. To rewarded this achievement the Separatist Parliament and myself have decided to promote you to Field Marshall and grant you full responsibility of the Southern front. Your orders are to hold the current positions through any means necessary and if possible to drive the barbarians back."

"I understand Sir."

"See to it you do." With that Count Dooku's image disappeared.

Judging from his orders the Separatists were going to hold the line on the Northern and Southern fronts and make their push on the Eastern front to knock the Republic out of the war and use that to bring the O.A.G. to the negotiating table. Unfortunately that required General Grevious to break through the Republic and Mandalorian forces. Provided he could do that, the Mandalorians could be tied down defending their home system and planet. Pockets of Republic resistance would remain but if a significant breakthrough was achieved the core worlds would be ripe for the taking being as undefended as they were by lazy and corrupt politicians, well most of them were bar a few exceptions.

It had all been going so well. Two years ago CIS planners had predicted a speedy collapse of any resistance mounted by the Jedi and Republic. There would have been a quick victory and the CIS would have become an independent state and welcomed any other systems willing to join. Or the Republic would have subjugated and absorbed into the CIS. Somehow the Republic had magicked up a force damned army out of nowhere and managed to slow down the Separatist. But Separatist high command was confident that victory was still inevitable and the sliding scale of war were in their favour. The it had shifted. The O.A.G. had suddenly appeared making contact with the Republic. He supposed the O.A.D.F. attacking the CIS ships was logical, one fleet engaged by another sending a distress signal would dictate that it would be likely that one would aid it. But then they had gone straight to Coruscant. To the Senate. To the Chancellor and Jedi. And they had given their side of the events that had transpired between the CIS and Republic from the Republic perspective while the CIS had been unable to give its. Then the Orion Arm Defence Force unleashed its unstoppable muscle upon an unprepared galaxy pushing the CIS back on all fronts initially until almost a year later he had stalled them in the Northern and Southern Fronts and General Grevious had started to drive the Republic and Mandalorians back on the Eastern.

The galaxy had seen something like the clone wars or the umpteenth galactic civil war in hundreds of years. The O.A.D.F. had come in with experience of war not even half a century old. And using that knowledge and experience their war machine had smashed ruthlessly and rapidly into the CIS placing them on the back foot immediately, their _blitzkrieg_ , whatever that meant, and their shock and awe tactics worked tremendously. But they seemed to only work in the opening stages of war. Now though. Now attrition warfare could begin. And that was something an army of people could not win against an army of machines. One had to be recruited. One could be built, over and over. Until there was no-one to be recruited. And all that was left... Was vacant ranks.

 _An extract from the Orionian newspaper The Insider from the planet Malgor,_

 _Should the O.A.S.D.F. use the Republic's AT-TE Walkers?_

 _It's a potential improvement over the Titan tank pattern to be sure. But those legs are still slower, more vulnerable, and far less capable in most terrains than standard treads would be (to say nothing about the fuel costs.) The problem with tanks is that they're very heavy. This can be a huge problem with their mobility, since it can cause them to sink into even firm terrain. They're even too heavy for some paved roads._

 _Treads spread all that weight over a pretty large area, mitigating that effect to a degree. And because the treads roll quickly the force being transferred to the ground remains constant while also allowing the propulsive force of the engine to be applied pretty much anywhere there's contact with something. This means they can often dig themselves out of messes they get into on their own. Being low to the ground also makes them highly stable, allowing them to handle steep grades that a car might not be able to pass over._

 _Legs intensify the problem of the vehicle sinking, because instead of having the weight spread out over two metal bands running the entire length of the vehicle you've got just 6 pads that make up a fraction of that surface area. And each leg has a long cycle time when it takes a step, meaning that during the time it's at the most risk of losing balance you've got the most weight being supported by the ground, and thus the highest likelihood that said ground will collapse. And when that ground does collapse, the vehicle's belly is going to end up as a more stable platform to support its weight than the legs, which will work against it in trying to push itself back out again._

 _Finally, the bulk of the vehicle's weight is being lifted by those legs. That high center of gravity makes for an easily toppled transport. It might be able to handle an upwards slope well enough with careful maneuvering, but what about heading downhill? What about dealing with shifting terrain like gravel or mud under the legs? The thing is going to be naturally inclined to topple forwards onto its nose, on a downwards slope and if that happened at the wrong time it could easily end up being carried over onto its side. In fact, enemy troops would be wise to do this deliberately, shooting out the unshielded and unarmored ground right before one of the front legs came down on it. If that happens with a normal tank it generally remains stable even as it slides because the low center of gravity and broad platform make it inherently resistant to toppling._

 _So yeah. Given the choice, I'll take a good old-fashioned tank over a walker._

 **A/N**

 **PTSD and other such mental trauma based injuries are real issues that affect both active and retired servicemen/women. I as a civilian cannot accurately portray or understand what these people have and are experiencing. I do not intend to make light of such mental health issues and hope to not insult those who have or know those who are affected, nor offend them.**


	29. The Battered Bastards

The First Contact War

Chapter 29

The Battered Bastards

" _Retreat? Hell, we just got here!"_

 _Lloyd W. Williams_

 _2623 July 30th Earth Standard Calendar, LT. Luke Sparrow, Umbara._

Luke had arrived on Umbara a single day ago. He found it strange that some form of life developed enough to build an advanced civilisation here. What confused him even more was that despite the lack of sunlight that there wasn't vast artic tundra and endless miles of snow and ice. Instead the vegetation was everywhere. But the temperature reflected what he expected. -240 Celsius, the ground was frozen solid, water was frozen solid outside urban areas. The thick O.A.D.F. winter or tundra didn't even keep out the cold fully. The winter-like bite effected all the O.A.G. soldiers. Only the vehicles were actually warm and soldiers did what ever they could to get even a minute in one.

They'd been in some unpronounceable Umbaran village for two days. Two days of biting cold, impenetrable black fog, and yet no snow. The fact a world like Umbara existed the way it did, with no sun, and yet there was no snow annoyed him.

The Umbarans cut the road behind them, completely surrounding the 3287th Airborne Division, a mostly South-American division mainly from Brazil, on all sides. While Easy Company had managed to dig in on a hill, vaguely covered by a forest of native trees, the Umbarans still had the high ground and shelter, positioning themselves in the houses of the surrounding towns for a far better vantage point.

Initially, Easy Company sent out patrols trying to determine what they were up against. They knew the Sepi's had taken the town North of them, only about three or four football fields away from the edge of the woods Easy Company was using for cover. And that they'd taken their initial goal of before Easy Company had even arrived.

They repelled the Umbaran's attempts to break their lines almost constantly as they probed the Allied position for weakness. Easy Company did their share of fighting – but they couldn't do much more than hold on and bear the brunt of the assault.

It would be quiet, almost peaceful, and suddenly a quick firefight would break out, it would be over just as quick, with the only evidence of it ever happening being the men screaming for medics.

Everyone waited on baited breath for the Umbarans to start shelling their position again, and shell them they did. They had a new, terrifying weapon that they favoured – The Umbaran mobile heavy cannon. The men couldn't walk or stand together for fear that one shell would take all of them out at once. It didn't take long for Easy Company to learn: if everybody was heading somewhere – like the mess tent – they staggered themselves into groups of two or three. It was something anyone who'd seen one of those shells hit a bunch of their buddies did.

Luke saw Iglesia and Luiz blown into red-mist only hours after they'd dug in. After that, he enforced the staggering rule rigorously.

The Umbarans were relentless. They kept probing, searching for a weak point in the line to shatter the whole defence.

Command constantly shifted men and what limited weaponry they had. Everything from the armoured unit and their tanks, to Heavy machine guns and mortars, to actual ammunition. All in order to fill the gaps in the already thin perimeter line and support the besieged sections. The meagre supplies they was spread sparingly between all of the defenders, each unit borrowing what they desperately needed from everyone else, and everyone gave all they had so someone else might get what they needed to hold the Umbarans off just a bit longer. Eve saw the same guns rotate into and out of the company again and again as they repelled the Umbarans on their portion of the line.

Nobody thought about giving up. Everyone knew what retreating cost them in failed Operation Blizzard – where the Separatist General Zhao had halted the Southern O.A.G. offensive at great cost to the attacking Orionian forces. He had waited for the armoured units to get just far enough ahead and then attack the supply lines, cutting if the attacking units. Eventually this forced the O.A.G. invasion to stop and stagnate to its current position.

They just had to be sparing – had to be cautious and keep holding on – but Luke reckoned they cost the Umbarans a lot of men trying to break their lines, and that was worth the hardship.

But they were still getting hammered and not just by the Umbarans.

The abominable weather was like a second enemy.

The fog rendered air support and resupply near-impossible. Every time Command tried to call in for supplies, the drop would miss them and hit the Umbarans. Easy Company could see the Umbaran's antiaircraft guns going from all four sides of them, firing at any Allied aircraft bold or desperate enough to try to fly in the atrocious weather and provide support for the besieged men on the ground.

It was minus 240 degrees centigrade; it should've be constantly snowing. But Umbara's weird atmosphere that didn't happen. It was just incredibly fucking cold.

All of the servicemen and women had the standard issue tundra-gear. Thick, layered clothing with built in armour heating and yet they still felt the cold. With makeshift fires, they still felt the cold. In their foxholes in their blankets, shrinking in on themselves as to retain as much body-heat as possible, cold was still ever present. It was like sitting in a freezer. But, their limited body warmth melted the permanently frozen ground, so it was actually like sitting in a freezer while soaking wet.

There were no fires. Every time someone tried to light one, the Umbarans used the light to zero their heavy guns on their position. They weathered the artillery barrages in their half dug foxholes. No fires meant there was no warmth, no way to melt the frozen water in their canteens, no way to warm what little food they had. Thirst was setting in. Hunger was an old friend.

The cold turned the ground into concrete. Some of the guys resorted to using grenades to soften the dirt enough for their entrenching tools. Getting deep enough for sufficient cover was nearly impossible.

Nobody slept. The Umbarans liked to shell the woods with mortars at night. The more guys Easy Company lost to the shells, the less they slept and the more guys were put on watch – until no one felt comfortable sleeping at all. It was no sleep, and constant stress, wearing on them all until they were thin shades of the soldiers they'd been before now.

Dante said that deepest pit of hell – the home of Lucifer himself – was a frozen wasteland.

This town was hell on Umbara.

Luke, as a Lieutenant, was in charge of waking the guys up and getting them to the outpost. The rotation on the outpost was every two hours, so at least he could get up and move a bit – not that it helped much.

There was nowhere to go, nowhere to escape the cold or the front lines. They were staying, come hell or high water. They couldn't let the Umbarans break through.

Somebody in Bastogne back in the 20th century had said, "They got us surrounded, the poor bastards."

It became a slogan, a whispered kind of prayer that was repeated so often no one really knew who'd said it first once again.

Luke slid into his foxhole, hiked his shoulders up to his ears, wedged his hands up under his armpits, and settled in, watching the line. His foxhole buddy, Guarnere, was out patrolling the lines and checking on the rest of the platoon so he was alone.

It got dark… really dark, really fast here. Luke was disappointed he couldn't see the stars, but then, it was almost fitting that something that would have made this miserable place more bearable was absent. This place was so wretched it didn't deserve anything beautiful to redeem it. It would have felt mocking rather than wonderful, and Luke wanted to always enjoy the stars.

He heard footsteps behind him and whirled, gun raised. It was Tracinya. She raised his hands in surrender, a smirk on her lips as she crouched next to his foxhole.

"Luke," she said still smiling, "I heard you might've grabbed some aid kits on our way in?"

"Yeah," He said fishing around under the blanket for the pack he'd shoved them in. "I grabbed all I could when we left Camp Frost and from those guys we passed on our way in. Did we already go through the crate from the aid station?" He asked as he dug for the kits. He upended his pack, dumping all of his smaller bags and the other contents onto the frozen ground. Sure enough, near the top of the pile were five or six aid kits with their precious morphine and bandages.

Tracinya picked them up reverently and put them in her own pack as she answered. "I haven't seen it."

Luke cursed. It was bad news, but not entirely unexpected. Ideally, Tracinya would have had her pick of the supplies, but bandages were desperately needed everywhere. He wasn't surprised they'd been transferred out and about with the guns.

"How are you fixed for smokes?" He asked, pulling a pack from his stockpile. Cigarettes provided a pseudo warming sensation, like breathing in fire instead of tobacco and were worth more than gold – not that gold was worth anything out here.

"I won't say no if you've got some to share," She hedged.

Luke tossed her a pack.

"I'm glad you're with us, Luke," She said, tucking the smokes away.

"So am I, I can't stand doing nothing,"

"No, I suppose you can't," said Tracinya with her quiet sincerity.

"I don't know about you but I'm going to get some sleep before the Umbarans start shelling the shit out of this place again."

"You can actually sleep out here? In that gear."

"I know the armour doesn't completely encase us and therefore has no internal heating system but yes, I can sleep out here. Doesn't mean its cosy."

"I better get these to the medic."

* * *

 _25031 Galactic Standard Calendar, Tracinya Vizla, Umbara_

Tracinya found the other Company medic, Gabriel Spina, in their foxhole.

Somewhat predictably, Lucas hadn't been in his hole. The man was never where you needed him to be.

She didn't have the energy to go hunt their CO down, especially since it wasn't an emergency. Tracinya abandoned her search for the time being.

She was tired.

"Did you get anything?" Spina asked as Tracinya jumped down next to him.

"Lieutenant Sparrow had six kits in that pack of his," Tracinya replied, passing three of the kits to Spina.

"No shit? What about scissors? Did you find any of them?"

Gabe had been looking for scissors since they'd left Camp Frost. Her original pair had somehow disappeared from her pack. Knowing she was going to be in for some teasing, Tracinya reluctantly fished the tiny scissors from her webbings breast pocket. They fitted in the palm of her hand easily, she wasn't sure they'd be any use at all for the kind of cutting he'd need to do in a hurry.

Spina let out a barking laugh. "Those are the puniest excuse of a pair of scissors I've ever seen!" he informed her.

"It was all I could find," she admitted with a grumble.

"I'll keep looking," Spina promised once he'd stopped laughing.

Tracinya nodded. She wasn't entirely sure whether she was slightly irritated that Spina'd been laughing for the last ten minutes at her plight, or grateful. There was precious little to laugh at out here. Every time Spina looked over at her, he started chuckling again.

Playing along, Tracinya sent the medic a glare, and settled in for another long, cold night with a secret smile, grateful for her friends. If she was going to be cold and miserable out here in the woods in what passed for the middle of winter, she was glad he was doing it with people who could still laugh about it.

She'd scout out another blanket for Luke and Guarnere when she got up in an hour to check the line again. She just needed a few minutes of sleep first.

* * *

 _2623 July 31st Earth Standard Calendar, LT. Luke Sparrow, Umbara._

The next day, Luke slid into a foxhole with Lieutenant Garcia. Everyone swapped holes and people in them as they lost men and were reassigned to fill the holes in the line. This had the added benefit of keeping them from monotony.

No one wanted to be above ground for long.

The Umbarans had developed a new kind of terror. They pelted them with shells that had a shortened fuse so they exploded in the treetops, raining shrapnel down from above in the form of giant splinters. They skewered men sometimes. Luke would rather just be blown to hell than be skewered to death, riddled with wooden spikes.

Garcia was one of his favourite people to share a hole with for the simple fact that he was one of the guys who gave off the most heat.

He hadn't seen much of him since he got in from Camp Frost. He didn't say much, though apparently he spoke often before.

If Luke did see him off duty he was often staring off into the distance at something only visible in his mind.

It was that hospital, he knew. The death and pain he saw there changed him.

Hospitals were supposed to be a place of healing, and yet he'd never seen the kind of trauma they could induce equalled, despite being in the middle of a warzone. Garcia had a vacant – almost dead – look in his eye.

No, Luke never, ever wanted to see anything more of the hospitals than what He'd already seen. He'd rather die on the line and have done with it. No, he would die on the line or receive a minor wound that didn't require cassevac.

Who knows if he'd actually feel like that if he was ever actually holding on for his life and Luke sent a fervent prayer that he'd never find out.

He was grateful that Garcia had had the strength to come back, even if he wasn't as verbose as he used to be. He was still an effective leader – and the men needed him desperately.

So he was content to sit quietly in their foxhole, a blanket from Tracinya on his shoulders, and wait for Garcia to acknowledge him.

It took him a while.

He shivered and hunched further under the blanket. Frustrated though he was at Tracinya for following through and expending the effort to get him a blanket from their finite resources, he was ridiculously grateful for it right now.

It took a while, but finally, Garcia's eyes started to clear.

He smiled at him as he blinked at her.

"Fancy meeting you here," He said, as though he hadn't been waiting for him to notice her for the last ten minutes.

"Yeah," he said, quietly.

Now that he was aware, and he wasn't likely to spook him. Luke leaned back against the cold side of the foxhole. Pulling the blanket over him as though he could lose it and any second, he curled up and tried to get some sleep in the frozen hell of Umbara.

* * *

 _25031 Galactic Standard Calendar, Tracinya Vizla, Umbara_

The next night, Tracinya was on watch up on the line just before dawn. Her foxhole buddy for the day, Menendez, was still sleeping. Last night they'd been pulled to fill a gap in the line in the middle of the night. She'd only insisted that the man try to sleep a couple hours ago, roughly an hour after they'd moved to the line, so it was down to her to keep watch until they got rotated back.

Tracinya hid a cough in her sleeve, trying not to wake Menendez. She'd known she was getting sick for a while, could feel it coming on the way you could sometimes sense illnesses, long enough that she'd made the decision to keep it quiet.

Nearly everyone was sick and coughing, a product of insufficient clothing and not enough food. She and Spina couldn't do anything about it, any medicine they might have had was long gone.

Tracinya refused to get off the line – as most of the sick did – they needed every last body to keep the Umbarans at bay.

So she dealt with her cough quietly and tried to keep people from noticing it.

Despite her efforts, Menendez woke up.

 _Damn it_ , she thought, watching him blink awake. It's not even dawn yet. She'd had plans to let him sleep until sunrise, well… when the sun would shine and not reach the ground through the atmosphere, at least that were now utterly spoiled. He wasn't going back to sleep now.

"What the fuck, Vizsla," he said lifting his head up to peer at her. "You sick?"

"No," she denied.

"You sound sick," he said. "Com'ere." He held out a hand to check for a fever.

She batted it away with a scowl. "I'm fine," she insisted.

He gave her a suspect look, certain she was sick now that she was actively dodging him. "You wanna catch some sleep?" he offered, knowing he wasn't going to get anywhere with the sick angle.

She gave him a look, but decided not to argue. Truth be told, her eyes had been closing a little too often for the last hour. It was probably for the best that he took over now. "Sure," she magnanimously as she positioned her bag to use as a makeshift pillow. If she was lucky, she'd get a few hours in before they had to go on patrol again.

Her last memory before sleep was Menendez cursing as he fussed with spreading a blanket over her, scooting in closer.

* * *

 _2623 July 31st Earth Standard Calendar, LT. Luke Sparrow, Umbara._

The sun would just creeping light across the trees, not that they could see the vibrant colours of sunrise properly with the atmosphere blocking it out. But the vibrant luminous lights from the vegetation would do.

Spina needed supplies desperately, and the only place he could think that might have any was Third Battalion. Being unable to go himself he had asked Luke to do it for him. He wanted to take someone along, and he decided to ask Tracinya. He'd spent a good while trying to find her behind the line before being informed that her squad had been pulled up to the front sometime last night.

After too long looking, he finally found his friend sleeping under Menendez's watchful eye. The crunch of snow announced him, and Gabe met the man's eyes. Menendez barely glanced at him before glancing down at Tracinya with concern and then turning back to look out across the frozen wasteland beyond their line.

"She all right?" he asked the man.

"Coughin'," answered Menendez, ratting her out while she couldn't tell him not to. "Hasn't been sleepin' much," he commented. He went on to mention that Tracinya had snapped awake nearly every fifteen minutes to try and convince him to turn over the watch again.

"I'll watch out for the cough," Luke assured the man before reaching down to shake the woman awake.

"Rise and shine," crowed Luke.

"Shut up," she said sleepily, sitting up. "Luke?" She looked surprised to see him squatting outside their hole. "What's up?"

"I need to find Third Battalion," he said.

"I'll come with you," she interrupted before he could even ask, gathering her helmet and Westar Carbine from where they were resting within easy reach. "You all right by yourself for a while, Dez?" she asked the man.

"Yeah, you go," Menendez said already focused on the line again.

"Thanks," she murmured, took the hand Luke offered her, and climbed out of the hole.

It took only twenty minutes before they found themselves at Battalion CP thanks to Tracinya's sense of direction. Tracinya gave Luke a triumphant smile. He clapped her on the shoulder as they trotted into camp. The errand had taken far longer than expected – especially since they were unsuccessful – and Luke, at least, was eager to get back and make sure his men were still in one piece.

As they moved forward, a figure emerged from the fog. It was Captain Santiago. He was sitting out on the edge of his foxhole behind the CP. Stone hard soldier that he was, he was trying to shave judging by the lather on his face, but obviously hadn't started.

A crack sounded to Santiago's left drawing Tracinya's attention.

Seeing his people out in the open, santiago hissed. "Sparrow, Vizsla, down!"

Tracinya obeyed immediately, sinking into a crouch with Luke only a beat behind her, eyes on Santiago.

The captain abandoned his shaving paraphernalia and gave the signal to fall in. He grabbed his M60-AR from where it rested in front of him and whipped around so that his eyes were focused on where the noise had originated.

Luke and Tracinya fell right in behind him. As a team of three, they crept forward toward the sound. Luke wasn't sure what it was, but he held his rifle ready for anything. They were way too close to the CP to allow strange noises to go unchecked.

They'd only gone about ten feet, barely reaching the crest of the hill the CP was on, when Santiago stopped and pulled his gun into firing position. Luke was just able to make out a bent humanoid shape in the mist beyond them, a luminous green glow where the head would be. He flanked Santiago on his left, also getting into firing position while Tracinya got to his right side and crouched down. The more their numbers, the less likely the lone man would put up a fight.

The man appeared to be getting ready to take a shit. Luke hoped so; it meant that he was unlikely to have a bunch of buddies waiting in the wings that they couldn't see.

Santiago waited until he was certain the man was in no position to fire. He glanced at Luke, asking without words that he had a kill shot lined up in the off chance that his own missed. He nodded, slowing his breathing in the anticipation of taking a kill shot. Two loud cracks reverberated throughout the forest as two shots hit the Umbaran centre-mass and went down with a cry of pain as the plasma ate away through the man's armour and flesh. Santiago took another shot, ending the Umbaran's suffering.

* * *

A jeep's distinctive engine came buzzing up. Luke and Tracinya turned with Santiago to acknowledge the passengers. Santiago exchanged a furrowed look with them. From the look on his face, he hadn't ordered a jeep. Must be a VIP, Luke thought.

He was right.

Colonel Sink hopped out of the back of the jeep with an unfamiliar – but imposing figure riding shotgun. "Gent's you all know General McAuliffe, acting Division Commander," he introduced.

Luke hung back with Tracinya and observed the man who'd taken over for General Taylor (who'd apparently discovered that he didn't like being shot at and disappeared back to orbit who knows how long ago). McAuliffe seemed stern from a distance, imposing and unfriendly, but then he'd apparently come up with this plan for holding the line around the village, so Luke wasn't exactly inclined to like him.

"Give it to me straight," the General said, approaching Lieutenant Colonel Strayer, who'd come out of the CP to meet him.

"We have been taking ground in one position, General, and losing it in another," admitted Strayer, helmet in his hand.

"And now it looks like a standoff," continued Strayer. "We're digging in on the edge of the forest." He turned to acknowledge Santiago, who had come up to join him and had more information on the subject.

Obligingly, Santiago picked up the narration. "We're under sporadic artillery fire, General. We're taking a lot of hits, and we have no aid station. We've run out of food, we have no winter clothes, and we have little or no ammo. The line's spread so thin the enemy wanders into our CP to use our slit trenches, sir. We just can't cover the line."

Tracinya inhaled a little too deeply and a chest-wracking cough spilled out of her mouth.

Colonel Sink's drew General McAuliffe's attention to Captain Mateo. The good Intelligence Officer's timing was impeccable as he emerged from his covered foxhole with his own ragged cough. From the still closed state of his eyelids, Luke would bet that he'd only come out to tell whoever it was talking to shut up.

"Good morning, Captain Mateo," said Sink before Mateo could even open his mouth to speak – which was probably for the best. "You got anything to add for General McAuliffe?"

Sink was clearly aware of Mateo's less than cheery attitude in the morning – and was helping the man keep his foot out of his mouth. Luke might've laughed at the byplay if the General wasn't here to witness.

Also, the sun would've been almost directly overhead, making it morning by the barest of definitions.

Mateo blinked up at Colonel Sink, bewildered at his sudden unexpected audience and visibly gathered himself. "General, uh," he said, pulling himself out of his hole. "Yes, sir." Mateo took a deep breath, and when he spoke, his voice was even – with only the barest hint of derisive sarcasm.

"General, I took a walk on our line at about 0300 last night," reported Mateo. "I couldn't find the 501st on our right flank. I tied it in with a squad from our second platoon," he said in exacerbation as he waved a hand to indicate Tracinya. It was her squad he'd woken up and had move up to the line. "But sir, we've got some considerable gaps in our perimeter."

"I don't have enough people, sir," said Strayer in summation. "We're spread too damn thin."

"Hold the line, Colonel," was the stout reply from McAuliffe.

Luke was confused. He exchanged a dumbfounded, perhaps incredulous look with Tracinya. Didn't Santiago and Strayer both say – in terms anyone should understand – that we're in no condition to hold the line?

"Close the gaps," ordered the General as he and Sink re-boarded the jeep. "This damn fog won't lift any time soon, so you can forget about air cover. Your First Battalion just pulled out of Foy, Umbarans on their tail. Tanks, artillery, got no back up. There's a lot of shit headed this way."

They drove off, leaving only the ominous warning behind.

"What do we do?" Tracinya asked him.

"We hold the line," said Luke. "It's the only thing we can do."

He clapped Tracinya on the shoulder before heading back to his hole, back to his squad.

* * *

 _25031 Galactic Standard Calendar, Tracinya Vizla, Umbara_

Tracinya left the CP for the line with a sinking feeling in her stomach. Luke had decided to linger at the CP for a while – hoping Santiago would have something in his aid kit to spare. But with the bad news from command, Tracinya was eager to re-join her guys.

She knew her squad had dug in on the far right flank of the line, so she was in for a bit of a walk through camp to get there.

"Sarge!" someone cried. To her surprise, it was Samuel. He and Diego were tucked into the foxhole she was passing, boiling coffee in a spare helmet. Luckily, they called out to her, or she would have missed them completely.

She barely kept from sagging in relief. They're off the line.

Strewn blankets and sleeping bags meant that they'd probably even managed to get some sleep.

Someone had been looking out for her guys.

"Hey, Sam," she said crouching down. It served the purpose of allowing her to relish the warmth of her own body for a minute. "How's it going?"

He yawned. She bit her lip to keep from grinning.

"Doin' good, Sarge," he said. "Want some coffee?"

"Nah," she said, waving away the cup he held out to her. The last thing she needed right now was coffee; she wanted to sleep as soon as she was able to lie down. "I'm gonna check on the other guys. Anybody out on the line still?"

"I think we all got rotated back," answered Diego. He had huddled down into the smallest ball possible, staring at the barely steaming metal with acute longing. The one good thing about the fog was that during the daytime it hid any smoke from fires, so at least their food and beverages had a fighting chance of getting lukewarm, not that it stayed that way for long. "Mateo is with Paplo over there somewhere."

"That's good. You get some sleep?" she asked to confirm her suspicions.

"Yes, mother," drawled Samuel, a teasing twinkle in his eyes despite his flat voice.

"If I was your mother, Samuel, I'd smack you for giving me lip."

He smiled at her and she could tell that his mood had lightened considerably, which had been the point.

She gave them an admonishment to keep warm in her finickiest tone, the one she donned when she was trying to impersonate her mother's fussing.

She got actual laughter for it, so she stood up and strode off. She had others to find if she wanted to get some sleep before she got drafted for watch again.

She meandered through the scattered foxholes, looking inside each for her men. She exchanged jokes and pleasantries with them as she found them – even with the usually taciturn Nicolas. It brightened her mood because they all seemed to be doing okay. If her men could be in good spirits, despite how miserable they were, so could she.

Tracinya was on her way up the line, still looking for Spina and Diego – who hadn't been with Nicolas like Jackson presumed – and were still missing and nowhere to be found behind the line with the others. She hoped they'd been the first ones rotated back and were on a second shift; if not, she was going to take over for them. She could wait a few hours to sleep so her guys could get some now.

She stopped when she saw Spina digging a hole right on the line. _Kriff, we're spread so thin even the medics have been called up to hold the position._

"Spina, want some help?" Tracinya offered.

"Nah, I'm 'bout done here." He waved her off, slinging out shovelfuls of dirt in the steady pattern recommended for digging foxholes.

"Have fun," she said, trying to remember where she'd moved to last night.

"Hey," he called after her, "how'd it go?"

"Don't ask," she said. She saw Luke coming up out of the corner of her eye and decided to let him tell Spina the news. When she thought over the plethora of bad news that she'd learned today, everything from their dangerously low supplies, to the battering First took, to the wandering Third, it was disheartening and exhausting. She just wanted to find her guys, rotate them out if they hadn't been, and get some shuteye.

She passed Lieutenant Dike, looking lost and confused, staring up into the barren tree branches but left him alone. She wondered what he was looking for – or worse, what he was seeing that she wasn't – and didn't ask. He always looked a bit dazed, but at least he was in camp for now.

He wandered by without acknowledging her either, which was typical of him.

Dike was well in the running to become her least favourite commander, Sobel only slightly edging him out because Dike hadn't actually done anything yet. He was way too busy looking good in front of the brass to be of any use in the field. He constantly meandered off to parts unknown. He gave confusing, contradictory instructions about what he wanted them to do. And he never led from the front. He was a disaster waiting to happen; she could feel it in her bones.

But most of all, Tracinya disliked him because he ignored her completely.

Apparently, he didn't know how to address her as both a woman and a Sergeant and so solved this problem by doing neither. It was enough to make her scream. Thanks to Dike's prejudice and ineptitude, the other NCOs and Lieutenants were overworked, while she was left to be idle.

Fortunately, First Sergeant Sanchez wasn't prejudiced or blind. He redistributed the assignments after Dike issued them, mostly because Dike didn't appear to know what his exact orders should be, and thus left it up to Sanchez.

Tracinya was tired of being ignored. But there was nothing she could do about the man.

She put Dike out of her mind after she passed him. So what if he never gave her assignments, everyone else did, and there was enough slack to pick up that she was never idle.

Sanchez caught sight of her as she went by and called her name. She turned and waited for him to come over to within earshot of her. "How'd it go? Did you find Third?" he asked with a hopeful smile.

Tracinya wasn't surprised that Sanchez knew about her expedition with Luke. And he'd probably been responsible for shifting her guys around. She shook her head, sorry to disappoint him, "No, we got lost. This damn fog makes it impossible to see beyond twenty yards."

"Shit," he said, face falling. He was one of the few people privy to the knowledge that their medics were out of nearly everything.

"Yeah, and that's not all," she said. Sanchez was one of the few people she would ever tell about the rumours she'd heard, first hand or otherwise. Rumours could be dangerous – "loose lips sink ships," and all that.

"First Battalion got kicked out of Foy. Umbarans chased 'em out. General McAuliffe was here to get Santiago's and Strayer's report, we got orders to hold the line." He blinked at her; that's what they'd been doing all along. "My squad got pulled to cover where the 501st left us hanging in the wind last night at 0300."

He nodded, he'd probably figured that out this morning when he'd gone to check the line. "Yeah, I've got Diego and Paplo covering your hole right now," he informed her.

"They get off the line for some sleep?"

"Chow too," he assured her. He looked at her face, seeing the tired lines and bags under her eyes. "Why don't you sack out off the line for a bit."

Tracinya shook her head. "I'll be fine."

Sanchez met gave her a look. She frowned back, daring him to comment when he was just as tired as she was.

He backed down.

Tracinya had more to tell him, though, before he could slip away. She gripped his arm and lowered her voice. "That's not the worst of it. Captain says we're out of food." She let the blow sink in before she delivered another one. "Spina's down to his last syrette of morphine, maybe his last bandage."

He sighed heavily and seemed to sag under the weight of her news, but he nodded. "You did good, Trace." He touched her shoulder. Somehow, it made her feel better. "Go find a hole and get some sleep," he ordered.

"Yes, sir," she said, giving him a nod.

She was just about to leave when Lieutenant Dike's panicked voice pierced the air, "First Sergeant Sanchez!"

"Sir?" Sanchez called back, straightening. He rolled his eyes at her, which made her laugh, but it turned into a cough, her eyes watered in pain as she struggled to draw freezing air into her lungs. She bent over, her body convulsing with the force. He pounded her back a couple times to loosen the cough. She straightened after what felt like far too long and sucked down air. She nodded to let Sanchez know that she was all right.

He gave her a final pat on the back, not able to put off going to Dike any longer, and said, "Keep warm, Trace," as he hustled off to see what the man wanted.

Tracinya hurried off as well, mostly so Sanchez wouldn't come back and start mollycoddling her. She was relieved that she didn't have to go back on the line. Now that she was satisfied that her squad had been rotated back for some rest, she desperately wanted to find a vacant hole to sack out in. She really didn't want to have to dig a new one, but she would give it a good shot if it meant some sleep.

Tracinya was fortunate; she found a hole that was – for now at least – empty. She slid into it gratefully, body still wracked with after coughs and shivering anew. She took off her helmet, set it aside, and ran a hand through her hair. It was longer than she'd allowed it to get since joining the Army. She meant to go to the barbers before leaving, but there hadn't been time. Tracinya took comfort that she wasn't the only one looking scruffy. A lot of the men had grown beards in deference to the cold.

She inched down the dirt wall, trying to get comfortable. She'd retrieve her pack from Diego later. It had her name on it, but she wasn't concerned that anyone would take anything from it. She took her helmet off and leaned her head back against the dirt. _Force above, I miss the sun_ , she thought.

Between progressively longer and longer blinks she drifted off.

"Goddamnit," grumbled Toye behind her, "My socks are soaking wet."

She blinked awake, confused. Why is he being so loud? she thought, resenting Toye with her all her might for waking her. She'd only managed a couple moments of sleep – if she was any judge, which she might not be if she was being completely honest. She sat up, intent on chewing him out, she was trying to sleep for force's sake.

"Toye-"

Between one blink and the next the world exploded with fire and brimstone.

"Get in a hole!" she bellowed, somehow finding her feet despite the earth bucking and rolling underneath her. Everyone above ground dove for a foxhole.

Tracinya's sight flashed white. Her ears were ringing as a wave of dirt pelted her face. She blinked, desperately trying to regain her senses.

"Toye!" she cried, hoping others could hear her since she couldn't hear herself. She blinked a few more times and saw Toye lying exposed only feet from her hole, also blinking stupidly, trying to understand what happened.

Tracinya lunged over the sloped edge of her hole, grabbed two fistfuls of the man's carrier, and hauled him backwards into her foxhole. Another blast shook the ground. Tracinya flung herself over Toye, getting off him as soon as debris stopped pelting her back. She patted him down frantically, checking for wounds and praying she wouldn't have to call for Spina.

Toye sat up sputtering but unharmed. Somehow, the shell merely knocked him flat on his ass rather than chewing him up and spitting him back out in pieces. Toye's infamous luck had manifested at just the right moment once again and kept him safe.

Blast after blast fell over them, every imaginable weapon being used, from the screaming rockets to the new devils that burst in the tree branches. Tracinya braced herself against the assault, knowing from what little she could hear over the cacophony of sound and an overwhelming amount of first-hand experience that the Umbarans were hitting the entirety of the line, not just right above them.

Frazzled, desperately falling back on her training, Tracinya grabbed her Westar Carbine and faced where the line would have been if they were on it. She needed to have her gun up and ready in case the artillery was a prequel for something nastier coming through the trees.

Some fool was screaming for a medic. Tracinya tried to figure out who it was, but the sound was jumbled up in the cracking boom of mortar fire. She prayed that Spina wasn't the one bounding about.

The man screaming had better be fucking dying to call for a medic in this shit, she thought.

The trees cracked into sharp pieces. Tracinya was certain she was going to be skewered any moment, impaled by these giant spikes made from the very things that offered them miniscule protection and cover. It was a nightmare brought to life.

Arms yanked her back down into cover.

"Are you crazy!" shouted Toye, his breath hot in her ear. Her hand flew for her helmet, suddenly terrified when her hand didn't meet frosty metal. Her eyes flew around, searching for it, for the protection it provided.

When a third blast hit close enough to yank the earth from beneath them, Toye pulled into his chest and covered her out of instinct. He wrapped an arm around her neck and held on. Tracinya mouthed prayers into his chest, beseeching the Force to help her survive this hell.

The shelling stopped.

Tracinya held still and kept her eyes closed in case it was going to start again. Toye echoed her heavy breathing above her. Neither wanted to move and break the tableau of the suddenly silent forest.

When it didn't, she wriggled free from his locked arms and searched for her helmet. It was still lying on the side of her foxhole. She grabbed it and turned it over in her hands to look it over. No damage that she could see. That was a relief. If it had been damaged there was no way she was getting a new one.

Wayward equipment located, she gave Toye a more thorough inspection, verifying that he had indeed escaped injury.

"You all right?" she asked, likely shouting over the ringing in her ears. She drew in a couple quick breaths to try and calm her pounding heart as the waxing adrenaline kick drained her of energy. Something went awry and she was coughing again.

Toye pounded on her back, which let her see his stocking clad feet. She gasped, which sent her back into the depths of her coughing fit, much to Toye's concern.

After far too long, Tracinya was finally able to breathe enough to gasp out a question. "What the fuck happened to your shoes?"

Toye looked down at his feet, probably only just noticing the absence of his boots only now that Tracinya had mentioned it. He looked back at the smoking crater that used to be his foxhole.

"Fuck," he said. "I took 'em off to change my socks."

Tracinya looked over where his hole used to be. "Well, they're gone now."

"No shit," he said.

Tracinya took a closer look at his feet and winced. His socks were soaked through. She thought it over for a second and made a decision.

"Stay here," she told him.

"Where else would I go?" he asked, and then he noticed her getting out of the hole. "Where the hell are you going?" he demanded.

"I'll be right back," she assured him. "Diego's got my bag up on the line. I need it." She ran off.

It took only a few steps to realize that she hadn't exactly gotten that sleep she'd needed. She was exhausted. It wasn't until she stopped that she remembered her cough. She decided to refrain from future running if at all possible. It was getting a little hard to breathe.

She found Diego and Samuel easily enough, and greeted them with a "Hey, boys."

"Sarge," said Samuel while Diego offered her a smile.

"Do either of you happen to have my pack?" she asked, noting that not only were both unharmed, but both also had blankets.

"Here you go, Sarge," said Andres, passing it to her.

"Thanks," she said, slinging it over her shoulder. "Stay warm, alright fellas?"

"You got it ma'am," said Samuel.

Tracinya gave them both a smile and hustled back to Toye, trotting rather than the aborted run she'd tried, memory fresh of coughing up her lungs. The cough wouldn't be half as frustrating if she was actually coughing something up.

Toye had surprisingly enough, stayed put. She hopped next to him with a thud, already rustling through her pack. In a matter of moments, she was pulling out her old socks. She sank down to the floor shed her own boots.

"No, Sarge, come on!" Toye protested as Tracinya pulled off her newer socks and gave them to him, revealing the double layer she'd been wearing.

She ignored him, tugged on the old, threadbare socks, and quickly slid her now freezing feet back into her boots. She sent him a scathing look and dared him to give them back.

He gave her a look, but didn't argue as he sat down to pull them on over his wet ones.

"Come on, you know better," she scolded him. "Dry socks over wet will do you absolutely no good. Let the other ones dry and double up when you can."

"Yeah," he said. He glared and pulled off his wet socks, hanging them around his neck to dry and likely freeze.

Tracinya pulled out her scarf and used her bayonet to cut it in half.

"What're you doing?" protested Toye.

"Do you have a better idea?" she said and proceeded to wrap each of his now socked feet in half her scarf, tying it on in a rough approximation of a shoe. It would do very little for keeping his feet dry in the long run, but layers couldn't hurt until they found something better.

"You need to tell the Doc or Spina," she told him. "They might be able to find you some replacements."

He gave her a flat look. It was optimistic and she knew it. Also, no way was he going to bother anyone, particularly the Doc for shoes, and she knew it. Spina might double as a supply officer, but you had to have supplies in the first place to distribute it.

Tracinya gave him one right back. If he didn't tell Roe, she would. Considering the matter settled, Tracinya leaned back, allowing her head to rest unimpeded on the frozen dirt. It beat ice-cold metal and a crick in her neck. Now that the shelling was over and her adrenaline was crashing, Tracinya felt the need for sleep more acutely than ever.

"Was anybody in that hole before it went up?" Tracinya forced herself to ask.

"Nah," he said, "Lopez and I just got pulled up to the OP. I was trying to change my socks before I joined him."

"You should go then," she said, "He's probably worried about you."

"You got it, Sarge," he said and climbed out of the hole. "You got a buddy?" he asked.

"No," she said. "I was just trying to get some sleep."

"I'll find you one before I go then." He didn't let her protest. "Lopez can wait a little longer," he insisted.

"M'kay," she said at a hum, and closed her eyes to wait.

* * *

 _2623 July 31st Earth Standard Calendar, PVT. Alejandro Toye, Umbara._

It didn't take long before Toye found Bull alone in a foxhole, up on the line.

"Hey Bull," he said. "You alone?"

"Yeah, Torez got hit in the arm so Doc sent him back. Tow of the guys are supposed to be comin' up to relieve me soon."

"Sergeant Vizsla needs a buddy when you get there," Toye told him. "I gotta get to the OP. You think you can find her?"

"You got it."

"Thanks. She doesn't look too good."

"Why," asked Bull, concerned. "What makes you say that?"

"She's probably just tired. She was coughing a bit though," he said.

"Hell, Toye, everyone's coughin'."

"You know what I mean," said Joe.

Everyone did. Vizsla coughing wasn't anything like good. Sure some of the guys had coughs, but somehow – and Toye wasn't sure how – Sarge had become a sort of mascot to Easy Company. If she was there toughing it out with them, they could get through anything. Her illness seemed like a terrible omen.

"You go," said Bull. "I'll find her."

"Thanks," said Toye, nodding.

"Hey, Toye?" said Bull as he stood up. "What happened to your boots?"

* * *

 _25031 Galactic Standard Calendar, Tracinya Vizla, Umbara_

In what felt like only the span of a blink, Bull slid into her hole. Tracinya looked up and smiled at him, more than a little on her way to sleep.

The big man draped a blanket over her, pulling her close so she could share his body heat. She hadn't even noticed that she was shaking from the cold until the tremors that had wracked her body subsided slowly.

Tracinya, now considerably warmer, drifted off to sleep. After having to re-entrench themselves last night, her adventure with Luke, and the shelling they'd just endured, she was so exhausted she couldn't think straight.

She could've sworn she'd only closed her eyes for a moment, but when she pried them open again, it was dusk. Bull was still there, fiddling with his mug. She peered into it, nosy.

"Go get some chow," he told her, not letting her have any of his.

It was the best idea she'd heard yet. She realized suddenly that she hadn't eaten all day. Shrugging out of the blanket she'd been bundled in – and she didn't want to know where it had come from – she got up to go find some chow.

She fell into line for the mess tent, prying her mug from the base of her canteen and flipping the handle out. She got her mug filled with the same single scoop that everyone got, and found a place to sit down with her spoon – deciding not to go back to her hole just yet. She saw a group of guys sitting around and considered joining them. Sanchez, Deigo and Penkala were always good for some amusement. They were laughing their asses off about something called Hinkle.

Babe and a replacement were with them as well. She thought the kid's name might have been Julian, but he was exceedingly shy around her, so she didn't know him very well. It wasn't uncommon for the newer guys to be shy, or wary, so Tracinya decided not to kill their mood by joining them.

Her eyes found Luke a little way away off to the group's left. He was sitting on a box of some kind using a tree as a backrest, smoking a cigarette, and listening in on the laughing conversation; part of the group but separate. She walked up next to him and waited for him to acknowledge her with a smile before she sat down. If he wanted privacy, well, she could let him have it, but in her opinion, he was alone far too often for his own good after Mandalor.

She sat down with a sigh and dug in. Her food was now on the cold side of lukewarm but she closed her eyes and imagined that she was eating a warm beef stew. The rich taste of the red meat and the soft buttery feel of the potatoes, the caramel taste of the carrots and the thick, salty gravy it was nestled in. She almost tricked her mouth into believing it.

Despite her efforts in taking very small bites to stretch the experience, her meal was over far too soon. She looked up to see Luke looking her over. She gave him a smile and saluted him with her mug, which she'd wrapped her hands around to try and absorb the miniscule but quickly fading warmth from the metal. He huffed a laugh and made another drag on his cigarette before flicking the butt away. She reached into one of her inner webbing pockets and pulled out another one for him, passing it to him with utmost secrecy and solemnity. She wanted no one to know that she still had smokes, or she'd never be left alone.

He lit it with a lighter from his pocket, which was good, because Tracinya didn't have one to offer him a light with.

The snow was falling heavily now, getting inside her mug and melting to water with the miniscule amount of residual heat. It seemed there was snow on Umbara after all.

Dominic, their cook, came around with a giant pot, dolling out heated ration bars. They were made of protein and honey, maybe a little chocolate, but they tasted like cardboard. He deposited one into her mug once he'd finished with the larger group. Tracinya picked it up and offered it to Luke, who hadn't eaten, or had already eaten, she wasn't sure which. He pinched off a bit of the end and popped it into his mouth.

She bit off the other end, small bites again. This might be the last food she got until dinner tomorrow. She tried to offer Luke more, but he shook his head and gave another drag to the cigarette between his lips.

Tracinya gave him a suit-yourself shrug and ate the rest of it.

"Anybody seen Lieutenant Dike?" Lieutenant Matais asked tiredly as he wandered by. He had the air of a man who had asked that question a thousand times and wasn't expecting a fruitful answer here either.

"Uh, try Battalion CP, sir," said Diego.

The lieutenant nodded and wandered off to go try there again.

"Try Earth," bitched Penkala with a snort.

"Try Hinkle!" said Samuel, and they were all laughing again.

"Hinkle, sweetie, I'm home!" said Penk.

"Hey, Spina," said Babe, turning to face the medic. He had his food speared on the end of his spoon like a sausage link. "Lieutenant Dike's got a full aid kit, try him."

"Yeah," said Diego, "I'm sure he's not using his."

"Maybe Hinkle's got a syrette for ya!" said Julian.

Spine, who'd been fiddling with the straight stick he used to tighten tourniquets, smiled around his cigarette and nodded. That was probably true.

Tracinya tried to will more warmth into the metal canteen she was holding, but whatever warmth she felt in the metal was only in her imagination. So, with a resigned sigh, she got up. She should probably spell someone from the line now since she'd had a bit of rest.

She fished out another smoke and handed it surreptitiously to Luke. He gave her a smile she returned and she gave his shoulder a pat as she walked by.

"Hey Trace," said Luke, catching her before she'd walked too far away. "You go get some more rest, alright?"

She nodded and changed direction towards the hole she'd abandoned Bull in. Sometimes there were orders she was only too happy to follow, and she wasn't stupid enough to defy Luke just because he couldn't technically order her around. His disappointed-in-you face could make Guarnere apologize.

She fell asleep to some nut jobs getting a lecture for singing. She hoped it wasn't her nut jobs, but was sleeping before she could convince herself to stand up and go make sure.

What kind of idiot is singing in this miserable place anyway?

The sound of defiant humming cropped up in the wake of the singing tune, one of those songs that had been sung over and over while they were waiting in foxholes for the world to erupt into violence once more, and yet meant that for now at least, there was peace.

* * *

"I'm running a patrol," one of the replacement officers announced that night, waking everyone up in the area with his announcement. He was a lieutenant, fresh out of an academy and eager to prove himself. "I need some volunteers."

"Sir," said Guarnere from the foxhole across the way a bit, "we don't need to run a patrol, we already know where the enemy is."

"We're running the patrol, Sergeant. That's an order. I need volunteers!" he snapped.

Tracinya kept her hand firmly down. Gaurnare was right. It was a suicide run.

She counted seven hands that tentatively raised, all replacements. To her dismay, Paplo was among them.

She shifted, ready to get up, but Bull put his hand on her shoulder. "Nothin' you can do."

"Stupid kid," she said watching the lieutenant round up his now rag-tag group of replacements.

"Mhm," said Bull.

* * *

When the inevitable sound of fighting started, Tracinya did her best to both listen as well as she could and ignore the burning desire to get up and help. She'd been on pins and needles as her replacement walked right into the enemy's line without her. She may not have liked Paplo in the beginning, but he was one of her guys now. She tried to always watch out for her guys.

The scream for a medic pierced the air and Tracinya lurched, knowing that Spina was now out in the fray. The sinking feeling in her gut made her certain that Paplo was the man who'd been wounded.

She prayed as hard as she could, over and over again, that the patrol would walk away alive.

Bull hugged her around the shoulders and kept her tucked tight into his side to keep her in the foxhole.

Sleep was impossible as she waited for the patrol to return.

An hour later the group limped back into camp. Tracinya scanned the faces and couldn't find Paplo. She bit her lip and tried to fight down the tears as the lead weight turned to a stone.

Bull's warm hand was heavy on her shoulder as he tried to ground her before she fell apart. She savagely fought down the welling feelings of sorrow and anger.

She watched the foolish lieutenant find his way to Bill's foxhole. The whole camp could hear the man as he said, "I'm sorry, Sergeant Guarnere. I should have listened to the more experienced soldier."

It was too little and far too late.

Luke came by an hour later.

Tracinya tried to pretend her eyes weren't rimmed red after hiding tears in Bull's warm side as Luke slid into the hole with them.

He didn't mince words. "He'll live," he said. "Got his hand blown off. They're taking care of him at the aid station back in the village."

"Thanks, Luke."

He gave her a quirk of his lips and a nod before getting up. "I'd better be off. Spina's waiting. Try to get some sleep, Trace. You too Sergeant."

And then he was gone.

The kid was alive. It was better than she'd feared. Maybe she'd try to visit him tomorrow if she had the time.

* * *

The next morning, Samuel woke up as Luke came by, ostensibly to check on Tracinya. The redhead had switched with Bull as her foxhole buddy after the skirmish last night.

The woman, probably sensing movement, despite being almost dead asleep just moments before lifted her head off his shoulder and smiled sleepily at him.

He smiled down at her and handed her something.

"You found some?" she asked, honest surprise in her voice.

"Perconte," he replied.

"That little bastard," she said, her tone teasing rather than derisive.

They shared another smile and left.

Samuel watched the exchange with confusion and after a long moment of deliberation, decided to ask. "What was that about?"

Tracinya looked up from where she had started digging through her bag. "Hm?" she hummed.

Samuel waved a hand to indicate the item she still had in her hand.

"Oh, Luke's been looking for scissors; must've lost his back at the FOB or something. Anyway, I leant him mine until he found something better." She showed Samuel the scissors in question.

He laughed at her. They were smaller than her palm. "Those're dinky!"

Tracinya smiled. "They're from my sewing kit," she defended. "They're only meant for cutting thread. I use my bayonet for everything else."

"Doesn't that make things cockeyed?" asked Samuel.

"Yes," she said, "But I'm not entering it in a sewing contest. I just need to get things to hold together until we're resupplied."

"Yeah, like that's going to happen any time soon."

"It might," she said, optimistic. He supposed one of them had to be. They let the silence hang for a minute.

"They're still pathetic," Samuel said, drawing attention back to the prior topic rather than the dire supplies condition.

"They are," she agreed. "Apparently Perco, who I know he asked before, had a pair in that bag of his."

Samuel didn't bother comparing her bag to Perco's; there was no contest. Tracinya had more stuff with her by far. He wondered if it was because she was female or if she'd just been better prepared than anyone, but regardless, she was fast becoming the person to ask for stuff. Samuel bet she even had some smokes hidden away somewhere. There's not much guys wouldn't do out here for a cigarette; even the cash in his bag was worthless in comparison.

Out of the blue, Tracinya started coughing long and loud. It worried Samuel a bit, but then, most of the guys had gotten a cough and recovered, so he didn't mention it. Instead, he tossed the neglected blanket over her and settled in.

It was going to be another cold day on Umbara. No with a frosting of snow to go along with the eternal darkness. Frozen ground. Ice and freezing winds.

They just had to keep holding on.

* * *

"Medic!" Skinny Sisk screamed from the foxhole next to Tracinya's.

They were on the line and under mortar fire again. She had hit the dirt as the tree between her hole and his had taken a direct hit, shattering with a sharp crack. Splinters rained down on them like javelins. Most of the wood that hit her bounced harmlessly off the back of her armour, sideways instead of piercing her.

Skinny hadn't been so lucky. She could see the pieces in his leg as she scrambled over the gap between them, her armoured hands stinging on the still soldering shards of wood.

Perconte, Skinny's foxhole buddy, took up the cry for a medic as Skinny tried not to grab his leg and push the shards deeper; his hands already slick with blood.

Spina came bounding through the trees like an angel from on high, sliding into Skinny and Perconte's hole.

"Perconte, get a jeep," Spina ordered as he cut Skinny's pants with Perconte's pilfered scissors.

"I'm on it, Doc," said the short Chilean, reaching his helmet radio. "Easy CP, Easy CP," he said, getting drowned out by Skinny's screams of agony. Doc began talking to Skinny, ease in his voice as he started pulling out the biggest pieces of tree from Skinny's leg with brutal efficiency.

Tracinya turned to watch the line, a curse on her lips as she saw the Umbaran infantry emerge from the trees. "Here they come!" she hollered, scrambling to get her weapon up.

"They're moving Goddamn it!" Perco screamed into the receiver. "We need it now!"

She shot off a few rounds, picking off two of the crouching men in white. Behind her, she could just see Spina as he bit off a corner of a sulfa packet, sprinkling the white powder sparingly over the wounded leg.

"Okay Sisk, ain't that bad, ain't that bad," said Spina as he held the limb still.

"Ain't that bad?" repeated Skinny, bewildered. "I got enough wood in my leg for a forest, and it 'ain't that bad?' Shit."

Spina shook out a pressure bandage and cinched it tight around Skinny's leg, tying it off with a final shout of agony from his patient. Tracinya spared them another glance as she loaded her second last magazine into her Carbine.

"No, Doc, save the morphine," Skinny protested. Tracinya looked to see Spina pulling out one of his last, precious, syrettes. "I can make it, save it, okay?"

Spina nodded and tucked it away again. "Come on," he said. "Let's get him outta here. Fast."

The magazine stuttered and whined on Tracinya's Carbine. She was out. She'd just fired her very last rounds of ammo.

"Shit!" she hissed, resisting the urge to throw the weapon in her frustration. She was useless out here without ammo, and if she was out, no one else had much left either. She needed to get more. The only place she could think that might have any to spare was the Village, where Spina was taking Skinny.

It was worth a try.

"I'm coming with you, Doc!" she called, grabbing her nearly empty pack from her own foxhole. She kept her gun with her, too well trained to just leave it behind. Bullets wouldn't be any good without something to shoot them with, after all.

"Fine, hurry!" he barked, yanking Skinny out of the hole by his webbing. Perco scrambled to help. He and Spina hoisted Skinny into the air, careful to keep him in a sitting position to lessen the pain as they ran for the rear, Tracinya dogging their heels.

"Where is the Goddamn jeep!" Spina demanded after they'd gone a hundred yards and there was still no sign of it.

The ground bucked. Perco slipped, his leg shooting out from under him. The sudden weight yanked Spina down, and Skinny fell, screaming in agony, on top of them. Tracinya grabbed his helmet before it bounced away and Skinny's gun from where it had fallen off Perco's shoulder before trying to help untangle the boys.

"Argh! Jesus Christ," Skinny screamed through gritted teeth. Tracinya tried to help him sit up so Spina and Perco could wriggle free.

Perconte looked down at where Skinny had landed on him. "Aw, Skinny, you got blood all over my trousers."

"I'm real sorry!" said Skinny.

Tracinya gasped out a laugh as she struggled to pull Skinny up so Spina and Perco could grab him again.

A jeep appeared out of the fog, a stretcher laid out on the nose.

"Damn it, Skinny," muttered Perco. Tracinya wasn't sure if he was still commenting on the blood or if he was complaining about his friend being injured. Between Spina and himself, the boys got Sisk laid out on the already bloodstained stretcher.

"Tell Sparrow I went in for plasma!" Spina called to Perco as he slid into the passenger seat.

"I'm going too!" called Tracinya. "We need ammo!" She threw Skinny's stuff in the back seat.

"All right, hurry." Spina said as he hauled her the rest of the way into the jeep.

Tracinya pulled her rucksack, which she hadn't even realized she'd grabbed, onto her lap. When Tracinya was situated, she nodded and Spina took his own seat.

"Let's move!" he shouted to the driver. The man stepped on the gas.

The nearby village was three miles from the front line. What would have taken them an hour's walk with the thick fog mucking up navigation, the jeep crossed in five minutes.

"All the tanks, artillery, all pulled back to here!" The driver told them as they pulled through the archway in the town wall. Half of the arch's bricks had been blown to hell. "We got no backup beyond here. This is it! And Umbarans captured the 326," a jeep pulling out drowned the man's words, but she caught up when he said, "They took everybody! Doctors, medics, the whole shebang!"

Buildings were in snow-covered pieces on either side of the road. The village hall – the tallest building left - hadn't been spared damage, but it was still standing; a red cross on a white sheet hung over the chapel entrance.

"We got nothin'," continued the jeep driver. "We're giving the boys hooch for the pain!"

Tracinya traded a look with Spina.

They pulled to a stop in front of the Village hall-aid station. Tracinya helped Spina move Skinny from the jeep nose to the fresh stretcher two soldiers were carrying, taking his legs while Spina bore the bulk of his weight by taking his torso.

"He took a mortar hit. Watch the leg," Spina addressed to the two men. "Get him in," he ordered once they settled Skinny. He followed them into the church.

Tracinya let him go. Her attention was caught by the mound of dead soldiers, carelessly piled high outside the hall, with no way to bury them in the frozen ground, and no time to do so if they could manage it with the enemy constantly nipping at them from all sides.

She started grabbing socks from frozen limbs, checking webbing, stealing aid kits, K rations, helmets, and canteens. Any spare supplies she could get her hands on she took. There was so much the men on the line needed, she couldn't get enough stuff fast enough. She snatched up discarded bags and began filling them as well when her rucksack overflowed.

Some of the dead had scarves; she took those too. She made sure to get spare coats, particularly from the taller corpses; guys could double up.

It was hard, grisly work, trying to manipulate the already stiffly frozen dead into giving up their treasures, but she was desperate. The cold winter-like chill was like an icebox, it had frozen the bodies until they might as well be ice cubes. At least there was no smell, no decomposition of the bodies, but the lack of it made the work even more horrifying. She was certain she was covered in their blood, even if the poor bastards had none left.

Once she found a bag stuffed with spare rounds, she remembered the initial reason for her search and began looking specifically for ammo and musette bags. She started checking for weapons that might have been discarded along with the bodies and emptied the chambers of ammo.

She made it through roughly half of the poor schmucks on the right side of the road before Spina came running out of the church, clutching a crate like it was full of gold, and flagged down the jeep driver who'd brought them in.

"Can you get us back to the line?" he asked around the box he was holding.

"Sure," the driver said. He took the box from Spina's hands, presumably filled with medical supplies he'd gleaned from the hospital, and took it to the jeep.

Tracinya ignored this byplay and kept looting. A hand on her shoulder, Spina's, finally yanked her focus from the grisly task.

"Come on, Tracinya," he said, pulling her away. She hurried to finish rooting through the man's pockets, wanting to get every last thing she could. There was no telling when they'd get another chance like this, no telling if someone else would have the same desperation to try searching the dead before she had a chance to return.

The thought made her feel sick, but she made herself keep going. One more pocket and then she'd be done and leave this man, who'd already given everything he had out here on this foreign patch of dirt, to rest.

She'd just finished when something caught Spina's eye. He approached a corpse, quickly stripping the body of his boots and checking them for size.

"Nines," he told her when he caught her looking, "for Toye."

She nodded, glad he'd thought of it, she'd completely forgotten herself. Wasting no more time, Tracinya threw the straps of the various bags she'd filled over her shoulders and waddled towards the jeep under the weight.

"Gabriel!" called a woman's voice over the jeep's engine. It was coming from the church.

Tracinya turned with her friend to see a pretty nurse in a bright blue head scarf, smiling at Gabe as she trudged through the snow in practical boots under her skirt and leggings. The blue the woman was wearing over her brown braids transfixed her. It felt like a lifetime since she'd seen cloth any colour but camouflage. It was a very nice colour.

Shaking herself, Tracinya deliberately tuned out their conversation and got to work hauling her bags into the back of the truck before hopping up herself. Whatever it was the two of them were talking about, didn't involve her after all. From the look on her friends face, it would probably be wise to give them some privacy, but she kept an eye on him all the same.

The woman tossed something at Spina. He caught it against his chest, looking down at it in surprise.

"Chocolat," she informed him. He held up the bar and stared at it, confused. "Pour vous," she said with a smile as she turned back into the church.

Spina nodded – though the woman clearly couldn't see it – and hopped into the passenger seat. The jeep driver passed him the box of medical supplies once he'd settled into the passenger seat so he could hug the box and keep it safe in his lap. He put the boots on top of the box and slipped the chocolate into his coat.

Tracinya shot him a knowing look. She could see the smile that was lingering on his face, tucked into the corners of his sometimes too solemn mouth. She huffed a laugh when he brought the chocolate bar up to his nose and inhaled.

"Shut up," he said as he mock glared at her out of the corner of his eye. He passed the bar to her so she could do the same.

She smiled serenely. "I didn't say anything."

The jeep hit a hole in the frozen road and the overflowing bags nearly yanked her off the jeep. There were a lot of them, and they weighed nearly as much as she did, but each one was precious, so she held on for dear life. If any of those bags fell off, it was going to be because she fell off with them.

Spina latched onto her jacket and yanked her back into the bumping jeep. "You get any aid kits?" he asked.

"Yeah, but I didn't have time to sort them out."

"Later then," he agreed as they endured the bumps in the road.

* * *

When they reached the line, Father Maloney was giving a service to the men. Spina and Tracinya started unloading the supplies from the jeep while the impatient driver idled.

Tracinya spotted Toye in the group and headed for him, box in hand and Toye's new boots around her neck.

Tracinya just tossed her bounty on the ground for someone else to sort out. She wanted to know what was going on.

"That's it, guys," said Skip Muck to the assembled men as the Father dismissed them from Mass. "Nothing more to worry about, we gonna die now, we gonna die in a state of grace."

Tracinya still felt dirty after digging through corpses like they were fruit carts, so she didn't find the comment funny even as several other men laughed at Muck's gallows humour.

She found Captain Mateo loitering at the back of the crowd and made sure he saw the bags she'd left behind. He'd see the supplies got distributed where it was needed most.

That taken care of, Tracinya grabbed her gun and a musette bag she'd crammed full of ammo and ran to join the patrol who were already leaving her behind. She heard Mateo getting some guys to carry the stuff back to the CP to be inventoried and distributed and smiled.

Good ol' Captain Mateo.

Tracinya caught up with Martin from First Platoon as the sergeant gathered up his squad. "Hey, Johnny," she greeted him. "You need any help?"

"Sure," he agreed. "Basic recon patrol. Umbaran hunting," he informed her with a smile.

"Sounds fun," she said, and fell in line with the men already forming up tactical columns as Martin barked the order to move out. She tucked away a smile as she overheard Martin comment on Lucas's directional skills but didn't comment.

Bull clapped her on the shoulder. "You joinin' us?"

"Yep," she said and smiled at him, before slipping seamlessly into formation just behind him.

Martin caught Spina as he tried to follow them. "Doc, Doc," he said, putting his hands to Gabe's chest to stop him, "It's a combat patrol, why don't you, ah, stay back and keep your ass outta trouble, huh?" said Martin.

Tracinya didn't hear Spina's reply if he made one.

"Come on, Hoobler," said Martin, re-joining them. "Pick it up."

They walked like shadows in the densely falling snow, moving cautiously through the trees that were standing a silent watch. The snow dampened all sound, making its lack oppressive and disturbing. The fog limited their ability to see each other, let alone where they were going.

Martin and Julian – Babe's replacement friend – were on point. They'd made it to a defensible position behind some logs that had been stacked perhaps in preparation of winter: abandoned pieces of life before the war.

Tracinya heard a Umbaran scream.

A machine gun opened up on Martin and Julian's position through the fog. She hit the dirt, crawling for cover, praying that no one had been hit.

"BULL! CHRISTENSON!" shouted Martin over the popping MG. "UP ON LINE!"

Tracinya found her feet as she and the other men all broke cover to run for the sergeant's position and form a line of defence, knowing that he needed covering fire or someone, likely Martin, was going to die.

They raced to the log pile, filling out the line.

"Medic!" screamed Martin.

Tracinya looked around for Spina, before remembering with a silent curse that he'd been left behind. She then looked for who'd been hit and saw Julian, blood all over his face as he reached out for Babe – who'd surged forward to land next to Martin.

"Suppressing FIRE!" Martin bellowed.

Tracinya flipped around and took the best shots she could manage through the fog and the distance and the heavy fire they were under. She picked her shots carefully – she didn't have ammo to waste after all – but she could do little against the fortified Umbarans. They must have hit the Umbaran line.

Fuck.

She heard Diego calling on the radio that they had a man down. Babe was trying to get to the kid, but a line of machine gun fire blocked him every time. Julian had blood gushing from his neck; he spit even more out of his mouth.

"STOP MOVING!" Babe screamed at the kid. "They'll keep firing!"

Julian was beyond hearing them. He wanted to die with his friends, so he kept reaching for them, knowing they'd get him.

But they couldn't.

"FALL BACK!" yelled Christenson. "We've gotta fall back!"

Martin looked at him, and then looked at Babe's face and made the hard call. "Fall back!" he said. Bull and Tracinya echoed him, making sure the order was heard by everyone. "Move, move!"

"Don't move!" cried Babe, arm still outstretched to the choking man. "We're coming back! Stay with us! Look at me!" He was desperately trying to motivate Julian to hold on, to stay alive long enough for them to get back to him.

They were leaving him behind.

"Go! GO!" screamed Martin. The patrol broke cover and raced back towards safety.

Tracinya tried to remember the way. It was confusing. The dense fog made the trees all look the same.

"Come on, let's move!" yelled Hoobler. "Where the hell are we?"

"Straight ahead, straight ahead!" Bull answered at a shout.

Tracinya could see Spina already up and waiting for them. A shot of stray fire managed to hit a replacement in the back. He went down – a marionette with his strings cut. Tracinya couldn't see who it was; she was busy. She'd taken a tree for cover and was trying to spot where the enemy was firing from. Over the chaos, she heard Luz calling up a jeep.

"Eyes sharp!" yelled Bull.

Mateo joined them. "Martin?" he snapped, trying to get the man's attention. "Martin!"

"Sir?" said Martin, moving to cover closer to Nix so they could talk.

"What's going on?" he asked, eyes flicking around the men, counting.

"They got Julian!" said Martin.

"He's still alive!" screamed Babe in denial.

"We don't know that," Martin answered.

"We gotta go get 'im, Sergeant!" pushed Babe.

"Did you hit an OP or their line?" asked Mateo, weighing the options. If it was just an outpost, a rescue might be possible.

"Their line, sir," Tracinya answered, glancing at Babe as Martin agreed. She watched his face fall as the realization sank in. Julian was gone. They didn't have the men or the ammo to waste on a suicide mission to retrieve just one man.

"We gotta go back and get Julianni!" Babe protested futilely once more.

Tracinya bit her lip at the despair on his face. From what she'd seen of the wound, Julian was a goner either way.

Unable to bear the pain on his face any more, she started taking a head count, suddenly afraid that they'd missed someone else in the chaos of retreating.

"No. Fall back!" ordered Mateo.

"We lost Lucas!" cried Tracinya, coming up short with her count much to her horror. _I didn't even notice he was missing! What if he got shot too and we – I – didn't even notice?_

"No, he's back at the CP," corrected Mateo.

White-hot rage washed over her like a wave. Lucas had retreated without giving a Goddamn order for them to follow him. He'd abandoned them to die out there. Fucking son-of-a-bitch.

She turned sharp eyes back the way they'd come, trying to spot any Umbarans stupid enough to follow them. She fired anyway when she didn't see anyone coming, steadying hands shaking with rage as the long familiarity of shooting took its hold.

"Come on, Martin! Fall back!" rallied Mateo, urging the man to give the order. "Get 'em outta here!"

She wasn't going to go anywhere until Martin told her to. Tracinya was going to keep firing on the enemy until she heard Martin issue the order to retreat.

Martin was leading now that Lucas had abandoned them to the wolves, and protocol demanded the patrol follow Martin's orders, not Mateo's. Though Mateo technically outranked Martin, he was only an intelligence officer. If Martin gave the order to go back to the line and try to get Julian, she'd follow him in a heartbeat, Mateo be damned.

She watched the man from the corner of her eye, waiting for a decision.

"Let's go! Fall back!" called Martin, finally, after exchanging several more bullets with the mist between the trees.

Tracinya emptied her clip and ran.

* * *

As they got back into camp, Tracinya separated herself from the group.

She was fighting down tears, biting chapped lips to keep her anger away as she stormed through the camp.

She needed to be alone. She needed to be alone now.

There was no other option. She couldn't show weakness to her men – not when they were all just as emotionally exhausted as she was, not if she wanted to keep their respect. And there was no holding it back – she was too livid to box it up anymore. Her box was cracking and it was all spilling over.

A hitched sob escaped and she slapped a hand to her mouth to push it back inside. Her legs began sprinting as the desperation for solitude became something as imperative as breathing.

She could feel a pressure building up inside her. Bubbling against her control. Fucking Lucas. Fucking Dike. Fucking cold. Fucking cowards!

Each new thought built up inside her, adding pressure. She was stretched so thin trying to contain it. She was starving and exhausted and Julian wasn't even eighteen and Lucas had left them, left him, to die out there alone. Like they meant nothing. Like they were just meat to stuff the cannons with.

She didn't know where her feet carried her. She didn't know if anyone was around and she didn't care anymore. They could be fucking Umbarans and she wouldn't care at all. She needed to move, needed to hit something, let out this rage before it drove her mad.

Tears streamed down her face, sobs hacking their way through her and she viciously suppressed the sound ruthlessly until just ragged gasps escaped. Suddenly she was falling, a boot caught under something unforgiving. She landed face down in the snow and couldn't even find the strength to stand. Everything that was choking her flooded to the surface. She bit her tongue, allowed herself the weakness of tears but refused to make a single sound. Never again would she endanger her friends by making unnecessary noise. She pushed herself up to her feet, angrily shoving the ground away.

There was a hefty, bare branch in her clenched fists. She had no idea how it got there, but it felt right in her hand. Heavy. Dangerous. Her blood roared in her ears. Her teeth gnashed together so hard they might break. Everything was red. She picked her target and began to wail on it.

Bark flew everywhere as branch and unfortunate tree collided with a 'crack!' It bit at her face, bounced off her helmet and jacket as she just kept hitting. Eventually the branch broke in her hand, which just made her even angrier. She threw it force knows where and began using her fists. She wailed on the tree in front of her, seeing nothing, seeing a man and hitting it again and again, feeling the pressure inside her burst free in wracking sobs and she had to gasp for air to fill the hollow space it left, trying desperately to keep it from collapse.

The skin on her hands burst, blood ran freely, and Tracinya cared not at all. She didn't know where her gloves were, or even if she'd destroyed them in her rage, and still she cared not at all. The red of the blood, the warmth of it, was like seeing Julian gasping on it all over.

A hand gripped her shoulder, tugged on her. The force spun her away from the tree she was trying to tear down and towards a defenceless torso. Desperate to resume her violence – without it she would surely fall to pieces – she shoved him hard and spun back around, clawing and swinging her fists back at the bark. She didn't want to hurt anybody but the tree, these stupid fucking trees that were supposed to protect them but instead rained down death from above as though bullets weren't enough to tear them apart.

She tried to scream her frustration, to make this interloper understand that he needed to let her be, let her vent her rage before it consumed her completely, but air escaped her lungs faster than she could catch it.

Arms circled her, pinning her arms to her sides. She kicked out as he lifted and dragged her away from the tree, flailing to force him to drop her. The cavern of rage was collapsing and she was so scared to let it go, for fear it would take her along with it, leaving her with nothing. Julian would still be dead; they would still be leaderless in this last level of Hell; she would still be stranded; still be watching her friends die every fucking day in a war fed by ambition and no further purpose. Separatists didn't attack Mandalor; the fucking Death Watch did. Fuck Dooku and the stupid fucking Separatists. Let Galaxy self-destruct for all she cared. She was so tired of dying bit by bit as her friends were buried around her, so afraid she'd be next, that she'd be the only one left.

The bubble of anger did collapse and so did she. The arms holding her up fell with her and held her close as she sank to her knees and cried, cried for Julian, and all the other kids who would never know the warmth of another summer's day.

* * *

 _2623 August 7th Earth Standard Calendar, LT. Luke Sparrow, Umbara._

Luke was in a hole with Moore when Tracinya stormed by more rigid than he'd ever seen her. She didn't even look around as she went by, tension in every line of her body. He shared a glance with More before hopping out of the hole to follow her. Something was wrong. He'd never seen her like this and that worried him. If he had to guess he'd say she was angry, but then he'd never seen Tracinya get truly angry, and never like this.

He caught Spina, who was already starting to follow her. The jeep carrying the wounded man from the patrol off to field hopsital to be seen too, but the Doc's hands were still covered in blood.

"What the hell happened on that patrol?" Luke growled at the Doc as he joined him. The growl was more for quiet's sake than anger's, but the worry behind it was certainly real enough.

"I don't know," Doc answered, worried and already to start after Tracinya again.

Luke didn't know why, but he was pretty sure it was a bad idea for anyone, let alone Spina to go after her right now. "Why don't you hang back, Doc?" said Luke, intercepting the man.

Spina opened his mouth to argue, rebellious, when Captain Mateo caught his attention.

"There you are, Doc," said the Captain, his uncanny timing once again unfailing. "I need you to inventory the medical supplies we have on hand. Can you get me the list for Easy Company? We need to spread what little we've got around, and you and Vizsla came back with quite –"

Luke took the Captain's distraction as an opportunity to go after Tracinya alone.

As he was about to go, Spina turned deliberately away from Mateo, and locked eyes with Luke. After a moment of intense study, Spina nodded, conveying the severity of his mission to Luke through the gravity in his eyes.

He was aware that Spina cared a great deal for Tracinya. Then again, he did too. They all did. As he took off after Tracinya he hoped, desperately that she was just going for a walk and not shell shocked. It would be a blow to the Company – hell, to Luke himself – he wasn't sure he could withstand.

Luke followed Tracinya's footsteps in the snow, leading him through the fog until he caught up with her. She didn't seem to hear him when he called out softly, "Hey, Trace, you all right?"

She didn't answer. She didn't even turn around.

He watched her, curious as she dragged her fingers through the snow as if in a trance until she came up with a branch the length of a baseball bat, God knows how she found it underneath all that snow. He held his breath, wondering what on earth she was doing.

Tracinya, in a unenthusiastically motion pulled the branch back like a batter about to swing. It hung in limbo there for a beat too long to be natural before she whipped it forward, putting strength into the swing she shouldn't have been capable of without the momentum of the backswing behind it, shattering the tree's bark and probably denting the thing. She didn't stop, swinging the club again and again, apparently trying to hack the tree down without a blade, the sharp sound that filled the forest not unlike gunshots.

"What the fuck! C'mon Trace," he called, trying to gain her attention. "Snap out of it!"

She didn't acknowledge him. She didn't even act like she'd heard him.

The mist acted as a veil, making the scene all the more surreal. He watched with growing horror as, despite her obvious rage, the violence she was unleashing, she made not a single sound. It was eerie quiet she was, even as her shoulder shook and her body was obviously wracked with sobs she wasn't making a single fucking sound. It was probably the thing that scared Luke the most about this whole terrifying ordeal.

Luke dropped his rifle and scrambled over to get her to stop before the whole Umbaran army lit up this neck of the forest because of the racket. She had to stop or they'd be in big trouble, but a part of him couldn't believe this was even happening.

And yet, despite the danger, once he'd crossed the distance separating them, he couldn't make himself stop her. This was something she needed.

If the Umbarans hadn't opened up yet, they probably weren't going to.

Besides, she wasn't hurting anybody. He could let her have this expression of rage, even bear witness so it wouldn't be forgotten and swept away as nothing. It was obviously not nothing.

Something on that patrol had broken her.

Tracinya, who never got angry, never quit, never wavered, never failed to make them smile just when they needed to, never not there when they needed her, was fucking losing it. And Luke had never been so scared stiff in his whole life. What the hell were they gonna do if this ate her alive like it had so many other soldiers? If Tracinya really had cracked – and with the way she was acting it was likely – then he'd be seeing a lot more of it in the other men. It was like dominos, it only took one to send a lot of others to the floor, and Tracinya was a centre piece.

The branch broke. She didn't even whimper as it splintered in her hand. She threw it away and just started beating on the damn tree with her bare fists.

Recognizing that she'd gone long past being rationally angry and into dangerous territory, his feet jolted to life, and he ran forward. When he reached the still fighting girl, he grabbed Tracinya's shoulder and tried to pull her away. With a tree branch was one thing, but bare knuckles on bark was only going to hurt her, not ease the pain she was feeling. Her armoured gauntlets didn't cover her fingers. Her knuckles were already oozing blood, and they couldn't afford anyone to get hurt out here with so little supplies to go around. Luke wasn't stupid, if they were out of food, they were out of bandages, especially with the way Doc was constantly badgering everyone for aid kits and morphine.

She resisted, throwing him off. It shouldn't have been possible; she was such a little thing.

"Cut it out, Trace!" he said, trying to reason with her as he tried again to pull her away. "You're gonna hurt yourself!" he said as he spun her around, but she shoved him away.

He caught the look at her face as she spun back to the tree. It was full of rage and sorrow and hurt, and there were tears streaming from her eyes even as her lips curled into a snarl, but still she made no sound. Not even one of pain despite the blood dripping from her hands. But he was also relieved in a way, as the suspicion that she might just be going crazy was swept irrevocably aside. The intensity in her eyes simply wasn't present in those who were shell shocked. She wasn't dead inside, merely grieving and angry because of it, and Luke understood that well enough.

Having successfully dislodged him, Tracinya turned towards the tree again, punching and kicking and leaving bits of herself in the bark as she held onto the only thing that made sense to her at this point, unwilling to relinquish the rage that kept the grief at bay.

"Jesus Christ! Enough!" He wrapped his arms around her as hard as he could and hauled her backwards. She struggled for a moment, kicking and flailing about, almost breaking his gasp. "Tracinya, calm the fuck down," he said, holding tight.

She gave one last struggle, before sagging in his grip. He wasn't prepared for the sudden weight and they sank to the ground, Tracinya gasping for breath, and Luke trying to hold her together.

He pulled his friend close, cradling her head in his arms and smoothed his gloved hand over her hair as she began to sob in earnest into his jacket, finally finding a voice, thank God.

"He was seventeen, Luke," she croaked after long moments of inconsolable sobbing, her lungs rattling with the strain, "and we just left him there. Fucking Lieutenant Lucas just left us there because fucking Dike can't give him any fucking orders!"

She could barely breathe and she was trying to talk, to explain. He appreciated the gesture even though it was unnecessary. He wasn't going to judge her for this lapse, just as she hadn't judged him for his own lapses back on Mandalor after he'd held together while he relived his experiences that still haunted him at night.

He shushed her gently, but she shook her head and continued. "We're out here in the freezing cold and our CO doesn't give a damn about any of us. Not even the kids."

"I know, Trace. I know," he placated. "We've just gotta hang in there."

He didn't know what else to say, so he did for her what she had done for him all those months ago in Normandy, and let her cry quietly into his jacket. Her tears froze before they reached him anyways.

* * *

 _25031 Galactic Standard Calendar, Tracinya Vizsla, Umbara_

Tracinya felt the tears fade into hacking coughs. She was shaking with cold and exhaustion and Luke was so solid in that moment she didn't want to lean away from him to spit away the gunk that came up from her lungs, but saw no other option. He let her go, patting her back gently as she heaved up mucus.

She leaned away from him to spit it on the ground in the most unladylike fashion. _If only Mother were here to offer me a handkerchief_ , she thought, the tiniest grin quirking her mouth at the image of her mother out here, slogging through the war with them before being replaced with a grimace of pain as she started coughing once more.

"I'm all right," she said as the last of the coughs started dying down.

"Yeah," he agreed easily, still watching her with hawk-like eyes. "We should head back once your lungs decide to stay put. Get some chow. Maybe see about getting you off the line for a bit."

Tracinya looked up, eyes snapping with ice despite the tears streaming down her face. She growled at him and struggled to her feet, "I don't need," she gasped, and began coughing, hacking away now that her adrenaline was down.

She got herself under control and managed to stand, brushing Luke away. "I don't need off the line," she insisted. Ambushed by a hiccup turned into a bubbling laugh she said, "Anyway, off the line to go where?" She glanced at him, knowing without a doubt that her eyes were bloodshot and red. "We're surrounded. There is no line. Just more fucking snow," she said bitterly. She wiped her mouth with a hand. It left a smear of blood behind. She'd busted her knuckles.

Luke gently took her hand and picked up some snow. Using the ice crystals and his scarf, he dabbed the blood away. Tracinya didn't bother telling him to knock it off. Her outburst hadn't changed anything, hadn't even made her feel better. Instead, it just left her tired and cranky.

"All right," agreed Luke, willing to move past getting her off the line for now. "Then explain: what the hell was that?"

Tracinya bit back two different angry retorts before she settled on an appropriate response. "Lieutenant Lucas left us, retreated without giving the Goddamn order, and now Julian's dead."

"Who's Julian?" asked Luke, eyes still on Tracinya hands. It was a relief to have it confirmed that she was just furious, not in shell shock.

"The replacement from Babe's hole," she answered, voice small, remembering. "Well, he was before Lucas got infected with Dike's ineptitude, now he's dead," she said softly, too mentally exhausted for any more anger. Her anger had been an easy mask for her heartsickness, she knew herself well enough to understand that. Anger was far easier to deal with than an aching pain that would never truly heal. Because Julian was too young to die in war, they all were, and the hopelessness of their situation, the inevitability that many more people were going to be lost to this foreign soil threatened to throw her back into a rage.

"Trace, you gotta calm down," cautioned Luke, looking wary.

She studied him. He clearly didn't want her flying off the handle again. She supposed he was allowed to feel that way, he'd just finished patching up her busted knuckles after all.

"I'm working on it," she snapped, still trying – unsuccessfully – not to be angry. She was tired and his fussing wasn't helping. She tried to regulate her breathing, eventually letting out a sigh. "I'm all right, Luke."

"You're not all right," persisted Luke, still worried.

"Yeah, but I'm angry, not insane, so leave it alone, alright?" she snapped, tired of his coddling.

He let it go without further comment. "How do your hands feel?" he asked instead, changing the subject.

Tracinya looked down at the cleaned abrasions. He'd done a good job. The cold snow hand numbed the area, and the melt had washed out the worst of the bark. "Fine," she answered.

"Good, then we should probably get back before they eat all the chow," said Liebgott, "and Roe's probably gonna wanna look at your hands."

"You're not to get Gabriel worried about my own stupidity," she told him firmly.

"Too late," he informed her. When she gave him a sharp look, he smiled a 'who me?' smile and clapped her on the back, ruffling her hair with friendly affection.

Tracinya pushed his shoulder in retaliation, so he rocked back on his heels a bit, not enough to fall over or even lose his balance, but it made him give her a more genuine smile. She bent down to scoop up her helmet and rifle, replacing her headgear and frowning as Luke picked up his own weapon from where he'd dropped it a few paces away. While her negligence could be attributed to her blind rage, Luke certainly knew better than to drop his rifle to the ground for any reason. She just didn't have the heart to scold him about it now.

He swung his arm over her shoulder and pulled her close for warmth. It made her feel infinitely better and worse at the same time. Tracinya was bitterly ashamed that she'd worried him, and eternally grateful that he was here.

"Besides," she huffed ruefully, thinking of the others back at camp who probably had more right to sorrow than she did. "Heffron could probably use some company." She avoided his gaze but felt him nod and let him lead her back to camp.

No longer blind with rage and grief, Tracinya was confronted by the glaring issues that had pushed her so far. A lot of it was down to exhaustion. She hadn't been able to sleep properly since she'd been moved up to cover the edge of the line. There was very little food to go around anymore. The scrounging she'd done today might ease that for a little while, but it couldn't hold out forever. The biting, relentless cold constantly gnawed away at her.

All that, and then there was what happened today.

How could Lucas abandon them like that? Like some useless replacement officer who didn't know a patrol from a walk in the park. He'd been around long enough to know better. Weren't they abandoned often enough by Dike? Lucas should know; he spent half his fucking day looking for that goldbrick! But rather than lead a patrol, he'd done the stupidest thing he possibly could: fucked off back to the CP, leaving Martin alone in the field so he could make a report on action that was still fucking happening.

It was a product of Dike's piss poor leadership style. Because Dike didn't know what to do, couldn't manage to give a definitive order for any of the combat patrols he'd ordered, Lucas felt the need to constantly check in to make sure he was doing what was necessary. If Santiago was in charge, he'd have been with them in case something went wrong.

It made her feel sick to her stomach. She forced the feeling down and away. It would do absolutely no good to vomit right now, and she didn't have any food in her to spit up anyway.

She took a deep breath, searching for calm. As she let it out, she tried to blow away her fury as well. She needed to move past this rage if she was going to function properly as a sergeant. She could do nothing less for her men. They had to have at least one leader who cared about them and knew what she was doing.

It was the only thing she could do: look after her men.

So she let her anger go, left it behind to be buried in the snow with all the rest of the bloody anger on Umbara.

But she vowed to never forgive Lucas for this, or forget it, and to shield her men from incompetent leaders like him to the best of her ability for as long as she was able.

It meant that when she got back to camp, she had to have a level head. She'd have to bury her rage and hatred and press on as if nothing had happened. It was the only way to survive out here.

The walk back to camp passed in silence, neither Tracinya nor Luke mentioning what had just happened or thinking about what might happen tomorrow.

They were still here, and for now, that would have to be enough.

* * *

The walk back to camp was a quiet one. Neither Tracinya nor Luke felt the need to discuss what had happened out there in the woods.

There was no need.

It didn't take long to get back to Easy's position. From there, it was easy to see where the guys from the patrol had gathered together just away from the general bustle of the rest of the company, seeking comfort in their shared despair.

Tracinya drifted away from Luke as soon as they re-joined the group. Partly because she felt ashamed she'd broken down in front of him and needed to re-establish a boundary of respect. But mostly she just felt hollow and exhausted all over again, her grief returning afresh with the mourning silence that dominated the usually vibrant group. On any other occasion, the boys would have been laughing, giggling, and having a good time – as they had managed all along, despite the horrible conditions they faced – but today, those sounds of gayety were smothered by the memory of the boy they'd been forced to leave behind.

Tracinya wondered how many of them were also wondering if it would happen to them next.

Without conscious thought, Tracinya found herself next to Bull. She sat down next to the bulky man with a weary sigh and scrubbed a hand over her face, unsuccessfully trying to erase the evidence of her tears.

Bull, saint that he was, said nothing as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She leaned into the hug, feeling fragile now that she was surrounded by her comrades grief-stricken faces.

She looked at the ground to avoid the worried looks directed at her. She felt ashamed that she'd gone off alone to rant and cry when the others had come together. Granted, she wasn't First Platoon. She shouldn't have been on the patrol at all but their numbers had dwindled so much that she'd ended up helping out wherever she could.

She didn't – hadn't – even known the kid that well. But the unbearable heartbreak on Babe's face, who'd been close to Julian – buddies from basic and then sharing a foxhole on the line – was excruciating.

Tracinya felt the heat of an assessing stare and looked up to find Spina's piercing gaze. She mustered a smile for him, but she was too ashamed to properly meet his eyes.

She considered moving to sit next to the medic, but after studying his face, she decided against it. From the way he hunched in on himself, shoulders up around his ears, face drawn into a worried frown, he wanted some space. He was deliberately sitting just beyond the group, not actually a part of it; his own plea for privacy.

She bit her lip and decided to place her worry for him aside for the moment. She was in no state to help him anyway with her own emotions so volatile. It broke her heart that Spina was isolating himself, but she understood – especially after what she'd just gone through with Luke.

Spina did his best to take care of them when they were screaming in agony, and if doing that required a little bit of distance, well she certainly couldn't begrudge him that.

She'd realized in this isolated week in hell that Spina withdrew himself on principle and emphasized this distance whenever they lost someone. Tracinya wondered if he thought they would blame him somehow for losing the man. If he thought Julian's death was somehow his fault, despite the fact that he hadn't even been there.

Perhaps that's the problem, Tracinya thought. Spina blames himself for not being there to help despite Martin ordering him to stay behind.

Tracinya swallowed fresh tears. Maybe if Spina had been there, Julian would've made it.

She hated herself for the thought. It wasn't Gabe's fault.

Hell, it wasn't really Peacock's fault either.

It was the terrible price of war that good men had to die. All she or any of the boys could do was hold on and pray they made it through.

It wasn't going to be enough for some people, but that was all in God's hands.

* * *

 _2623 8th August Earth Standard Calendar, PVT 'Bull', Umbara_

Bull politely didn't notice the way Tracinya's hands trembled as she wiped away the smallest of overflowing tears. She sniffed, causing a cough that she hid in her hands. He patted her on the back, letting her lean away from him for some space.

He was worried about her. She hadn't looked too good when she'd gone storming off; the blank look on her face – almost vacant in the way of the mentally fatigued, the shell-shocked guys who'd be pulled off the line to disappear forever – nearly as terrifying as the cracking of wood on wood that had come from that direction only a few minutes later.

LT. Sparrow had already gone after her though, and Bull had let them be.

LT could be trusted to look after Tracinya.

He tried not to notice the cuts on her knuckles, either. Doc Spina would likely take care of that once he noticed, and it was never long with Spina. Bull was half convinced the medic had informants whispering to him about ailments among their comrades. Spina kept such watch of Sarge as well, that Bull was certain that the Doc wouldn't fail to notice the state of the woman's hands.

Bull gnawed on his cigar and rubbed on his forehead, using the motion to subtly swipe his own tears away if anyone looked too close.

He couldn't start thinking about what-if and why-for's. Dwelling on things he couldn't change wouldn't make a damned bit of difference.

He knew the image of a boy, barely old enough to shave, bleeding from a gushing wound in his neck, futilely grasping to keep the blood inside his body as he became weaker and weaker as they abandoned him to the unforgiving winter cold, would stay with him for the rest of his life.

Already, every time he blinked he saw Julian gurgling in pain and panic as the kid reached out for them – for him – and leaving him behind.

He wondered if he couldn't have done something, got to the kid some way if he'd been a better soldier. Logically, he knew it had been impossible – Julian was dead the moment the Umbarans hit him out in the open, never mind how serious the wound was – but the traitorous thoughts lingered.

Santiago joined them from the CP, approaching the group of downtrodden men like a spectre, ghosting up just when they needed a friendly face, a show from someone who was their leader, who cared about them.

It confirmed again what Bull already knew: Santiago was a great man.

Martin met their captain and reported the loss of Julian. "We couldn't get to him, Captain. We tried, Babe tried," he said nodding to the broken redhead with bright sympathetic eyes, "but we couldn't get to him."

Bull looked away ashamed. His eyes found the fat, floating snowflakes to try and keep himself distracted for a little while.

The quiet wasn't going to last for long before the Umbarans decided to come knocking once more.

* * *

 _25031 Galactic Standard Calendar, Tracinya Vizla, Umbara_

Tracinya watched Spina as he spared Babe a long, assessing look. She had to admit that Babe didn't look too good. He'd been coughing, like a lot of them were now, but even from here she could tell that he'd stopped trying to ward off the cold, leaving his head and ears foolishly exposed to the elements even as he hugged his knees close for warmth – or perhaps it was for comfort.

"Hey, Bull, Trace," said Santiago, suddenly above her. Tracinya met his tired face, lined with more strain than she could ever remember seeing from him. His bright blue eyes were anguished like the rest of them. "I'm gonna sit in here with you guys."

Tracinya swallowed and gave a compulsory nod before letting her gaze drift to stare deliberately at nothing. She was afraid of the disappointment she was sure she'd see on Santiago's face, in her, in all of them.

Instead, he bumped her shoulder and gave her a small smile when she instinctively met his eyes. She didn't feel up to giving him one back but tried anyway. Some of the concern in his eyes lightened at the upward twitch of her lips, and she took it as an accomplishment.

Lightening Santiago's load was always an accomplishment.

When she looked back over at Spina, he was staring at his bag. She watched with sharp eyes as he pulled out a bar of chocolate. The one he got from the nurse back at the Field Hospital, she remembered.

She turned away as he brought the bar to his nose to inhale the bittersweet scent, trying to give him a private moment. Tracinya vaguely wished she had enough chocolate left over from the transited from Mandalor to spare a bit for her own comfort. Chocolate was a treat from the O.A.G. that was taking the galaxy by storm. People couldn't get enough of it and the O.A.G. was the only producer. She supposed that was a benefit of serving alongside the O.A.D.F. of having easy access to Chocolate.

What she did have, she didn't dare touch. She'd decided early on this debacle to divide her stockpile that she'd kept over the years into Republic Day presents for the boys, probably the only ones they'd see in this place. She'd distributed what she'd bought in through scrounging around before they'd pulled out of FOB Frost, but she'd been keeping a stockpile for herself in reserve out of habit, for bribes and the like.

She'd valiantly not touched it when her cycle started up a few days ago, and she wasn't going to touch it now.

She wished fervently that she hadn't been so liberal in passing out the chocolate before leaving FOB Frost. It had seemed wise at the time, but she longed for a bit of extra chocolate for herself, to make herself feel better. Even the smell was often enough to brighten her mood, and she desperately needed something for that.

Still, she wouldn't even dream of asking for some from Spina or Luke.

He already had too few reasons to keep going out here. He needed all the mood brightening he could get.

Thank the Force for nurses and chocolate.

* * *

That night, Tracinya found Babe shivering alone in his foxhole, staring blankly at the corner Julian must have sat in just a few hours ago.

"Hey, Babe," said she, sliding down in next to him, the ice cold, damp dirt falling down her ODs and itching fiercely against her skin. She was used to the uncomfortable sensation by now, though, and just shoved her hands into her armpits. She had no idea where her fucking gloves had gone, but by now they were probably buried under a foot of snow somewhere.

Babe didn't acknowledge her, but his head cocked a bit at the disturbance, so there was some hope. Some of the guys who went into shell-shock just disappeared completely into their own head. That Babe was acknowledging her at all was a good sign.

She tucked him under her arm and coaxed his head to rest on her shoulder. His damp breath and spit tickled her neck as his tears came in a rush all at once, his intermittent coughing wracking his frame and making him gag. Tracinya hoped he didn't puke on her, but she wasn't going to mention it if he did. Babe's entire body shook with his pain. He cried himself out as she held him, and if she cried too, he was too good to mention it.

An hour later, Babe was still stoically tucked into her side, composure and forlorn daze returned after the brief outpouring of emotion. Tracinya had done her best to just listen to him rage and cry without judgment, the way Luke had for her, but she knew she wasn't enough. Babe needed to be reminded that he still had friends out here, a reminder that he wasn't alone. He'd needed some human comfort, and she might have needed that too.

But she and Babe had never been close. He needed another outlet, someone who knew him, and what he and Julian had been – the very best of friends who, after many solitary nights, learned everything about each other.

She knew him well enough to know that he would never go to anyone else for the comfort he desperately needed on his own.

She quickly ran through the list of Babe's friends.

There was obviously Guarnere, but the Bolivian definitely wasn't someone she'd want to see her crying, and she doubted Babe felt differently, so he was out. Babe was probably closest with Gabriel Spina, the other medic in Easy, after Guarnere and the other replacements.

After a moment of thought, she decided that Spina was probably the best choice.

"Come on," she said.

Babe obediently got up. He was almost listless. Tracinya was well acquainted with the feeling.

She led the compliant Babe to the medic's hole. Tracinya slid into the hole first, Babe right behind her.

Spina was waiting for them. He took one look at Babe and shot Tracinya a grateful glance. She scanned the hole and realized that Luke was missing. She might've worried about him, but couldn't find the strength. Luke could take care of himself.

And she was too fragile to take care of anyone else right now, hence bringing Babe to Spina.

"Hey, buddy," said Spina as Babe sat down without prompting. The medic pulled the Private into his side and spread his blanket out to share.

Tracinya waited until they were both settled and Spina gave her a nod before she left. She desperately wanted to get back to her hole and sack out now that she knew Babe was in good hands.

She was exhausted.

The night was frigid.

Tracinya pulled her hands into the sleeves of her jacket and once again wondered how she could have been so careless as to lose her gloves. She had no hope of finding them, and she'd never longed so fiercely for an article of clothing. She'd put her plan of making some for Spina on hold since Toye had needed her spare socks for his feet. Plus, realistically, the socks wouldn't have done much good as gloves in the snow. Most of the men had purposefully abandoned their cloth jump gloves when they'd gotten soaked through because there was no way to dry them out. Fire was a bad idea, because it gave the Umbarans an excuse to start shelling their position again.

Tracinya's leather gloves had been better, if only just, but she'd misplaced them in a hurry one day – she never should've taken them off in the first place if she was being honest – but they were gone with no chance of ever being found, so she resigned herself to cold hands.

When she finally found her hole, she pulled up the tarp that covered the mouth and slid in, dirt and cold once more wriggling into her clothes to itch. She was almost surprised to find Luke already waiting for her, a grin on his face when she rolled her eyes.

She should have known he'd find a way to check on her.

Resigned, Tracinya sat next to him, shedding her helmet with a sigh and leaning against the dirt.

Luke distributed the blankets that had accumulated in her foxhole while she was gone. She suspected Spina, but wouldn't put it past Bull or Luke himself to have furnished an extra blanket or two. Whoever had done it, she was grateful for it now. The cold had frozen her to the bone. Luke wrapped her up, tucking the blanket under his shoulders and calves like her mother had when she was sick, slinging his arm around her shoulders as they settled in.

Tracinya closed her eyes, grateful to be off her feet for the first time in what felt like days. She was more than ready for this wretched day to be over. A part of her feared that Julian's death throes would be waiting to haunt her once she closed her eyes, but she was asleep before her head lolled onto Luke's shoulder.

* * *

 _2623 13_ _th_ _August Earth Standard Calendar, CPL Gabriel 'Doc/Spina' Ospina, Umbara_

Gabrial was worried about Andres. He'd looked pretty distraught earlier, and he wasn't in his hole when the medic had gone by to check on him.

All sorts of scenarios ran through his head. Symptoms of battle fatigue sometimes included self mutilation out of desperation to get off the line. There was also the possibility that Babe had just upped and wandered off. He hoped the redhead had more sense than to wander off into the woods at night, but grief could do funny things to a man. If he had wandered off, Andres would probably freeze to death before he could catch up to him and after today, well, Gabriel didn't think the guys could handle that.

He wondered if Tracinya had seen the kid. She was a good bet to know where the kid had gone.

Somehow she always knew. He wasn't sure if it was because the guys in the company always seemed to find her, or if she found them, but he had a fair gamble of finding any guy who'd had a rough time have spent some time with her. Spina often found himself being pulled there – perhaps by God, or perhaps by good sense, particularly on days when guys too young to even vote died and there was nothing he could do to save them – when he was in need of a rekindling his hope.

He'd never be able to tell anyone how she did it or what exactly she did that always put him at ease, but it was true nonetheless.

Spina had been worried about her after the patrol, but he'd had his hands full with that injured man, and then Captain Mateo's inventory request. Sparrow had gone after her, though, and Spina knew that of anyone in Easy, Sparrow was probably the man she was closest to, and the most likely to calm her down. The medic wasn't entirely sure how their friendship worked, but it was well known that Sparrow could be trusted to look out for Tracinya. He knew they were SPECWAR and had spent some time before Umbara fighting together. Despite LT. Sparrow's standoffish nature he wasn't a bad guy. A hard shell and exterior probably from fighting for so long. He noticed that a lot of the lads were that way, or becoming that way. A result from spending a year and a half, encroaching on two years for them, three for the Republic.

He looked down and found himself at the hole he remembered Tracinya had been using this afternoon.

Most likely, she was still in it, but the guys had shifted around, Tracinya more than anyone for some reason, and it was hard to keep track. It was impossible to know for sure who was in any given foxhole without ducking under the tarp. Unfortunately, more often than not, this meant waking everyone trying to sleep inside, depriving already exhausted men of badly needed rest. There was nothing for it. He lifted the tarp and slid inside, immediately feeling warmer thanks to the heat from the two bodies already in the hole.

Tracinya was there, curled up with Sparrow, which he might've guessed, but no Andres.

Sparrow gave him a quick smile. "Hey Doc," he said at a whisper. "You lookin' for Trace?"

"Kind of," admitted the medic quietly. "Andres actually, but I thought I'd check on her while I was at it." He shot Sparrow a stern glare. "You wanna tell me what happened on your walk today?"

Sparrow knew better than to hold out on Spina. "She lost it for a bit, started wailing on a tree." He met Spina's eyes. "Scariest fucking thing I've ever seen."

Spina cocked an eyebrow.

"Bare hands, Doc," Sparrow informed him.

Spina nodded, pretending like he understood why his closest friend decided to go at it bare fisted with a tree, pretending like that was normal so that he didn't dwell on the fact that had it been even a little less private, if someone other than Sparrow – who was so loyal to Trace – saw, she'd be off the line for shell-shock or fatigue immediately – and most likely shipped home.

Funny how the thought seemed so dreadful now.

"Anything else?"

"Still coughin'. She's pretty exhausted too, fell asleep on me earlier."

"All right," said Spina, shaking her shoulder. He needed her awake so he could check on her hands. Right now they were tucked tight in her armpits, and he'd need a crowbar to pry them loose.

Tracinya woke with a groan. "What?" she croaked, blinking hard. It took her longer than usual to notice him, which was of concern. "Gabriel?" she whispered when dazed blue eyes finally landed on the medic.

"Hey, Trace," said Gabriel with a soft smile he didn't manage to muster for anyone else out here.

"What're you doin' here?" she asked, still blinking away sleep.

"I need to check your hands."

"My hands?" she questioned, slipping the trembling appendages free.

Spina grabbed on appendage and took note of the dried blood that had dripped between her fingers from swollen knuckles with concerned eyes. He assumed the trembling at least could be attributed to the cold, but if Tracinya had broken the bones in her knuckles or fingers, there was nothing he could do for her – he may even need to pull her from the line.

At this point, he wasn't entirely sure that was a good thing or a bad one – he was tired of watching his friends die, and he didn't even want to imagine it being Tracinya under his hands as she slipped away – but it was a moot point while they were surrounded. There was nowhere for any of them to go but straight into the Umbaran's line.

Plus, he didn't want to think about the consequences on Easy Company's morale if Tracinya got pulled from the line for an injury.

He looked the hand over gently, manipulating it into a fist and probing the swollen areas gently as he watched her face.

Spina tried to straighten one of her fingers, freezing when her face contorted with pain. "Sorry," he apologized, quickly letting go. "You probably fractured the bone there. Nothin' I can do for 'em."

Tracinya gave him a tight smile. "It's fine."

"Let me see your other hand," said Spina. She let him have it and hissed when he poked at her split knuckles this time. "Did that hurt?" he asked, prodding at her scabbed knuckles.

"You're poking my wounds, Gabe. Yes, it fucking hurts," she hissed with a glare, trying to yank her hand back.

Gabriel smiled and was surprised by his own laughter. "Sorry," he drawled catching her hand and pulling it back so he could get another look. She let him have it with a petulant glare that made him bite back another smile.

He shot a glance at Sparrow, who was chuckling too now.

Tracinya shot the other man a betrayed look before turning baleful eyes back on Gabriel. "Don't you even think about wasting a bandage on my stupidity. I earned those cuts, I earned the time it'll take to heal 'em too, and the pain that comes along with it," she told him, taking her hand back.

Gabriel stared at her, searching her eyes. "Okay," he said and settled in next to her. He smiled as he felt Ev's head hit his shoulder, her body folding against his and almost petulantly attempting to spread a blanket over him.

"I don't know what it is about you, Gabe," she said, her voice almost more of a hum than words.

He shifted, bending his neck at an awkward angle to see her clearly, taking in her closed eyes and peaceful expression, the lines in her face easing and shedding away what looked like hard years of struggle to leave behind a gentle young woman as she slipped towards sleep.

"What's that?" he prompted when Tracinya didn't continue after a long moment.

"Hm? Oh. Your hands Gabe. They're restful."

He traded a look with Sparrow, not sure what she was talking about.

Sparrow shrugged his shoulders, clueless too.

"Restful, huh?" said Gabriel.

"Yeah, you're a good medic, Gabe," she sighed with a content smile. "Where'd you learn to be such a good medic?"

Gabriel figured Tracinya was sleep drunk; spouting off things as they came to her mind but without conscious thought behind them. She might not even remember having said them later. It was oddly comforting since it made her seem young and careless. He'd never known her to be either of those things when conscious.

"In Brazil, we had village healers called Witchdoctors. My grandmother was a Witchdoctor," he said, deciding to humour her. Even in the 26th century, there were still some native tribes in South America, Africa and the Pacific islands. He didn't see how it could hurt and he'd never seen her like this before. It was more than a little funny.

"Your grandmother?" she said with a bit of a slur. He watched, bemused, as Tracinya sat up suddenly to give him an intense look, every blink taking longer and longer before her eyes opened again.

"Yep. She laid her hands on people and cured 'em. She asked the Spirits to take away the pain she pulled out of people. She pulled out sickness, cancer, you name it, and asked them to carry it away." He gave a laugh that sounded more like a hiss of air as he saw his grandmother's smiling face behind his eyes, soothing him as she had as a child. He swallowed the image down, unwilling to bring even her memory to this place. "That's what she did."

"You have that gift too," said she, with a smile.

Gabriel laughed bitterly.

He didn't believe her, mostly because she was talking nonsense – Tracinya was definitely more than half-asleep – but also because he was nothing like his grandmother. She'd never let someone die under her hands; not like him. He couldn't heal everyone who asked, everyone who needed it, who screamed and begged for it, not even the friends that he loved.

Tracinya grabbed his hand, fiercely shaking it to emphasize her point. "It's true!"

He bit down a smile, but shot Sparrow another loaded glance, inviting the other man to share the joke.

Tracinya continued, completely missing the men's indulgent expressions. "You put your hands on people and it calms them down. You cure their minds of the fear that war brings. They know in their soul that you're there to help them, that you won't rest until either you do, or they're in their God's hands, where there is no pain. If that isn't a gift in this forsaken war, then I'm not sure what is."

"It's a very painful gift," said Gabriel. He tried to keep his voice light, but from the heavy knowing look she gave him, severe despite her drooping eyelids and the sharp glance from Sparrow, he hadn't succeeded. A part of his soul ached every day for those he couldn't save. Sometimes comfort wasn't enough.

"'God only gives tests he knows we can pass.'" Sparrow quoted, while Tracinya was sinking back down until her head was Gabriel's his shoulder.

"He wouldn't burden you with something you couldn't survive, Gabe." Tracinya finished.

Gabriel stared at the woman, half asleep on his shoulder and speaking like a prophet. He didn't know if she really was touched by God, but what she said resonated with him, sending a wave of feeling all the way down into his bones.

"I got a story that'll make you laugh," Gabriel said, wondering if his friend would manage to keep awake through the whole story or if he should save it for another time.

Tracinya forced lagging eyes open again, blinking sleepily at him. He almost regretted keeping her awake, but he didn't want her dwelling on his problems when she was supposed to be resting. She was still sick herself, even if she thought she was hiding it from him.

"What's the story, Doc?" said Sparrow. He looked worn around the edges too.

They both needed a laugh.

"I was in town at the hospital. There was a kid, a sergeant, laying on a homemade stretcher. He had a colt .45 on him, and he's just been waiting there a while I guess, waiting for a bed. Anyway the radio was on and turns over to Bing Crosby, singing "White Christmas." The sergeant whipped out his gun and blew the radio to pieces with one shot, hollering, "Come over here, you son of a bitch, I'll give you a white Christmas!'" Gabriel tried to imitate the kids accent, but was pretty sure he'd missed it.

Tracinya raucous laughter was sharp before she buried the sound in her hand. Sparrow made no effort to hide his own amusement.

Gabriel smiled, satisfied.

Tracinya's eyes fluttered closed and she whispered one last sentiment into his collar. "I'm glad you're here, Doc."

And she was asleep.

"For what it's worth, Doc," said Sparrow. "I'm glad you're here too."

Gabriel didn't know what to say to that. He nodded simply, which satisfied the man.

He let himself enjoy the quiet for a few minutes before carefully shifting Tracinya's weight over to Sparrow, the exhausted woman moving willingly at his coaxing in a show of trust that touched him deeply.

Though a part of him longed to stay here, in the safety and company of his friends, he needed to find Andres, especially since the kid wasn't here.

"I gotta go find Andres. You seen him?" he asked once the woman was settled, realizing that Sparrow had never actually answered him before.

"No," said Sparrow softly so he didn't wake Tracinya.

"All right, thanks," said Gabriel as he crawled out of the hole. "Take care of her?"

"Always, Doc," said Sparrow as Gabriel closed the flap over his friends, lingering just long enough to send a prayer to God that he'd watch over those two for him.

The wind howled. Gabriel shoved his hands into his pockets and shivered. He needed to find Andres and get to his own hole before he became a human popsicle.

Figuring he must've returned from patrol by now if someone had been cruel or kind enough to give the kid something to do – and patrol's the only place anybody ever went out here – Gabreil circled back to Babe's hole.

 _Nothing._

 _Fuck._

There was nothing for it. Gabriel started systematically checking through the covered holes, ducking into them and disturbing their sometimes sleeping occupants as he searched for the missing private.

 _Where the hell did Andres go?_ he wondered.

Out of the fog appeared a figure. Gabreil almost immediately knew that the man wasn't the enemy – not the right shape. He ran forward.

As he got closer, his traitorous heart clamoured that he'd finally found his quarry, relief sparking through him. Surely it could only be the person he was looking for? He'd accounted for just about everyone else.

"Andres?" he called as he got into earshot.

The figure came into focus once he was within a few feet of the man. It wasn't Andres, but Toye, sitting on a log outside his foxhole.

"Toye?"

* * *

 _25031 Galactic Standard Calendar, Tracinya Vizla, Umbara_

A mortar round jolted her awake with a gasp.

She blinked in confusion. Luke was still asleep next to her, somehow managing to sleep through the ground shaking. In deference to the man's obvious exhaustion, Tracinya tried to leave the hole as quietly as possible. He could use all the sleep he could get.

She stretched as she fit the brisk morning air, luxuriating in the glow of the vegetation, not really warm but certainly less frigid than before.

The zipping roar of starfighters sailing by drew her gaze and she suddenly realized what should've been immediately obvious: there was light streaking from the trees, caressing the snow and earth like a long lost friend.

 _The fog is gone! Thank Kriff._

The sound of the O.A.G. repulser engines, growing louder with each second, cut through the air. Tracinya ran for them with more than half the camp emptying behind her. It took no time at all to reach the edge of the forest and start scanning the open, blessedly less dark skyline for friendly planes.

It was well known that the Umbaran air power had been all but destroyed before the invasion. It certainly would've been a hell of a lot harder to take the landing grounds if the Umbarans had been in any shape to do damage or defend themselves from the sky. The Allies had been the uncontested rulers of the air for months now.

If you heard a starfighter, there was a good chance that it belonged to the Allies.

Elated, Tracinya scanned the crowd of eager soldiers for her friends. It didn't take long for her to find Gabriel, standing next to First Sergeant Frenanda, towards the centre of the clumping soldiers.

She joined them and gave the men the biggest smile she could muster, greeting them with a quiet, but reverent, "Halleluiah."

Easy Company launched red smoke grenades for the planes, so the pilots could find their location, to let the boys in the air know they were still alive down here.

The starfighter planes turned over and came back – seeing the smoke. The men cheered.

A plane dived, sending a barrage of screaming bullets down the along the tree line right for them.

Tracinya dived, scrambling for her gun.

It was missing.

She'd left it in her foxhole.

 _Idiot!_ she cursed. _Stupid! What's the first rule of basic training? Don't drop your gun? And I plum forgot it in the middle of a siege! Goddamn it! I know better._

She looked up, and screamed, "Doc!"

Her friend hadn't moved, still completely exposed to the hail of bullets.

He was going to be shot right in front of her. She was going to watch him die, riddled with plasma, and there was nothing she could do about it without her fucking gun!

Fernanda seized Gabe, and yanked the still stunned medic back under the tree cover.

Tracinya heaved a breath as her heart lurched and then tried to re-establish a normal rhythm.

 _Thank the Force_ , she prayed, putting her face into the dirt. _Thank you_.

The other soldiers started firing back at the planes – they couldn't just sit here and take the abuse, they didn't have enough people as it was. Early on, they'd been told not to wave at the passing planes. From the sky the pilots didn't – couldn't – know friend from foe, and they were trained to shoot anything that moved.

In their elation at finally seeing the much missed aircraft, they'd all forgotten. Even her.

She lay on the ground and cursed herself over for being stupid enough to forget her gun as their own plans strafed them again.

"I don't understand!" cried Gabe. "Those are our own planes!"

By some miracle, the fighters veered off and didn't make another pass.

A deeper sound filled the air, a sound she'd know anywhere. She looked up.

"C-330s," said Fernanda, confirming Tracinya's thoughts, her hopes. "They're making a drop!"

Tracinya's eyes fluttered closed in relief. They were gonna make it.

* * *

Some of the stuff hit them, but the drop zone was the village. Gabe took a whole squad into the town to pick up supplies. She gathered up the now empty packs she'd gathered up on her last foray into the village and handed them over to the fellas going back into town with Gabe. Sure, there would be boxes they could pack, but every little bit helped.

"Make sure you fill it up, all right?" she told the kid she handed the bags to.

He was a young guy, with dark hair and a skittish look about him. He'd only joined them recently right before they'd been pulled into this mess. She thought his name might be Felipe.

She shook her head to clear it and refocused on the kid. "Steal it if you have to," she told him. "We may never see another drop like this one. We're going to need all the help we can get."

Tracinya helped organize the men who'd stayed behind into patrols and sent them out to scout the woods for any supplies that had dropped short and landed in the woods.

It kept her occupied until Gabriel came back with the supplies a few hours later.

There was something different about her friend. For some reason, he seemed even more fractured than when he'd left, which was ridiculous, considering they'd just been resupplied.

Tracinya was about to go over and make him talk to her when duty pulled her away.

"Vizsla?" called Fernanda.

Without a choice, Tracinya went, determined that she'd find Gabreil and talk to him later.

She just hoped he would be okay until then.

LINE BREAK

It was Tracinya's turn in the OP. She was with Sanchez, Babe, and Diego. Snow fell softly, luminescent in the lights cast by the trees against the even pitch-darker night as the foursome watched the tree-line where they knew the Umbarans were waiting for them.

"Now we know how they felt," Sanchez said.

Tracinya jumped. The Private had just started talking out of the blue. She swatted at Diego, who was laughing at her.

"What-Who?" Babe asked, turning to look at the blond man.

Tracinya kept her eyes back on the line, still fighting embarrassment at being so obviously startled, but cocked an ear in Sanchez's direction. At least Babe hadn't noticed her jumping into the air like some green recruit, thank heavens for that; she might've never lived it down, especially with Deigo spurring him on.

"The Spaniards," Sanchez said, elaborating on the stray thought. "When they were watching the tribsmen from back home in Brazil."

 _Oh, that story_ , thought Tracinya, remembering a vague history lesson from once upon a time from Luke. _Huh, I hadn't really thought about it before, but he's right. This is the same spot_.

Of the several ancient civilizations that existed on earth, Rome was probably her favourite. Somehow, despite the violence and blood in Rome, the civilization had been one of the most successful civilizations that had ever existed.

A lot of that was Rome building off the foundation of the Greeks, and yet the Romans were driven by conquest, by war.

Tracinya had always loved the idea of war – the power and influence that it gave.

She knew better now.

After experiencing first-hand the misery that came with being a soldier, sent to fight and watch her friends die for some goal that existed only on paper, she'd never be able to think of war as a glorious pursuit again.

The Sack of Rome by the Visigoths signified the beginnings of the Dark Ages; where violence and ignorance reigned. Would that be their fate? Was this war the end of modern civilization like the Goths were the end of Rome?

"So," said Babe, sensing that it was time to change the subject properly. "What was college like, Sanchez? You got time to hit the books with the cheerleaders running their fingers through your hair?" Tracinya could hear the shiver in Babe's voice. His helmet was nearly white it had so much frost on it.

"No, Babe, I-" Sanchez paused to swallow hard. "I can't even remember."

"Maybe Sarge'll run her fingers through your hair?" said Diego, reaching over to push her shoulder.

She tumbled into Sanchez, not expecting the sudden shove. She regained her balance quickly, getting off the lieutenant so she could smack Diego more viciously this time. He flinched out of the way and she only managed to get him on the helmet with her bare hand. It wasn't the smartest thing she'd ever done. It mildly annoyed Diego, but her hand stung fiercely, snow now clinging to her skin. She shook it, hoping to dissipate the feeling.

Diego laughed at her, sharp enough to see the way her lips were twitching up, Babe only a beat behind. Tracinya's eyes cut to the Private and caught him smiling. Sanchez's smile was small, but genuine, and it was the first real smile she'd seen from him all week.

"Fuck off," she bit, facing the line again, ignoring the boys sniggering behind her.

There was a soft grunt behind them, snow crunched under the weight of a man coming up on their rear.

Babe, Diego, and her all whirled around, guns ready to blow the guy to hell. Sanchez stayed frozen in his spot, staring at the barren land that marked the line.

"Hey, it's Doc," said Gabriel right before she was going to pull the trigger. "Trace," he greeted, blatantly disregarding the fact that he'd nearly been shot. "Boys."

Gabe passed them several of the blankets they'd acquired during the drop. He stayed just long enough to tell them to wrap up before he was off again to take care of some other soldiers on the line. He didn't even stay to chat, so Tracinya knew he probably had a destination in mind. She hoped it wasn't Fernanda or Santiago. If either of those two got ill, or wounded – Force forbid – the entire company would fall apart around their ears.

Diego watched him go. "He never calls anybody by their nickname, 'cept Sarge," he qualified, passing out the blankets. He tucked one around her shoulders, even as she tensed up, ready to defend her friend.

"He once called me Edwardo," Babe confessed before she'd even opened her mouth.

"Is that right?" asked Diego, still fussing with unfolding the blankets to get them onto the others.

Sanchez turned from where his gaze had wandered off to the right to stare at the former replacement. "Edwardo?" he asked. "That's your name?"

"Yeah," said Babe with an awkward smile.

"Funny," said Sanchez, turning back to the line. "You don't look like an Edwardo."

"What does an Edwardo look like?" asked Tracinya, distractedly. Buck didn't answer, but Diego huffed a laugh as he put a blanket over the fellow private's shoulders.

They stayed silent for a while, only broken by Deigo's wheezing coughs and her occasional deeper ones.

Tracinya turned what Deigo had said about Gabe over in her head.

It was true. Gabe tried his best to distance himself from the men.

She hadn't really noticed it before, but here it was hard to miss. She'd put his distance down to the fact that they were both busy. He was a medic. He had more important things to be doing than checking in with his friends, and frankly so did she. But it was more than that, deeper.

Gabe's distance was easy to overlook if you weren't paying attention. It was that thing that a part of you recognized but the rest was content to ignore.

Tracinya kicked herself for missing the signs. Gabe rarely sat with them when he ate. He never called anyone, perhaps other than herself, by their nickname, only their rank and perhaps a last name.

In some ways, she envied him for the detachment he maintained with the guys. They let him get away with calling them by names they didn't often use so that he would be treating Cpl. Sisk, not Skinny. It didn't help much, but if that's what he needed to do his job, who was she – were they – to ask him not to?

It was understandable, and the more she thought about it, the more understandable it became.

It was also terribly sad.

Her friend Gabe and his professional persona might as well be different people, and here on Umbara, there was too much need for Doc Spina for her to see much of Gabriel at all.

"It's probably a lot easier for Doc Spina to work on soldiers rather than his friends," she said absentmindedly. She hadn't even realized she'd spoken until her words had hung in the air for a while.

No one else had anything to share on the subject.

She desperately wished that Gabe and Doc Spina were different people, but she couldn't imagine a worthier man for the burden of being their angel in this icy hell.

It wasn't that he alone stood between them and God, Tracinya selfishly hoped that it was Doc Spina who came running when she needed a medic.

Diego, sensing her plummeting mood, pulled her into his side.

Tracinya accepted the hug and settled down to watch the line, but she was too anxious about Gabe to sleep easy.

She couldn't believe she hadn't noticed before.

It was hard on everybody when people got killed – it didn't matter if it was her friends or the replacements – but it was especially hard on Gabe.

The replacements didn't get it sometimes, the hardship of always knowing that any minute now the person sitting next to you could just be gone, but then they didn't get a lot of things. She just wished they'd stay alive a little longer.

Her thoughts drifted back to Julian's dark, searching eyes as he reached out for Babe, clutching at the gaping hole where his Adam's apple used to be.

She rubbed her aching eyes and hoped Diego hadn't seen her tears. She ignored the extra tightening of his arms for the compassion it likely was, and instead used it to bury her face onto his shoulder.

She forced herself to sleep when it was her rotation. She didn't know when she'd get it next out here on the OP, so she took advantage of the moment and willed herself into sleep.

* * *

The next morning they repelled an attack by Umbaran artillery. Tanks. Fucking tanks were rolling towards them from the tree line.

Sergeant Fernanda ran along the lines, "Hold your fire, boys; don't let them draw you out. Stay ready, boys." Tracinya heard her run past her presumably on her way to her own foxhole.

"What the hell are we going to hit those things with?" she heard Samuel ask.

Tracinya stayed in her hole and prayed.

* * *

They lost Smokey. Paralyzed, Luke said. Gabe had come back from the village an empty shell. She'd seen how long it took him to respond and get out of his hole. Luke nearly had to drag him out before Gabe became the flurry of motion he normally was.

It scared her. Gabe was breaking on them, and there was nothing she could do.

 _What on Mandalor are we going to do without Doc Spina?_

* * *

That night, Tracinya found Carlos in his foxhole. Word had it that it was Republic Day Eve tonight.

"Hey, Carlos," she greeted as she slid into the hole.

"Well, if it isn't Sergeant Vizsla. Haven't seen you in a while!" he said, his teeth chattering.

"Oh you know, I've been around, this hole, that one."

Carlos smiled and slapped her shoulder. "So, what can I do for you?" he asked.

"Well, seeing as its Republic Day's and all, I was hoping you'd do me a favour." Tracinya pulled out her bag, and rifled through it for the very precious cigarettes and chocolate she'd stockpiled over the time spent at FOB Frost. She had only rarely touched it, despite her often craving for the chocolate and the value in the cigarettes, saving it for this moment.

"Holy, shit!" said Carlos. "Where the hell did you get that?"

Tracinya gave him a secretive smile.

"And you've been holding out on us all this time!"

"If I hadn't, we wouldn't have any Republic Day presents to speak of."

"Republic Day presents?" said Carlos, suddenly looking at the bounty with a different perspective. "Is that like Christmas or something? How did you manage this?"

"I've been saving up."

"Yeah," said Carlos with a nod of his head. "What can I do to help?" he asked, eager to be a part of this scheme.

"Could you to pass them out? I want to make sure the guys get 'em tonight, so they can enjoy their presents on Republic Day. But I don't want the guys to know it's from me, or your God knows they'll never stop pestering me for more," said Tracinya with a smile.

It would break her heart to have to tell them no, particularly since she was holding something back.

She was keeping back another two packets of cigarettes just for Luke and Gabe.

Carlos nodded. "You got it!" he said, scooping up the bounty. He didn't even bother saying goodbye before he bounded out of the hole, much to Tracinya's amusement, suddenly filled with energy. She hadn't seen Carlos so enthusiastic in a long time.

She dusted her hands and figured she'd go find something to do. There was never nothing to do.

* * *

Tracinya was in the long line for food, shivering and ignoring the dull boom of artillery fire that drifted through the fog. They'd been eating better since the drop, but not much. They'd taken the risk and pulled everyone in the Company into camp to enjoy a Republic Day meal together. It wasn't momma's home cooking, but it was a veritable feast when compared to the last month of scant rations.

Tracinya got a second scoop in a spare mug she'd found and brought it over to where Gabe was sitting by himself again. He took it from her hand easily enough but made no move to do anything with it but hold it. She sat down beside him and sipped at hers, trying to get it down before it turned to ice in her hands.

Looking up, she caught Captain Santiago observing Gabe's apathetic response.

Tracinya, when his gaze turned to her, gave him a helpless shrug of her shoulders.

Gabe was withdrawing, even from her now. And it made her feel useless in a way that she'd avoided thus far. She was the only friend Gabe had out here by her reckoning. If he pulled away from her too, where would he go? Where would she?

She was well aware that Gabe wasn't doing so hot at the moment, but she tried to trust his judgment. If he wanted off the line for a moment, he'd let Santiago know. Or, at least she hoped he would. With the way these past few weeks had been going, no one left the line for a rest in the village. They could all use one, but they were so short on fighting men that anyone injured tried not to be.

Come to think of it, she wasn't sure she trusted Gabe's judgment of his condition for duty. Gabe would be out here as long as he was needed, and he was always needed. That was that.

And as long as he continued to do his job, Santiago wouldn't pull him.

She hoped that Gabe knew what he was doing. Easy Company, herself included, needed him too much to lose him to the hospital in the Umbaran village because of carelessness or the demons in his head.

She had to pray that he knew what he was doing.

Tracinya took a bite of her stew and tried to put Gabe's dwindling condition out of her mind. It didn't work, but she wouldn't be able to talk him into a break, so she didn't even try.

A jeep pulled up into camp. GAbe didn't even bother looking up, too lost in his own mind. Tracinya cast a long look at him and then got up to see what all the fuss was about.

A man hopped down from the jeep, wading into the men who gathered around him to hear his news.

"Well, they're sitting down to a Republic Day Eve dinner of turkey and hooch back at the Division CP, but damned if I don't like Joe Domingus's rancid ass beans better." Tracinya recognized the twang of Colonel Sink's accent immediately and stood to greet the Colonel.

Despite what he'd said, the Colonel didn't generally just pop over. He had something he wanted to share with them or he'd have picked a more private time to talk to Captain Santiago.

"Hello, Easy Company," said Colonel Sink, making his way over to Santiago – who shook the Colonel's hand.

Tracinya guessed that whatever news it was, it was likely to be good news, a moral boost of some kind to keep them in good spirits. She joined Luke, who was fishing into his mug for missed morsels. He smirked at her. She presumed she looked a little odd, bundled up the way she was. She had her scarf wrapped around most of her face, leaving only her eyes open to the biting cold, and her hands wedged up under her armpits, cup and all. Even with her fully encasing armour the cold still seeped through the internal heating systems.

Santiago waved a cold hand at the Colonel, who unfolded the piece of paper he'd apparently tried to get Santiago to read.

"Men!" he said, gathering the stragglers to form a semi-circle to see and hear the Colonel better. "Sergeant Vizsla, Diego," he said giving Tracinya a smile and a nod, getting the laughs he was hoping for and lightening the mood immediately.

Tracinya tipped her head, letting the men have their laugh and endured the slaps to her back. "Sir," she said, realizing for the first time that he had a nice smile as he gave her an indulgent one. She caught Santiago, Mateo, and Strayer also smiling and exchanging knowing looks. It made her feel good that at least someone was in a good mood. If her eyes strayed to Gabe to check on him, well, she didn't think anyone noticed her disappointment when he hadn't even shifted.

"General McAuliffe wishes us all a Merry Christmas, I mean Republic Day. What's 'merry' about all this you ask? Just this: we've stopped cold everything that's been thrown at us from the north, east, south, and west. Now, two days ago, the Umbaran Commander demanded our honourable surrender to save the O.A.D.F. encircled troops from total annihilation. The Umbaran commander received the following reply: To the Umbaran Commander, to quote a once great man: NUTS!"

The men laughed at what was probably a thing only the Orionians would get. Nuts indeed.

Luke shot her an amused glance from the corner of his eye, and seeing her laughing, gave the biggest grin she'd seen from him since before Mandalor, and went back to his meal. Tracinya nodded to herself a few more times.

Nuts, she liked that.

What else, Tracinya wondered, does such a message send to the supposedly elite Umbaran force? That we're all nuts? That's true enough.

 _Maybe it's an emulation of the Orionian battle cries 'Retreat! Hell, we just got here!' Or maybe it's just a big old fuck you? Any of those messages, hell all of them, work well enough for me._

"For giving our country and our loved ones at home a worthy Republic Day present, being privileged to take part in this gallant feat of arms, we are truly making for ourselves a Merry Republic Day," said Sink, ending on a sober note. He folded up the paper and saluted them with it. "Merry Republic Day to you all and God bless you."

Sink left with a pat to Santiago's back. Tracinya intoned: "Merry Republic Day, sir!" with the rest of them, trying to ignore the echoing explosions. The sound was muted by the trees and far enough away that the ground wasn't shaking with the impact, but she heard them like ominous foretelling of what was to come.

Most of the boys started snickering as the Colonel drifted through them, a few echoed "Nuts!" screamed by the more boisterous fellows, drowning out the blasts for a few blessed moments and she was able to enjoy the moment again.

She tucked another smile into her chest as a shiver wracked her body and she choked down a cough. _Fuck, it's cold_.

Trying to warm up, get her blood flowing, she decided to walk around exchanging Republic Day greetings with the guys. She checked them over for signs of wariness or illness and bolstered spirits with jokes and shenanigans. If her own soul felt warmer, she didn't think it was entirely due to the exertion.

She made sure to touch base with each of her squad mates and the other Sergeants. She even shook Santiago's hand and wished him well. She made sure her smile was warm even as her teeth were chattering, and appreciated the effort the other boys were going to all the more as they smiled back. There was only one person who forwent the exchange. She tried to pretend she didn't notice the missing member, certain it was not his intention to drag down the mood, but she couldn't help her gaze from straying to him often.

Gabe didn't move at all.

She racked her brain for something, anything to pull him out of his head for a little while.

A stray thought struck her. She changed direction abruptly and headed back to her foxhole.

She caught sight of her bag and upended it and shook vigorously to knock everything out. There, at the very top of the pile, was the Mandalorian legends book she'd brought with her. She'd completely forgotten about it.

She tucked it into her armpit and repacked the bag haphazardly in her hurry.

Excited, she headed back to where she'd left Gabe. He was still there, staring blankly into his solidifying mug.

She sat next to him softly and pulled the book from her armpit, presenting it to Gabe with a smile.

"Merry Republic Day, Gabe."

He blinked, noticing the book with confusion. "What's this?" he asked. "I thought you already gave me a present."

"I forgot one."

His brow furrowed under his white crusted helmet. "What is it?"

She blinked. "It's a book I picked up on Mandalor. It's about the various folk tales and legends of Mandalor."

"I can't read it," he said, turning the book over curiously between pale, long-fingered hands.

"I thought you spoke fluent Mando'a?" she said, perplexed.

"I do," he said. "They don't teach it in schools though. I didn't have the time to teach me to read and write it."

"Drat," she said, disappointed. "I meant it to be a surprise. I heard it was very good."

"It was a surprise. Thank you, Trace," he said, smiling at her for the first time in a long time. "This might be a good way to start learning."

"Maybe that nurse'll help you," she teased.

He bumped her shoulder, but actually laughed, quietly, but a laugh all the same.

"You should eat something," she reminded him gently.

He shook his head but complied, taking an exaggerated bite. His face contorted in disgust as the cold congealed gruel hit his tongue.

This time it was her who laughed.

It was good to have her new friend back, even if it was only for a little while.

* * *

After he'd finished his dinner and said goodbye, Gabe wandered off. She wasn't sure exactly where, but she was certain he was going off to be alone again.

She held off for a few minutes, but convincing herself that she was walking the line to look after her squad, not actively hunting him down.

He must've dug a private hole somewhere off the line, since she'd checked most of the holes the others were in.

She gave a nod to the wandering Captain Santiago, headed in the opposite direction. He seemed to have a destination, a focus, on where he was going. He gave her the tiniest of nods as he passed.

The Captain looked frozen solid. Each move he made was deliberate. He'd locked his hands underneath his armpits. His helmet might as well be rattling with how stiff he was holding his neck to keep the shivering at bay.

Feeling acute sympathy, she let him be and headed in another direction.

By chance, she ended up catching Captain Mateo in the woods, probably on his way back from a piss.

"Sergeant Vizsla," he greeted her with a smile. "You on a walk?"

"Oh you know, the weather's perfect for it."

He laughed. It was a nice sound. "You're funny, Vizsla."

"Glad you think so, sir."

"I could've sworn I told you to call me Mateo."

"You might've." She honestly couldn't remember.

"So I heard you drift between holes?"

"That's right," she answered, unsure where he was going with this.

"Where're you tonight?"

"Nowhere yet."

He nodded; such was the way of these things sometimes. "You should stick with me and Dick in the CP. He needs a new runner for a while."

"Respectfully, sir, I'd rather not leave my guys."

Tracinya tried to gage the Captain's mood. He seemed thoughtful, but that was normal. She had wanted to ask him a question for a while, but the opportunity hadn't presented itself. Now seemed as good a time as any. "Can I ask you something, sir?"

He shot her a glance, looking amused and she realized that she'd forgotten to use his name again. "Ask away," he said instead of commenting on it.

"Why are you out here with us? You could be up at Division CP right now in a warm house with food and a bed. Why do you stay?"

"What and miss all this?"

She laughed, but the cold stole the sound. She remembered why she liked talking to Mateo; he made everything seem easier for some reason.

"Besides, I couldn't leave Dick out here to freeze to death."

She smiled at him. It was true enough that Santiago seemed inordinately eager to give away his winter supplies, including his coat and scarf. If the men didn't respect him so much, they might've taken him up on it. It was certainly more than any of the other officers did.

Mateo huddled further into his scarf before becoming serious once more. "Besides, I'm the intelligence officer. I can't very well get good intelligence from the HQ. Truth is," he paused, seeming to think about whether or not to continue before giving a 'to-hell-with-it' shrug and continuing. "There are more Umbarans than us and their guns are bigger than ours. One coordinated strike from all sides and we're done. I don't know what they're waiting for, but I'll be damned if I'm all the way back in base when it finally happens."

Tracinya knew that it was extremely out of character for Mateo to provide anyone other than Santiago with his prophesies of doom and tried not to think about how dire their situation must be for him to confide in her. Perhaps he assumed that she'd take it to her grave, and if he didn't, well she would in any case.

They were within sight of the CP when they found Luke sleeping by himself in a hole, spare blanket at his side. He'd obviously been waiting for someone; Tracinya figured might've been her. She gave Mateo a smile and hopped down next to her buddy and scooped up the blanket.

"Merry Republic Day, Mateo," she said, remembering his name this time as she settled down and covered up.

"Yeah," he said, "you too, Vizsla."

She watched him wander back to his covered hole with veiled concern. She hoped he was gonna be all right.

Taking a deep breath of the sharply cold air and coughing as it stung her lungs, she nestled down into her blanket. She left Luke alone so she wouldn't wake him, though she thought about doing it anyway for the body heat. Putting it from her mind, she tried to think warm thoughts.

She was just about to close her eyes when she saw Lieutenant Lucas wander by their hole without a glance. She bit her lip to keep from glaring at him. She hadn't forgotten the patrol he'd abandoned them on. She didn't think she'd ever forget it.

She would have put it out of her mind but a strange smell tickled her nose. She couldn't place it for a moment before the memory of camping in the woods, the acid sweet scent of burning sap and snapping wood hit her. As the sound of gently crackling wood reached her ears, her brain clicked into gear. Could someone possibly be insane enough to have built a fire?

She pulled herself out of her hole to go check.

Tracinya made her way to the precious small glow of orange, squatting in the snow next to Welsh and Lieutenant Lucas.

"We're in a dell," said Lieutenant Welsh in greeting as he began prodding the blaze with a twig. He said it like it was supposed to mean something to her.

She nodded and stuck out her hands to warm them. She would have spoken to him, but her teeth were chattering too much for her to make much sense. Sensing her dilemma, he grinned at her, his ivory teeth glinting in the flickering light. She might have flipped him off if she had been able to convince herself to pull them from the fire.

She looked up when she heard a new crunch from crushed snow, a very familiar sound as it was trodden under boots. She didn't look up to acknowledge the newcomer, because she was well aware that what they were doing was foolish, stupid, and crazy, and yet she couldn't manage to convince herself to walk away or, Force forbid, put it out. The fear of possibly being shelled was gone as she savoured the meagre scrap of warmth, clinging to it as sense left her.

"Welsh," said Santiago. Tracinya's eyes flew to his face, already anticipating his disapproving stare. Fortunately, he was addressing Welsh, "Fire's not a good idea."

"Just a couple'a minutes," said the man in reply, "We're in a dell."

"A dell?" asked Santiago, squatting down as well to join them despite his caution. Tracinya was relieved. If Santiago was joining them, then he couldn't berate them for their lunacy. "Where fairies and gnomes live?" he queried.

"Yeah," said Welsh, a sudden teasing smile on his face, "Sarge here can be the fairy."

"Only if you're the gnome," she retorted, speaking before her brain fully caught up with her mouth. She'd have said it to any of the other guys, but this was a Lieutenant that she very much respected.

She was fortunate that both he and Santiago laughed. Lucas notably didn't comment, too entranced in his head. She uncharitably thought that it was rather typical of him.

"I swear I thought I could smell a fire," came the sleepy voice of Captain Mateo. Tracinya smiled at the state of the man as he wandered over. "I did smell a fire," he said, freezing at the sight of it for only a moment before he hurried to join them. "Are you out of your mind?" he demanded even as he was shoving his hands out to absorb the fire's heat.

"We're in a dell," said Santiago, "with fairies," he gestured vaguely at he, "and gnomes" his hand indicated the Lieutenant.

"Huh?" asked Mateo, giving Santiago a bewildered glance as he looked at the two. Tracinya opened her mouth to explain when it seemed that neither Santiago and Welsh were inclined to do so, but she never got the chance.

The ground around them buckled and shattered.

Mortars started flying, zipping overhead to bombard their position once again, likely lured by the fire and their lack of sense.

"Go!" shouted Santiago, pushing Tracinya away from the fire, which was the best target for the Umbarans for miles.

Welsh wasn't so lucky. A mortar exploded feet from him, sending all kinds of debris and shrapnel into his leg.

Santiago scrambled over to his friend, screaming for a medic over Welsh's anguished cries, his helmet abandoned in the snow behind him. He gripped Welsh's hands to keep the lieutenant from flailing and tried to reassure the wounded man that he wasn't alone, tried to get him to calm down and focus.

If there were splinters in the wound, Welsh clutching at it would just drive them in further and create havoc for the medic trying to stitch him back together.

But Welsh was too far gone with pain to understand that Santiago was trying to help him, acting on instinct to protect his wounded leg with his hands and wildly fighting off his friend's efforts.

Tracinya joined Santiago over Welsh, ducking under the Lieutenant's flailing arms to get at the wound. She yanked off her scarf to use as a tourniquet, focused on tying off the bleeding.

She vaguely heard Mateo ordering a jeep from someone, but that too was pushed out of her focus by the much more pressing matter of Welsh's blood spilling over her hands. It was an upper thigh wound. If they didn't stop the gushing blood, or if something had nicked the artery, Lieutenant Welsh was a dead man.

Luke came over to help, obviously awoken by the shelling, and stamped out the fire at Mateo's hoarse command.

Santiago tore Welsh's pants open to expose the wound. It wasn't bleeding as much now that they'd tied the scarf off, but the man wasn't out of danger yet, Tracinya worried. The scarf wasn't designed to keep tight. The knot wouldn't hold and they had nothing better to tie it with.

All of their aid kits had been scrounged, and likely used, by the medics days ago.

Santiago screamed for a medic again. "Medic! Doc!"

Tracinya considered adding her voice and quickly decided against it. She didn't want the medic confused. One call per fallen man. If she called too, it would add to the confusion rather than get faster results.

 _Gabe should be here by now_ , she thought, suddenly petrified.

If Gabe wasn't answering the call for a medic, something must be horribly wrong. He might even need a medic himself.

She looked up. Santiago met her eye for a critical second before he nodded. Tracinya tore herself away from keeping pressure and set off to go find her friend.

She ran through the woods, praying that somehow the mortars would pass her by. She felt bits of blasted trees peppering her armour, nicking her helmet as she ran.

 _How does Gabe do this every fucking time?_ she wondered as she scanned the foxholes. Each second she wasted felt like it was the one that Welsh would give up and die. _Why did I give up on finding him earlier?_

She ran into Babe. He'd probably been roused from his own hole at the cry for a medic and gone to help.

They needed to find their medic. Now.

An exploding shell rocked the ground behind them, sending Tracinya's legs from under her. She managed to maintain her footing and keep running, but how she'd never know.

"Doc!" Babe screamed as he followed her, giving voice to the cry that she hadn't been able to find the strength to utter.

She wanted to believe that if she just didn't holler for him, Gabe would be all right when they found him. She tried to convince herself that he was answering some other downed soldier's cry. Not wounded, bleeding to death, too far gone to hear their Captain's call.

They finally found Gabe's hole. She skidded to the side of it, nearly toppling into it with him before she recoiled in horror.

Gabe looked like a corpse in a grave. Shivering, eyes screwed tight, curled into a ball of denial.

He was alive, but his mind was gone.

Tracinya felt a cool blade of a knife slicing her heart. He looked so lost and broken, gripping his blanket hard like he was trying to convince himself that the Santiago's call was just in his imagination.

She took the part of her that wanted to leave him alone and swallowed it. Welsh needed him. And Gabe would never forgive her for not getting him out of this hole to help him. He'd never forgive himself, either. Tracinya wouldn't live with that, even if right now it broke her heart to force him to his feet.

"Come on, Doc!" she said, holding her hand out to him, hoping that his nickname would snap him to the present.

He didn't even move to uncurl from his ball. It was like he couldn't, or he was still sleeping.

The world was erupting into chaos, the ground was trembling, the noise was deafening: how could he possibly still be sleeping?

"I don't know," she said as Babe gave her a frantically questioning glance.

Babe pushed her out of the way and grabbed Gabe.

Tracinya hit the snow hard, tumbling into Gabe's foxhole as the ground jumped beneath her, another shell going off only yards from them. The shock of the snow and ice stinging her neck covered in only the under-suit wasn't enough to block out what Babe was doing to her friend.

The part of her that knew there was no time to coax him out gently, flinched as her concern reared its head once more.

"Come on, the Captain's yelling," said Babe, grabbing Gabe by the front of his webbing and hauling him upwards.

It seemed to jerk Gabe into a half-lucid state, but he couldn't seem to get his bearings. His feet slipped on the dirt rather than hold him up and he sank back down to the ground.

"Okay," said Gabe placating, grabbing at Babe's arms to support his weight.

He sounded so tired.

She had never heard a man so tired as Gabriel Ospina was at that moment. Not just tired in the body, but tired in the mind and soul.

Kriff.

Tracinya scrambled out of the hole and moved behind Gabe to grab at his shoulders. The angle was bad, and she seemed to be doing more harm than good so she just backed up, squatting down with her hands over her head as a third shell came within yards of her.

"Okay, get up," snapped Babe pulling harder. "Not okay lie down! Okay get up! Come on!" He hauled Gabe to his feet without sympathy, but the man was up. "Move! Jesus Christ!" Babe flung Gabe out of the hole by his waist, again supporting the medic's weight as man stumbled, exhausted, from his hole.

Once he was on his feet, so was Tracinya. She met Gabe's dazed gaze, suppressing her concern once more. She grabbed his sleeve, towing him the right way towards the CP and the still screaming Captain.

Babe stayed behind, something about his hand, but Tracinya didn't have time to worry about him too.

Finally, Gabe seemed to regain his normal urgency, knocking her loose as he regained his footing. She met his burning eyes with marked relief and led the way at a sprint, the medic just behind her.

"Spina!" She could hear Santiago yelling, and Welsh's agonized screaming sharpened as they got closer. The wounded man took a gasping breath, which cut off his scream. There was general cursing as well as she slid beside Mateo at Welsh's head.

She somehow managed to get Welsh's head on her lap and began petting his hair back to calm him down. "It'll be okay, Simon," she said, her voice soft and hopefully soothing as she used the man's given name. "Doc's here. He'll fix you up. You'll be fine."

"Awrgh!" he screamed, still staring at the blood coming from his thigh from under Santiago's hands. "Jesus!"

He might've understood or he might have been reacting to the fear she couldn't suppress, but Welsh caught her hand and squeezed it, releasing some of his pain and tension into her palm as though she were a balm to his misery.

It made her feel sick.

"Gabe," Santiago said once more, softly this time.

Tracinya didn't understand why, so she glanced away from Welsh's searching eyes to find him. It was an image she never thought she'd see.

Gabriel was just standing there, staring at them, not moving to help at all as he slipped back into his shell-shock right when they needed him most.

She felt lost as she saw Gabe's dark eyes and pale face stare blankly at the chaos before him, as though it didn't exist. As though they didn't matter.

More lost than she'd ever felt before.

Something knocked her hands and she grabbed Welsh's palm again without thinking. She swallowed what she could of her emotions, and returned her focus to Welsh. She caught the lieutenant's eyes and held them, willing him to believe that he would be okay. That Gabe was just tired, not too scared that Welsh might die under his hands like so many others to even try to help him.

Something in Santiago tone as the man cajoled the medic into motion must have finally been enough to wake Gabe up.

He snapped into motion.

Tracinya breathed a sigh of relief as Gabe took over the situation, briskly repositioning the tourniquet. Surely, Welsh would be all right now that Gabe had come back to himself.

She couldn't help but turn her attention to her friend again; watching him closely as he fished out the stick he carried around to tighten the strap and cut off the residual blood flow.

"Hey, just a scratch, Harry," Mateo said, joining her coaxing which had muted to all but a whisper as her eyes strayed to Gabe. "You're not getting out of this that easy."

"Jeep's on its way. Hang tough," reassured Santiago.

Welsh shivered with every twist of Gabe's stick as though he were tightening a grip on Welsh's entire body.

Welsh's grip on Tracinya's hand clenched painfully at a particularly sharp turn. She squeezed back and kept running her free fingers through his hair. It was something her mother did for her often as a child. It came instinctually for her now, though she didn't know why.

Somehow, Gabe managed to keep the tourniquet tight and dress the wound at the same time. Welsh screamed as Gabreil swiped at the wound with what was left of her scarf, his head arching up. Each breath was its own sound of agony.

She kept up her stream of chatter, trying to hush the wounded man and keep him from distracting Gabreil from his work as he dusted the wound with more sulfa powder.

Somewhere deep inside she knew she didn't need to bother. Gabehad worked on many a screaming man before, nothing Welsh was likely to do would throw him off. But it made her feel better, so she did it anyway. No one seemed to pay it any mind anyways, except perhaps Welsh.

"I've got morphine in my pocket," Gabriel said to Santiago. "Give it to him."

"Where do you want it?" Santiago asked, retrieving it and quickly removing the protective cap.

"Opposite thigh," Gabe said tightening the bandage, already stained red with blood.

Santiago jabbed it with a bit more force than strictly necessary.

Welsh took a deep breath and sighed, leaning back, limp with relief. Tracinya lowered his head to the ground, slipping out from under him so she could help lift him onto a stretcher when the time came.

"Okay," said Santiago. "Okay."

"Elevate his head," said Gabe. Tracinya helped Mateo pull him up again, scared she'd done something wrong by moving in the first place.

Instead of reprimanding her, Gabe used the blood on his fingers to paint an 'M' on Welsh's pale forehead.

'M' for morphine, Tracinya assumed. They didn't want to give Welsh too much.

'M' painted, Gabriel commanded, "Get him up!"

The three of them, Tracinya, Mateo, and Santiago, worked together to haul Welsh's body to the waiting jeep – which she hadn't even heard arrive. She took care to keep Welsh's head elevated above his torso while Santiago and Mateo carried the bulk of the man's weight until the jeep driver moved to help them load Welsh onto the stretcher.

* * *

 _2623 14th_ _August Earth Standard Calendar, CPL. Gabriel Ospina, Umbara_

Santiago passed off his portion of the weight to the driver saying, "Here soldier, take that," and wandered back to where Gabe was still sitting, staring at the bloodstained snow.

"Gabriel," Santiago said to him softly, panting. "Get yourself into town, get a hot meal."

It shouldn't have been a reprimand, but it was.

Gabriel felt Santiago's disappointment keenly. He sank to the ground for a moment, sagging as the weight of what was expected of him suddenly became too much. His eyes closed, fiercely fighting back tears. He hadn't been here. He'd been sleepwalking instead of helping Lieutenant Welsh. He liked Lieutenant Welsh, and he'd done nothing while the man writhed in pain feet from him.

He'd fallen apart when he should've been putting someone back together.

It was the worst sin he could imagine.

Somehow his feet obeyed the command, and he found himself on the jeep headed back into town.

He didn't look at Tracinya as he passed her. He couldn't bear to see her disappointment as well. He kept his eyes forward and tried to ignore the sticky feeling of blood once more drying on his hands as the jeep thundered towards the town once more.

* * *

 _2623 14th August Earth Standard Calendar, CPT. Antonio Santiago, Umbara_

Santiago found Tracinya back in the dell.

She was staring at the tacky, brick red blood seeping into the cracks of her hands, and didn't even need to see the tears in her eyes to know that there was something wrong.

He looked at Lt Sparrow, who was watching her with concern. Sparrow had been extraordinarily protective of Vizsla since they'd hit the forest. It was a well-known fact that Vizsla and Saprrow were close. They were buddies. Everybody had buddies in the war, but Vizsla and Sparrow were one of the oddest duos he'd ever seen, especially due to their different personalities. But there was nothing uncommon about their friendship. Everybody had a buddy out here, a deep friendship that couldn't be quantified or explained. Antonio knew his was with Mateo, or perhaps Harry. Just as Sparrow were with Vizsla. And Vizsla were with Sparrow and Gabriel.

He squatted down next to her and threw an arm over her shoulder.

"Hey," he said as she leaned into him – probably subconsciously. "Why don't you join me and Mat tonight?" he offered on a whim.

He didn't know why he offered, but he wasn't going to rescind it now that it had been made. She looked lost, as though she'd absorbed Gabriel's vacancy into herself.

She gave him a lost look and then glanced at Sparrow, who gave her a nod. "Go ahead, Trace," he said, encouraging. "I'll sack out with Sameul or something."

* * *

 _25031 Galactic Standard Calendar, Tracinya Vizla, Umbara_

Tracinya nodded to accept Santiago's offer and let him guide her into his foxhole, feeling like she was safe.

Once they were both settled against the cold wall, she leaned into the captain's warmth. It was a silly feeling, this notion of safety now that she was with their indestructible captain when Santiago was just as likely to get hit as anyone else, but it comforted her.

She took a deep breath, letting out a sigh, as her thoughts drifted back to Gabe, and all her worry and anxiety returned full force, like a stone settling in her stomach.

She didn't know what she'd do without Luke or Gabe – they had easily clicked when they had met at FOB Frost and he'd now seemed so broken.

She sighed again and it was too much for her beleaguered throat to handle. Her chest burst into coughs that tore at her throat.

She tried to cover her mouth, she didn't want Santiago and Mateo to get sick, but it became harder to smother as the cough wracked her body, sending her into spasms as she tried to drag air into her heaving lungs.

Mateo slid in on the other side of her and threw his own arm over her, pounding on her back, and then smoothing her hair, trying to help her calm down and breathe properly.

She couldn't understand what he was saying over her own coughing, despite the increasing volume. Sound was drowned out completely as her body became increasingly desperate for air.

Her guts ached as each hacking wheeze tried to drag out her stomach lining.

It was too much. She'd coughed her way into dry heaves and threw herself from the hole to vomit.

So much for dinner.

Santiago climbed out after her and pulled her too long hair out of her tearing eyes, his cold fingers seeming to reach into her soul and calm her down while reassuring her that she was not alone. Not right now at least.

After far too long, her rolling stomach settled with a final discontented shudder. She gave a final choking sigh and spit out the last of the bile from her mouth, wiping the spit and snot on her sleeve for lack of a scarf or handkerchief. She dabbed her welling eyes with shaking hands, the tears brought on by helpless gagging.

She let Santiago manhandle her back into the hole and then be tucked under Mateo's arm. She took short ragged breaths as she tried to will her body back under control, each tremor that shook her was a betrayal of her lack of composure. Tears started falling from her eyes without her permission. She wiped them away with a determined sniff, ashamed that she was crying, scared that these men, whom she respected so much, might see her as the weepy female she felt like.

Neither of the men seemed to care. Santiago and Mateo were solid in a way that she wasn't right now. Neither had wavered from their duty once during this whole ordeal whereas she felt so timid. She needed some of that strength.

She missed the concerned looks that Santiago and Mateo shared above her head, but didn't protest when Mateo pulled her under his arm, pinning her there as Santiago moved in on her opposite side, creating a barrier of human warmth between her and the cold.

Mateo's voice startled her as he began to talk. Nonsense at first, like the dream he'd been having before Welsh's fire interrupted it, then moving onto his daughter, probably walking by now, who wouldn't even remember him when he finally made it home. "If I ever make it home," he said wistful.

"My friend," said Tracinya, voice hoarse from coughing and throwing up. She tried to clear it for a moment, only succeeded in aggravating it, and then gave up. "My friend promised me she'd name a daughter after me. So when I die, there will be someone who will remember me."

"You're not gonna die," protested Mateo, aghast that she'd even be having such morbid thoughts.

"Not without a fight," she answered, once again missing the look exchanged above her head due to her closed eyes. This time it was one of relief.

It took less than ten minutes before Tracinya was out cold, exhaustion lining her face as her body attempted to recover through sleep.

* * *

 _2623 14th August Earth Standard Calendar, CPT. Antonio Santiago, Umbara_

"Did you know she was sick?" asked Antonio. He didn't look at Mateo, didn't raise his voice above a whisper, not wanting to wake her now that she was sleeping.

"No,"

"Think the Doc knows?" He knew full well the state of their medical supplies. If Doc could help any of the poor bastards who were sick, he would've done it by now.

"Probably," Mateo answered. "Doc doesn't miss much. Even now."

Santiago nodded and fell silent. That was certainly true enough.

He hoped Tracinya would be okay. They couldn't afford to lose a good NCO.

* * *

That night, the Umbarans bombed the whole front. Happy Republic Day.

* * *

 _2623 15th August Earth Standard Calendar, Intelligence Officer Mateo, Umbara_

An hour before dawn, Lucas wandered into the CP from wherever he'd been hiding. Mateo got up reluctantly after an expectant look, envying Santiago for getting to stay warm in the hole while he had to try talking sense back into this goldbrick. It was his turn to interrogate the man about where the fuck he'd wandered off to. Santiago had done it last time. Hopefully, because Mateo was technically a higher rank than Santiago was, it would stick this time.

He began dressing down Lucas where he'd intercepted him, just beyond the foxhole Tracinya and Santiago were curled up in, and under the Captain's watchful eye, leery about going too far out of sight.

Despite the fact that it was barely past dawn, Tracinya had only just fallen asleep after the latest in a series of coughing fits that had roused all of them throughout the night.

Mateo would never say it out loud, but he was worried for their girl. She didn't look too good.

Santiago obviously agreed or he wouldn't've had her share their foxhole tonight.

The coughing fits worried him exceedingly, but there wasn't much they could do for it out here. The supplies that had been dropped were scarce, and there'd been no penicillin to speak of. If Mateo's information from up the chain was correct, it would also be the last drop they could expect for a while.

In their infinite wisdom, the Allied leadership had decided that bombing the enemy was more important than making sure their soldiers didn't freeze in the middle of eternal darkness and winter.

Mateo didn't think more bombs into Umbara would do a damned bit of good if they had been able to pull this whole counteroffensive out of their ass to catch the whole Allied army with its pants down. If there were factories the bombs could've hit, they would've found them by now.

The crunch of snow alerted Mateo to an incoming man. He paused for breath long enough to identify the silhouette as American before picking right back up where he'd left off with Lucas.

"… I don't know where you are!"

* * *

 _2623 15th August Earth Standard Calendar, CPT. Antonio Santiago, Umbara_

Antonio turned to watch their medic pass with considerable concern. He'd barely sent Gabriel off to town a few hours ago. That certainly wasn't long enough for the man to recover himself, even if he'd managed to find a hot meal in the middle of the night.

Gabriel shouldn't be back yet.

He must have jostled Vizsla, or maybe she'd somehow attuned herself to Gabriel's footsteps, because when he turned back to check she was still asleep, he saw her eyes following the medic. She shifted to get up and follow him, but Antonio pressed her shoulder down, keeping her seated.

She gave him a look of questioning. "He shouldn't be back yet," she told him, somehow guessing at the time despite having been recently asleep.

He nodded, "I know."

"Something must've happened at base," she said, again trying to get up.

"We'll ask Mateo when he's done," said Antonio. "Go back to sleep, Trace. Doc can take care of himself."

She looked mutinous for a minute. But he wasn't moving on the subject.

The tension he felt in her shoulders loosened. "All right," she conceded, willing to trust him even in this matter. She settled down again. "He looked a little better than earlier, I guess," she said.

"He did," confirmed Antonio, uncertain of the truth of that statement.

* * *

 _25032 Galactic Standard Calendar, Tracinya Vizla, Umbara_

The next day, General Castro broke through the Umbaran lines along with elements of the 501st legion. He'd come to "rescue" them. Tracinya laughed at the man who'd told her that. She wanted to be nearby when some unfortunate bastard decided to inform Luke, Toye and Guarnere that they'd been "rescued". She could already imagine their indignation, but the live show would doubtlessly be doubly entertaining.

She could admit that her pride was the one talking. Sure they'd been surrounded, and she'd admit that things had looked pretty grim without an aid station – but they were paratroopers, Luke was SPECWAR and she was a Mandalorian. These were the kinds of conditions they'd been trained for, awful weather aside.

They most certainly had not been rescued. They hadn't needed to be rescued. Easy Company would have continued to out stubborn the Umbarans until the they either finally gave up or the war was over, whichever came first.

Now, if they'd been forced to endure the siege conditions around their positions for weeks or months, perhaps they would've needed the rescue, but all told, they'd only been in the village for eight days. Eight miserable days of being constantly on the front lines – something that could only be equated with hell on Umbara – and that was before you factored in the extremities of the weather and their lack of general supplies – but eight days was a paltry number no matter how you sliced it.

Besides, if they'd truly been "rescued" they wouldn't still be out here freezing to death at the new spearhead of the Allied advance. "Rescue" implied helplessness, hence the hilarity. No one in Easy Company was helpless in the slightest – well, except perhaps a couple of their more incompetent officers.

She also heard the word "relieved" being bandied about, but apart from breaking through the lines and getting their wounded out, there was no discernible change to Easy Company's situation. They were still out in front – spearheading the push back into Umbara with Castro's tanks making them an even bigger target to the Umbarans than before. There was no relief to be had.

All that aside, there was one bonus that came with Castro: supplies. The single drop the Air Force had managed came with mixed effects. The majority of the supplies they'd actually needed had missed them completely and landed with the Umbarans.

Tracinya and Luke sat perched on the edge of his foxhole. They each had a box of MG ammunition. The long strands of cartridges had arrived en masse with Castro, but as usual, several – if not most – of the bullets were bent or covered in dirt and grease. If they got fed through the gun they would jam and cause all manner of trouble. She'd drafted Luke's help and got to work yanking the defective shells from the chain. It surprised her that the O.A.G. still used some slug-thrower weaponry even if they could fire both bullets and plasma.

Tracinya couldn't help but think back on the last few days as she examined a particularly defective bullet. She hadn't wanted to admit it, not even to herself, but things had been pretty dire.

At one point, they'd been so short that they'd had to redistribute the ammo so each man had only a single mag for their guns. Food and water had been a constant battle – no one talked about the poor kid's brains that were in the only running stream they could get to. Their limited amount of medical supplies was a joke that just wasn't funny – sheets shredded at the hospital in the village were used as bandages when they didn't have enough. And then even that small measure of security was blown away during the Umbaran bombing on Republic Day which was celebrated by the defenders for the sake of morale.

She tossed a defective bullet into the shit pile and ran her fingers over the next section of the chain – feeling for defects rather than trying to see them. She ignored how the metal bit into her fingertips as she swept them along the shells.

She darted a look at Luke as he shivered violently, grinding his teeth to keep them from chattering. He put on a brave face, probably his pride keeping him from showing weakness in front of her, but she could see the tremors of cold in his fingers. They'd been promised better winter gear, but it hadn't come.

At least Castro had brought plenty of ammo, and they had enough food for three meals a day again – well at least for a while. He'd also brought about almost a complete reshuffle of most of Easy Company.

The new faces and mostly full boxes of ammunition reminded her how much better things seemed right now. Sure they were still entrenched in the same positions around the Village, but they had some major improvements, equipment and supplies aside. They had an actual aid station again, furnished with surgeons and nurses for their wounded. And heavy gun support once more.

Tracinya's original squad had faired pretty well through the siege, all things considered, but her guys had ended up scattered amongst other platoons and squads to help watch the replacements. She was sorry to lose Samuel, who'd been with her since her arrival on Umbara, but she trusted Diego to look after him. Andres had been transferred under Pedro into the mortars squad, which seemed a good fit for the moment.

She'd managed to hold on to Luke though, which was a relief. He'd was still a good unshakable soldier, steady and reliable. She was glad to still have him with her. Two boxes, an ever-growing pile of rejected, defective bullets, and an easy silence at the edge of a foxhole.

She scrubbed a hand over her eyes, trying to keep the headache that had been brewing there for the last few days from overwhelming her.

The sound of snow crunching under boots had her glancing over her shoulder. She recognized the walk immediately but was surprised all the same. It wasn't often that Mateo left the CP for non-official business, which his demeanour belied as he amiably made his way towards them, hands in his pockets and a grin on his face.

"Trace," he said, smiling down at her.

"Cap – Mateo," she said, remembering that he'd asked her to call him 'Mat' from now at the twist of his eyebrows. She didn't know what his retribution would be if she forgot again. She was sure it would be scathing.

He gave her a look anyway – not fooled – and registered what they were actually doing. "Enjoying the new supplies?" he asked with a smirk as he crouched down beside her.

She huffed a laugh. Mateo was certainly good at pointing out the obvious. "What bits of it are good," said she, holding up a bullet bent nearly in half for his perusal. She chucked the dud into the growing pile of them on the foxhole's floor with an exasperated sigh. "At this rate, we'll have more faulty bullets than working ones to pass out."

He made a sound of agreement and repositioned himself. Eve disregarded the suspect look he was sending over her head at Jackson. A covert glance showed her that the private was studiously focused on his task, as though acknowledging Mateo would invite the man's ire.

 _Mateo_ , Tracinya thought, _trying to drill the change into her own head. I said I'd call him Mateo from now on._

Tracinya could practically hear the gears turning in Mateo's head but waited for him to say something first.

"I'm borrowing Sparrow for a while," he informed her. When she raised an eyebrow, he turned his sharp grin onto Luke. "Santiago needs a runner."

Luke looked up, wide eyed. Tracinya raised her eyebrow at him, confused. This wasn't normal behaviour either. _Is he actually scared? Of Mateo? Certainly not. Mateo's harmless_.

She looked him over again. _Maybe he's feeling sick too?_

"Take him," she said, with a careless wave of her hand. "Just don't let Santiago break him?" she teased.

She registered both Mateo's predatory smirk and Luke's unmoved face with practiced ease and a firm bite to her cheek, turning nonchalantly back to sorting.

There was a moment of silence that stretched too long. She looked back up covertly with her peripheral vision.

Luke was looking between her and Mateo, probably wondering if they were teasing him. Which they were, but he certainly didn't have to know that.

"What?" Luke asked as though he had awoken from a daze.

"Santiago wants you."

"Right, yeah. I'll be off then". Luke said jumping off the crate he was seated on and headed off followed by Mateo.

Tracinya bit her lip until he was out of sight, fighting to stay straight-faced to keep from embarrassing the guy. She made the mistake of glancing over at Mateo and burst into laughter at the very smug look on his face.

He did that on purpose!

Her laughter must've been infectious because as soon as she lost it, he did too.

They laughed until she started coughing and even then she couldn't manage to stop, giggling between each hacking cough and gasping breath.

The fit took some time to die down, despite Mateo's hand rubbing circles into her back. When it did, she finally noticed the concern in his dark eyes and – desperate to get back to the light-hearted atmosphere – she snarked, voice a little hoarse, "Thanks for asking to borrow Luke. I really appreciate being the last to know where my friends and guys and friends are being assigned."

"Well, I wouldn't want to be rude," he drawled.

"Right," said Tracinya, smiling again. "You're a captain now, it would be unfitting."

"I was beginning to think these captain bars were invisible," he said, his own smile tugging the corners of his mouth up as he lowered himself onto the edge of the foxhole and picked up Luke's abandoned box.

It wasn't every officer who'd sit down and do a private's job.

Tracinya was suddenly reminded that this man hadn't always been an intelligence officer. He'd been one of the original lieutenants of Easy Company. It's easy to forget that Mateo survived Malastare too.

She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. He tries to hide it with his sarcasm, his stoicism, and his pessimism, but he's a good guy. Thinking with a clearer head, she realised that Luke probably was having an episode, where he remembered what he had endured.

"Only to those of us who know you," she said absently, trying to shake off the sudden and irrational longing for home, where death wasn't lurking at every turn and there was a hot meal and a shower for everyone at the end of the day.

"Nice of Castro to bring supplies," snarked Mateo as they worked, tossing yet another bullet into the pile to accentuate his point.

"Yeah," she agreed. They were shit supplies. And then her mind drifted back to the replacements who made up the majority of her squad and she sighed.

"What's up?" he said, sensing that her thoughts had taken a darker turn as her actions turned listless.

"Hm?" She pulled herself from her melancholy. She met his assessing stare and tried deflecting. "It's nothing."

Mateo shot her a look.

Tracinya caved. "I could've gone without the squad shuffling. I know my guys are in good hands, but…" She scrubbed at her brow again, frustration adding a layer to her headache. "I'm just worried about everybody, I guess."

"Caring about your guys isn't something to be ashamed of, Trace," said Mateo. He gave her shoulder a bump, hands still full of bullets. "It means you're a good sergeant."

She smiled at him gratefully. Being in charge of people's lives in war was one way to shake your confidence.

And she trusted that Mateo actually meant what he said. He'd never be Santiago, whose mere presence boosted moral, but he'd definitely made her feel a lot better.

Tracinya was nearing the bottom of her box when Mateo spoke again. They'd been working in silence for the last few minutes, the steady 'cling-ping' of bullets joining the dud pile the only disturbance in the snow muted forest.

"How's Doc Spina?" asked Mateo, startling Tracinya enough that her toss went wide of the pile.

His tone had been uncaring, nonchalant, and her first instinct was to give him a non-answer. She'd even opened her mouth to say it when he pinned her in place with his stare.

She swallowed against the power in that gaze and remembered suddenly that he'd been there when Welsh had been hit on Republic Day. He'd seen Gabe freeze when it was critical that he act, that he save Mateo's friend.

She owed him an honest answer.

She slid down to retrieve the stray bullet and gather her thoughts. He gave her the time, studiously attending to his sorting.

"He's better," she said truthfully, weighing each word. "Especially now that we've been resupplied. I think something happened to him in the village after Smokey got paralyzed. He won't talk to me about it, but then I don't think I want to know either, so I haven't asked. But lately," she shrugged and retook her seat. "I don't know. It's like he's back to normal."

There was a lot that Tracinya chose not to say despite the truths weighing on her tongue. She was ashamed she hadn't recognized the signs, hadn't realized Gabe was not okay until he was incapable of doing his job.

Gabe was her friend. She should have noticed.

And she was a sergeant. She should have brought her concerns about Doc, about his dedication to the men exceeding his own wellbeing, to somebody. Mateo would have understood, would've given Gabe a break. He might've been able to help Gabe before he'd frozen, get him a break off the line for a bit. It was her job to look after all of the men, not just the ones in her squad. She'd failed at her job when she'd failed her friend.

It could never happen again.

* * *

 _2623 17th August Earth Standard Calendar, Intelligence Officer Mateo, Umbara_

Mateo accepted Tracinya's answer with a relieved nod. They'd gotten lucky with the medics in Easy Company. Both Spina and Cortez did their jobs well, and yet Mateo knew which of the two he wanted to work on him if he ever got hit.

Spina won by a mile.

Nothing against Cortez; he was more than competent, but he just didn't have the same calming influence that Spina did.

If Mateo had been a particularly religious man, he might've called Spina an angel. When he was around, even if he was just sitting there, somehow Mateo felt better. Perhaps it was Mateo's faith or uncommonly level-headed nature that made him so respected by the men around him.

Or maybe it was because Spina always looked so damn miserable. He always seemed to be having the worst day ever. Granted, if Mateo ever had to pull his friend's insides back into his body, well, he'd be having a bad fucking day too.

Whatever it was, Mateo knew that losing Gabe might spell disaster for the whole company.

Seeing Gabe, who was so vitally important, freeze when Welsh needed him had been one hell of a wakeup call.

Still, Tracinya had gotten closer to him than anyone else, and if she said he was fine, then he'd take her word for it.

Another wracking cough shook through Tracinya, pulling Mateo free from his thoughts to refocus his attention back on her. Her first coughing fit tonight might've been a fluke but two meant that she was probably still ill.

He knew a lot of the guys either were or had been sick, but he hadn't known Tracinya was still fighting off her cough. Most of the guys got over their coughs within a few days, with a couple exceptions. Without asking permission, knowing she was too busy to protest while she was hacking up a lung, he put the back of his hand on the back of her forehead.

Her forehead burnt his frigid fingers. Still, even after his hands had acclimated, he could tell that she was way too hot for normal. She was definitely sick.

 _Fuck_.

And she was still coughing without sign of stopping anytime soon.

 _Jesus Christ_.

Mateo could count on one hand the people more important than Sergeant Vizsla for keeping Easy Company strong and their moral high. If she really was sick and not getting better, then it needed to be addressed.

Spina, when Mateo had pressed him this morning had confessed that Castro's medics were being stingy with their supplies, particularly with the hard to get stuff like penicillin and plasma.

At a loss, Mateo started pounding her on the back as Tracinya hacked up phlegm, grimacing at the tears dripping from her clenched eyelashes. He didn't stop until she waved him off, the dreadful retching sound masquerading as a cough finally dying down.

They had so few real leaders left that losing Tracinya to illness was an unacceptable casualty. By no means were they out of the woods yet. And all the reports he'd been taking and receiving indicated that taking Foy – when they were inevitably ordered to do so – would be one hell of a hurdle. He didn't want to consider what it would be like if they had to send Tracinya off the line before the attack.

"How long have you been sick?" he asked as she was catching her breath.

She was panting now, quick, shallow breaths to keep from coughing again, so it took her a while to answer.

"A while," she finally answered. "Spina ran out of penicillin back during planetfall, so it didn't really seem worth mentioning. I thought it would just go away –"

"But it hasn't," Mateo finished for her.

"Yes," agreed Tracinya. She went back to her sorting without further comment, keeping her hands busy. "But neither has Babe's. Or McClung's. Or any number of the other guys'."

Mateo did the same, turning over the problem in his mind.

They'd been without supplies for far too long for the ridiculous posturing that was rampant between the Third Armoured and the defenders. For some reason, the tankers seemed to think that the paratroopers should be grateful that they were no longer surrounded.

Paratroopers were designed to be surrounded. They weren't designed to go into a fight without equipment.

Now that General Castro was here, Mateo had been under the understanding that the man was sharing what supplies he had to go around, which would've been fine as a stopgap for better supplies to come in. The problem was: supply runs weren't exactly high on the Allies priority list. As far as Mateo knew, there wasn't another drop planned at all. The starship had been bypassing them to blast the shit out of Umbaran cities with carpet bombs.

The point was that Castro's bunch needed to share what they had in the meantime. Ammunition, they had plenty of, but they were in dire need of better winter clothing and other basic necessities to survive the rest of this winter, especially medical supplies and food rations.

When his fingers hit the empty bottom of the box, he got up, ignoring the way Tracinya gave a shallow cough into her sleeve. He figured she had crud in her throat but didn't want to risk the deeper coughs he'd seen by trying to force it out.

Resolved, Mateo dusted off his pants and said, "Well, I should get back to the CP. See you soon, okay Trace?"

He had a stingy Third Armoured supply officer to ream.

* * *

 _25032 Galactic Standard Calendar, Tracinya Vizla, Umbara_

Tracinya watched Mateo wander away with bemusement. She didn't really mind his abrupt departure. She'd embarrassed herself coughing enough for one encounter, thanks very much. Besides, Mateo was a very busy man. She hoped he'd lay off Luke, but doubted it.

She finished her box and went to give the box of sorted bullets over to the MG squad on duty in the OP.

"Thanks, Sarge," said Babe.

"You boys doing all right out here?" she asked.

"So far, so good, ma'am," said Babe.

"Good. I'll see you boys later."

Mission accomplished, she decided to find dinner. On her way to the mess tent, Vest waylaid her with a literal armload of mail. She'd tucked the obscene amount of paper into her waist pocket, wondering when she'd possibly have time to read it all.

She and the other NCOs were still being utilized to pick up the slack from Dike, and the replacements – who now that they were moving more often still couldn't tell a foxhole from a slit trench – just meant extra work, especially since most of them didn't seem to have enough common sense to stop incessantly cleaning their guns so they could get fucking warm.

She was trying to find Guarnere or Diego to get something to do, when Luke – of all people – found her.

"Tracinya? Captain Santiago needs you in the CP," he said.

"Lead the way," she said, dropping all preteens of trying to find Guarnere and Diego. Santiago would have found her himself if it wasn't urgent. Busywork could wait.

They walked together to the CP as quickly as possible in the dense snow. As Luke was not a particularly talkative individual, it was a quiet walk. They'd been working together long enough that the quiet wasn't uncomfortable though, so she wasn't complaining.

He also didn't seem to have any hard feelings about her ribbing him with Mateo.

When they walked into the CP, Santiago met them at the door much to her surprise.

"Thank you, Lieutenant," he said, dismissing Luke. Santiago waited until Luke had wandered away, making sure the kid wouldn't be eavesdropping before he said, "This way, Sergeant."

He led her deeper into the CP for more privacy – what privacy a room without walls, or doors, or a tarp for a ceiling could offer anyway.

Her curiosity was piqued. A quick scan revealed that Mateo wasn't present. She gave it a passing thought and then refocused on Santiago, who had a strange, almost worried look on his face. She couldn't exactly place the other emotion on his face, and the unknown twisted a knot of fear in her gut.

She had a bad feeling about this.

"Sir?" she questioned when they were ensconced in the meagre amount of privacy they could manage.

"I know this last week and a bit has been rough on you. What with that cough and with Doc. SO I just wanted to check up on you to see how you're holding up and hand over your mail."

"Thanks for the concern but I'm fine now, Sir."

"Good hear. As you were" Santiago said as he handed her an envelop.

* * *

 _Our dearest daughter,_

 _How are you, our dear?_

 _You will be pleased to know that the local press has taken a decided turn now that your exploits in the war are coming to light. Our daughter, the war hero: who would've thought? We expected great things but what you have managed so far has made us both proud. Your father refuses to admit it but he is certainly worried about you. We both are. Your father got a new job at the Ministry of Defence as a liaison between O.A.D.F. and Mandalorian Forces, he starts next week._

 _The Local paper has turned you into a local icon. All the kids now run around pretending to be you, shooting the bad guys, saving the day, being heroes. To be like you. They run around with toys or pretend guns shooting invisible bad guys. Its quite entertaining to watch. Your father likes to point out the flaws in their positions, movements and formations. We all await news of what you'll do next._

 _Just know that we are proud of the Mandalorian you are and are becoming._

 _Your ever Loving Parents_

* * *

Once she'd finished reading and re-reading the letter she needed a break. She tucked the letter away, not really knowing what to think after such a vast and varied number of opinions. It took only a moment before she'd decided to go check on Gabe.

It didn't take her long to find him. The medic was loitering near the mess tent, sitting a little way away from everyone as what his usual pattern and smelling the remains of his chocolate bar from the nurse again. She crouched near him and watched. It took him longer than normal to notice her pleading gaze, but only by a moment or two.

He gave her an arched look, but she won a smile - which had been her real goal, more so than the chocolate at least. She certainly wasn't trying to be subtle whatsoever with her begging.

He broke off a piece of the bar and gave it to her. Tracinya nibbled on it contently, savouring it, trying to make the morsel last as long as possible. Even this small bite of chocolate was a very precious gift after all.

Mid bite, she started coughing again, ruining the entire experience. She tried to make each cough count, each heave reaching deep into her chest to pull out the crap that she'd been spitting up so that the aches she was feeling, particularly in her abdomen were worth it, that they'd been accomplishing something other than her own misery.

Gabe brought a hand up to her forehead and checked it. His fingers felt like icicles and she could tell that she was overheated, and yet, his touch seemed to radiate peace through her, easing the tightness in her chest and allowing her to breathe easy. It was such a relief after coughing, and she suddenly realized just how tight her chest had been feeling now that it had passed.

"You feel a little warm," he said. "Let me see if I can get you another blanket, or a warm cup of coffee." He was up and moving before she could persuade him not to bother. She watched him with exasperation before getting up and finding somewhere else to be.

She would never admit it, but she might be trying to hide from Gabe.

She didn't want to take someone's blanket!

So, she picked the first group of guys she came across to join – not her best strategy, but sometimes hiding in plain sight was the best policy.

"Hey, Malark," said Tracinya, sliding into the hole he was in with Perconte and Pedro. Malarkey was another Staff Sergeant in her platoon, and she needed to keep up with him anyway, she told herself, to make that feeling that tasted like cowardice go away. "Got anything for me?"

"Not a thing, Trace," he said with a smile. She grinned back falling into the easy camaraderie she hadn't even realized she'd been missing.

She had always liked Malarkey. She still remembered the kid who wouldn't shut up on planetfall. And after some time in combat, he'd gotten better about noise discipline, but he'd still kept his eager, generally upbeat demeanour.

She immediately decided that she needed to check in with him more often. She could use some cheering up after tough days. Today was shaping into one. After this, she'd better check in with the other Sergeants, and then she'd need to report to Lt. Dike, if she could even find him.

The idea of looking for him was already giving her another headache.

"How are your new guys? Anyone giving you trouble?" she asked, thinking not just of the replacements, but also Alley who fell under Malark right now.

"Nah, though it always amazes me how many of these kids have never even fucking shaved," he said drawing a laugh from Pedro.

She eyed his growing beard and kept her comment to herself, though she couldn't help the wry twist to her lips. His grin, which now split his face, let her know that held back or not, he'd heard her comment all the same.

She turned to the two radio guys. She hadn't seen much of either of them in quite a while. Perconte had his toothbrush hanging out of his mouth, scrubbing his back molars like they were falling out.

"Still brushing your teeth, Perco?" she said, teasing and yet slightly incredulous. "Do you even have any cleaning powder left?"

"Nah," he said, smiling, "that's long gone. You got any to trade?"

Her head shook, half an answer for him, half exasperation that he'd even bother asking. Huffing a quiet laugh, she turned back to Malarkey. "Have you seen Toye?"

"He got pinged," said Malark.

"What? When?" she demanded, staring at him in shock. How did I miss that?

Fuck.

Toye was that guy, the one you never thought would ever get hit. He was that guy who was going to make it to the end of this thing out of sheer obstinacy. She wondered if he'd ever scared a few bullets out of hitting him. It was inconceivable that he'd been taken out with so little fanfare. Surely if he ever did bite the bullet, it would be in a blaze of glory with thirty dead Umbarans around him. He was a good enough soldier to make it happen.

"-In the arm," continued Malark. He tried to reassure her. "Combat patrol this afternoon. He should be fine."

"Fuck, don't do that to me, Malark!" She punched him in the arm hard, much to Pedro's and Perco's amusement if their cacophonous laughter was any indication.

"Christ!" he said rubbing the arm. "I thought you'd heard!"

"If I'd heard, I wouldn't've asked," she replied with a frown.

She shoved her concern for Toye to the back of her mind as she did when any of her friends were wounded. If Malark said he'd be fine, he would be. He'd probably find his way back to the line soon enough. Toye wasn't the kind of guy to follow doctor advice to take it easy while his buddies were out on the line.

"How's the Doc?" asked Pedro after a time.

She shot Pedro a look. He should know better than to ask because as a rule Tracinya didn't talk about other people's business. Gaberiel was looking better, but word had gotten around about him freezing up on Republic Day, and if anyone would know how he was doing, it was her. That didn't make being the messenger any easier.

But she also knew the radio man was the key to reassuring the rest of the unit, so she relented and answered anyway. "He's doing better. It's been really hard on him not having enough supplies," she said diplomatically.

"We got that now, thanks to those Third Army fuckers," Perco grumbled around his toothbrush.

"Yeah. Good thing too. We're moving back to overlook Foy soon."

"What, again?" whined Perco.

They'd been overlooking Foy since Third Army came up to support them around the Village. It was the next key position to forcing the Umbaran retreat and would finish the total encirclement of the Umbaran capital.

"Why don't we just go take the fucking town rather than sit on our asses watching it?" Malark complained.

"Because we're being ordered to watch it," said Tracinya. "We don't know how many Umbarans are in the town, much less the forest around it. I'd personally like to be sure we're ready to go up against armour before we barge in.

"You know the drill; we take the woods before the town so the Umbarans in the woods don't sneak up behind us. They could flank us or run off back to Dooku. Neither would be fun."

"All right, smartass," quipped Pedro. Though he honestly enjoyed listening to Tracinya explain combat tactics, he didn't appreciate her spelling it out for him like he was an idiot. "Answer me this-"

Whatever he was about to say was cut off by Lieutenant Lucas wandering by their foxhole asking: "Anyone seen Lieutenant Dike?" with the air of someone who expected the negative answer he was about to receive.

"No, sir," said Tracinya formally. She hadn't forgotten how Lucas had abandoned them on the patrol where they'd hit the Umbaran lines. She probably never would. The only thing she could do about it though was bury her feelings under professionalism, so she was going to murder Lieutenant Lucas with kindness.

"Try Battalion CP, sir," suggested Pedro.

A tickle started in the back of her throat. She was coughing hard by the time Lucas turned away.

"Whoa," said Perco reaching up to brace her as she doubled over.

It was only a minute before she regained herself and heaved up the gob of crud that had set her off. She spat it into the ground just beyond the hole, and waved the fretting men off. "I'm fine."

"You don't sound fine," said Malarkey, eyeing her like she was going to keel over right then.

"Well, I'm as fine as I'm going to get in the next ten minutes, so stop your mollycoddling Malark!" she said a little sharply.

She already had both Gabriel and Mateo breathing down her neck today about being sick. She would never have a moment of peace if it got out to the other guys. She didn't even want to think about what would happen if Guarnere got wind of it. His bedside manner was bound to be as atrocious as his sense of humour. If it happened to anyone else it would've been hysterical, but when it was happening to her, well, it was a horrifying thought.

"See if I worry about you anymore," Malark said, aiming for amusement but landing somewhere closer to genuine hurt.

She winced, sighed heavily, and forced down a second cough with sheer will. "It's really nothing," she reassured, trying to smooth his ruffled feathers.

"Well, why don't you take your nothing over to Doc?" said Pedro. "Maybe there's something he can give you. Did Patton bring any penicillin?"

"If he did, he's not sharing," she said. "Besides, Andres's far worse off than me. I'll just go see if I can find someone who's managed to hoard coffee and beg some off them."

She pulled herself out of the hole and escaped before Perconte could get in on scolding her too. Gabe had enough to worry about, and if those other things kept him from fussing over her for a while longer, well, she welcomed them.

She ended up in a hole with Skip and Edwardo next. How, she wasn't quite sure, but there it was. All carefully laid plans of finishing her patrol were put on hold because when Skip and Edwardo decided to do something, they were a force of nature. And they wanted her to stick with them for a while.

Embarrassingly, it only took Gabe fifteen minutes to find her. She stared at him balefully and wondered how he managed to find her so quickly. She eyed the gossips she was sharing a hole with and decided it was better not to ask.

Gabe ignored her pouting and she could see the smile in his eyes as he tucked the blanket he'd retrieved around her.

He didn't leave after giving her the blanket. Instead, he produced coffee from seemingly thin air and demanded she take it. He sat there, carefully watching her drink the almost warm beverage and stoutly refusing to let her try and foist it off on him or either of her foxhole buddies. She complied, albeit mutinously. She didn't need to be mollycoddled, not even by Gabe.

Her rebellious nature seemed to amuse him though. He'd be really worried when she put up with his taking care of her without a fuss.

Gabe collected the mug from her with a smile that bordered on smug and went to return it to whomever he'd got the coffee from.

Tracinya tried to get up and back to her hole – empty now that Luke was acting as Santiago's runner as comms were down – but Skip and Edwardo refused to let her leave, pulling her back to sit between them and telling ridiculous stories from their childhood until she fell asleep still trying to feign boredom.

She ignored the concerned looks they shared whenever she coughed.

* * *

Three days later after the shelling that took Carlos and Penkala, Fernanda seemed to be everywhere at once. She constantly moved through the line, chatting with one person, smiling and joking with the next. She was a First Sergeant, which meant she looked after the entire company, and she took the job very seriously.

It wasn't long before Tracinya started thinking of the tireless First Sergeant as "Mama Ann" – privately, because she knew they'd both be teased mercilessly if the nickname got out – but the affectionate moniker suited her well; the woman endlessly pestered everyone about food, warmth, and shelter, looking after them like a mother duck with errant ducklings. She very much appreciated her for it, and it was all well and good when she was coaxing someone else, but when it was Tracinya turn, she found somewhere else to be.

Fernanda could be worse than Gabriel when she put her mind to worrying about her cough – never mind that the woman was starting to cough himself when he thought no one was looking.

But she was always there, always present, constantly reassuring the men that they'd pull through.

Tracinya did her best to emulate her as she took over Second Platoon, she was the most senior sergeant left, just edging Malarkey out of the job. Malarkey had been hit hard in the last week, several of the casualties were men he'd counted among his closest friends and he was taking it hard. She swallowed her own grief and tried to hold her tattered Platoon together.

They'd been hit hard in the barrages and spirits were low in the wake of their losses. Guarnere and Toye were irreplaceable, but she tried her best.

In the wake of her own overwhelming pain, it might have been easy to overlook how hard losing two capable sergeants and their last capable platoon leader was hitting the rest of Easy Company, but a quick glance around camp proved that general morale was at an all time low. It had been a rough two week for all of them, not just Second.

Tracinya made it her goal to get as many people smiling as possible, exchanging jokes and pleasantries with people she hadn't had much cause for talking to before, making sure everyone was keeping their head above water. Some of the guys, noticeably the replacements, started joking back.

If she had any quietly lingering doubts about whether or not the replacements were still bitter about her gender, they were eradicated in the hours after the barrage that took Toye and Guarnere. Each and every replacement she'd ever heard even the slightest rumour that they didn't care for her, came up to her personally and let her know that they appreciated that she was still out here with them. They finally understood that Tracinya was just like any other platoon sergeant, trying to do her best by them, and she could see in every smile she evoked that they were glad she was here. It seemed the Orionians, the greenhorns at least, didn't trust outsider leadership. Then again, she doubted Mandalorians or any other self-respecting military that fought alongside new met allies wouldn't have doubts.

The more she got to know the men, her men now, the tighter the knot of dread in her gut wound.

They were going to attack Foy soon. They'd finished clearing the woods of Umbarans and just seemed to be waiting for the okay from on high before they pressed their attack on the town itself. It amazed her how close they had all become in the last two weeks, but then again, they had been stuck together in horrendous conditions so them pulling together was inevitable.

If she was certain of anything, it was this: if Dike or Lucas led them into action, they would going to get them all killed.

The anxiety built and built with each passing hour, with each man she spoke to and got to know a little better, until it was choking her.

She had to say something. But to whom?

She couldn't go to Santiago, he was too far up the ladder from her and Second Platoon hadn't been assigned a new Lieutenant yet to act as an intermediary; not that she would trust a new officer with her fears even if there was someone – she might've been able to speak to Luke, Luke would've understood, but he was gone.

With no other options, despite being loath to burden him with more troubles, she sought out the only person left who could say something without a major breach of protocol.

"First Sergeant Fernanda?" she called, back straight, tone firm. She hoped the First Sergeant would pick up on these nonverbal cues and realize that she wanted to talk to her professionally and not as a friend. "May I have a word in private?"

Fernanda's keen eyes searched her over before nodding. In silence, she led her away from the prying ears on the line, waiting until they were a few hundred yards away from where ever present eavesdroppers might be lurking. Fernanda surveyed the area before shoving her hands into her armpits once more and addressing her, "What's up, Vizsla?"

"Ma'am," she gnawed on her bottom lip as she searched for the words. Now that the time was here, she couldn't think of a way to appropriately phrase her fears without coming across as insubordinate.

* * *

 _2623 23rd August Earth Standard Calendar, SGT Fernanda, Umbara_

Fernanda watched Tracinya Vizsla as she shifted before him.

It had been so long since she'd seen her nervous, she'd almost forgotten she was capable of the emotion.

Tracinya had always been level-headed. She'd taken up the position of Platoon Sergeant with more grace than she'd anticipated after losing two of her best friends. Fernanda had known for a while that she was an effective leader, but she'd flourished with the whole platoon to look after. She felt privileged to be amongst the few whom she considered her friends.

If she was afraid to say something to her, well, Fernanda was preparing herself for a catastrophe, or perhaps a riot.

"It's all right, Trace," she said gently, praying she was wrong. "You can tell me."

She saw her spine straighten and braced himself.

"We're leading the attack into Foy tomorrow, sir, and we have no leader. Lt. Dike is going to get my men killed."

Fernanda breathed a sigh of relief. _Thank God. It's not good, but it could've been much worse_.

"Trace, there's nothing we can do," she said.

Dike was at least ground she was familiar with, and while their current leader wasn't something she could control, it wasn't exactly a new concern. She'd been worrying about Dike for months. Still, it isn't like Tracinya to question command.

But if Tracinya, who was notorious for never complaining about superior officers, was outright stating her concern, maybe she should trust her gut and speak up.

 _If she thinks there's a problem too, then this is bigger than I thought._

"I know that, Ma'am, but," she paused. "Please, at least speak to Captain Santiago so he can have some sort of contingency in place when Dike falls apart in the field."

It probably wouldn't change anything, or do any good, but it would make her feel better. And it might give Santiago a chance to prepare for the worst – though if Fernanda knew the Captain, Santiago was already doing just that.

Still…

"I'll talk to Santiago." Fernanda agreed, watching the woman sag with relief.

"Thank you, Ann," she breathed.

"It'll be all right, Trace," she reassured, clapping her on the shoulder on the shoulder. "You'll see." She looked into her eyes until she nodded. "Why don't you go make sure your men are dug in with cover?"

"You got it, Ma'am," she said with a small smile and left him alone.

Once he was sure she was alone, Fernanda sighed, feeling the heavy weight of responsibility settle onto her shoulders.

She squared her shoulders, steeling herself as she prepared to do something that, as a First Sergeant, she never thought she would do.

* * *

 _2623 23rd August Earth Standard Calendar, CPT Antonio Santiago, Umbara_

Santiago was working on the battle plan with Mateo, just calling in the KIA from the last barrage to command and looking over the maps one last time before initiating the assault on Foy.

"Captain Santiago, sir, can I speak with you for a moment?"

"Ah, Lieutenant Dike," said Santiago, surprised to see the usually elusive man. "How are things with the men?"

"Easy Company is ready, sir," the Lieutenant said confidently.

Santiago took a moment to scrutinize the man before him. Dike looked every inch the competent military man, from the way he kept himself neatly groomed, to his steadfast bearing as he stood at attention before them. The Lieutenant always filled his voice with confidence and authority, and his verbal articulacy certainly gave off a good impression. Now, if Santiago could just get the man to stay in camp.

"Good," said Santiago. "What can I do for you, Lieutenant?"

"Permission to speak freely, sir?" Dike asked.

"Granted," said Santiago, sharing an amused glance with Mateo, who moved away to the other end of the CP to offer them a little privacy.

"I noticed that you promoted Sergeant Vizsla to Platoon Sergeant for Second Platoon."

"I did," answered Santiago.

Typically that job would have been up to the Company CO to assign, but Dike had let the matter sit for more than a day and SAntiago had needed Second to run a patrol this morning. After taking stock of the situation in Second, Vizsla had seemed like the obvious choice for their remaining time on Umbara.

"Sir," said Dike, forging ahead unaware of Santiago thoughts. "Are you sure she's qualified for the position? She only recently became a Staff Sergeant. It looks odd for a Mandalorian to advance when there are more senior Orionians able to take the position instead."

Santiago scrutinized the man, hiding his incredulity behind a mask of ice.

Just because he wasn't directly leading Easy anymore didn't make him blind. Dike's solution to dealing with Vizsla in combat was simply to ignore her. It hadn't been too big a deal with both Compton and Guarnere acting as a buffer between him and the woman, but now that they'd both been sent to the aid station, unlikely to return, and she'd been promoted, Dike couldn't ignore her any longer.

The man's solution was apparently to remove her from the chain of command altogether, not seeing how well she was already doing in the position or perhaps not caring.

She was the only obvious choice and Dike didn't like it because she was a Mandalorian and not from Earth or her colonies.

He wanted to strip her of a position she'd rightfully earned because he couldn't see past her homeworld.

It wasn't going to happen on Santiago watch.

"Sergeant Vizsla is the most qualified person in Second Platoon for the position at this time," Santiago said coldly. "She has my full confidence that she is capable of handling the job of Platoon Sergeant."

"What about Sergeant Malarkey?" persisted Dike, offering up a tenuous solution at best. Anyone with eyes could see that Sergeant Malarkey was a wreck after losing his friends. "Or transferring one of the more experienced sergeants over from another Platoon?"

"Sergeant Vizsla has seniority over Sergeant Malarkey," Santiago overruled. "And the other platoons need their sergeants where they are. Vizsla knows the men in Second. My decision stands. Sergeant Vizsla is just as capable as any of the other sergeants out here, Lieutenant, and you will treat her as such. Am I understood, Lieutenant?" Santiago asked sternly.

"Yes, sir," said Dike, meekly backing down.

Santiago hoped that would be the end of that.

"Is there anything else?" asked Santiago.

"No, sir."

"Good, then see to your men. Distribute whatever ammunition we have left evenly amongst the platoons. First Sergeant Fernanda will be leading Second in the attack tomorrow. I want to meet with you to go over the strategy again before the attack starts at 0900."

"Yes, sir," said Dike with a salute.

Santiago gave him one back, and said, "Dismissed."

Mateo came over as soon as the man had gone out of earshot, eyebrow already raised in sardonic amusement. "Well that went well. I don't think there'll be any more of that for a while," he said.

"Let's hope so," said Santiago. "I don't like it, Mateo."

"Neither do I," his friend agreed. "But there's nothing you can do, Ant. You're not in charge of Easy anymore. Trace'll just have to change his mind the way she did everyone else's."

"Yeah," said Santiago pensively remembering how Tracinya had turned a man who'd nearly broken her shoulder, a man who'd stirred up animosities towards her, and a man who'd hated her on sight into three of her most steadfast protectors.

If Dike had an open mind, Santiago was sure Trace could do it again. It was just a matter of time.

They just had to survive this attack on Foy first. And if Dike was doubting the leadership of the guys, it didn't bode well for his first foray in leading Easy Company into battle.

With a resigned sigh, Santiago put the confrontation from his mind and turned back to the topographical map of the area to run through the plan with Mateo one more time.

* * *

 _25032 Galactic Standard Calendar, Tracinya Vizla, Umbara_

The next morning, just before the attack on Foy, Fernanda pulled Tracinya aside.

"I spoke with Santiago last night," he said, shaking her head at the question on her face. "We both knew there was nothing he could do, Trace."

She looked down. The pit in her stomach that was ever-present before walking into an attack sank to her toes. It felt like doom.

She pushed the thought aside. It would not help her survive the fight ahead, and she had to survive for the sake of her men.

Fernanda gripped her arm in comfort. "I'll be leading Second Platoon. I want you with me."

"Yes, ma'am," she said, pleased they weren't being foisted onto some green Lieutenant for this. Fernanda would at least lead the men sensibly.

"Are the men ready?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good. I think there are a few more boxes of ammo at the supply tent. Make sure you distribute it to the men?"

"You got it, Ann," Tracinya agreed with a smile.

Tracinya had already memorized the plan, but she mentally reviewed it once more as she wandered amongst Second Platoon distributing Fernanda's ammo and her own reassurances.

To get to Foy, Easy Company had to cross the open field they'd been staring down on for the last week. It was only an eighth-of-a-mile, and in any other scenario, an eighth-of-a-mile was a miniscule distance for Easy Company, used to twenty-mile forced marches.

But this was different.

For this sprint, they'd be completely exposed with no adequate cover until they hit the town. The town that they'd watched the Umbarans fortify for days.

Tracinya was uneasy – particularly about the sprint across open ground – but it was Santiago's plan and he'd earned her trust several times over.

And really, Santiago had planned it out pretty well, giving Easy ample time to cross the field and take the town, fortified or not. Item Company from Third Battalion was going to attack the town from the east to provide a diversion. Hopefully, they would keep the Umbarans distracted and draw their artillery fire. Dog was being held in reserve in case it all went belly up – but Tracinya didn't actually foresee needing them unless the shit really hit the fan.

But it didn't really matter how well the rest of the plan had been laid out. It would all be for naught if they couldn't get across the field before the Umbarans recalibrated their guns. If that happened, well, a lot of Easy Company men would die.

As she made her way through her Platoon, she eyed the remaining replacements.

The losses they'd suffered in the shellings over the last few days had demanded yet another shuffle of personnel, and once again, Tracinya found herself with green-as-grass replacements making up the majority of the squad she'd be leading.

There were some bonuses. She'd still – and it was getting a bit ridiculous really – managed to hold onto Samuel, which had thrilled the private. She'd also inherited Babe from Toye's squad and gained the invaluable Cobb from Bull's.

She and Cobb had had problems in the past, mostly when he was drinking. Cobb was a mean drunk, becoming supercilious and generally unpleasant as opposed to violent. But he was still one of the most experienced soldiers in the entire Battalion. Overall, the man was a damn good soldier, and a superb shot.

She was honestly just glad she had at least one veteran still with her, and so when she found Cobb staring pensively out at Foy, she gave him a smile and crouched down next to him.

"Hey, Cobb," she said, startling him out of whatever deep thoughts had lured him into his head. "How're you doin'?"

"Good," he said, clearing his throat, "I'm good."

"I'm really glad you're with me today, Cobb," she said, examining the task before them again.

She glanced at him from the corner of her eye as the silence dragged on. He looked stunned. It took him a beat longer to respond with a nod, all other responses he'd probably discarded as inappropriate.

She cleared her throat, fighting back the cough, and spoke again. "You got the plan?"

"Yep," he said, his normal bite back in his tone. He busied his hands with his weapon, checking the cartridges.

"I'm going to be counting on you to help me keep these kids in order. Just remember that the priority is getting into Foy and cover."

He smiled then, snapping the first round of his magazine into place with the bolt action on his SA-20 assault rifle. "You got it, Boss Lady," he said.

Tracinya eyed the weapon for a moment before asking, "You got enough ammo for that?"

It was a standard gun, but because it wasn't the standard issue rifle finding ammo for it had become a constant struggle.

"You know where I can get more?"

Tracinya thought about it and thought about the supplies guys, thinking of each man before eventually discarding him as unlikely. Finally, she remembered Vest.

Vest was the poor bastard who'd been stuck with the job of delivering mail since Christophsis. Somewhere along the lines he'd become the guy to talk to if you needed something, whether it was regulation or not. But he'd need a bribe.

"If you hurry, you can check with Vest by the CP before we go," suggested Tracinya.

Cobb nodded and stood to go.

Tracinya called out before he got too far, having been too busy digging through her pockets to keep him from wandering away half-cocked. "He'll need a bribe!" she called and tossed him the pack of cigarettes she'd been saving for a similar occasion.

The pack smacked the man in the chest, but he managed to get his hands up to catch the precious cigarettes before they fell and the snow ruined them.

Seeing what they were, Cobb gave her a large grin that lightened his whole demeanour. "Thanks, Boss Lady!" he called as he hurried to find Vest. She wondered if all the cigarettes would make it to the supply officer, or if Cobb would hold a few back for himself.

She shook her head and moved on to talk to the other guys in the platoon, offering so many platitudes that the guys' faces all started blurring together. She tried to hold the new names in her mind, but this was the sixth Smith she'd had to learn a face for since the war began, and the names and stories slipped away from her like water in a sieve to muddle together immediately after she'd moved on.

When talking to the replacements, she accentuated the need for everyone to stick to formation and keep moving. The priority was crossing the field to cover. She tempered this with reassurances, boiling down to variations of, _"You'll be fine. Just do your job and you'll be fine."_

She was well aware that she was lying to some of them, but what else could she do? They were as ready for this as they could be.

Eventually she found herself at odds, with nothing left to do but wait with Fernanda for the command to advance.

She did so anxiously, strangely more nervous about this attack than she'd been for the drop into Umbara. There, at least, she was too green to really know how short the odds were. It had helped that she'd jumped with the absolute knowledge that every last man she'd landed with she could trust her life to.

She had none of the calm that had settled over her for that jump today. Her eyes restlessly drifted between the town below and the men around her.

Their machine guns opened up from either side of the Company in covering fire and the sprint for Foy began.

Tracinya was up and running immediately, shouting: "Let's go, Second Platoon!" as she herded her men forward.

Her eyes flicked over her men, making sure everyone was moving out as quickly as they possibly could, making sure the stragglers were coming along, forcing them to join the forward moving unit. She stayed in the middle of the group where she needed to be, rather than charging ahead and leading the way.

It seemed like only seconds before the Umbarans were pouring on the heat from their heavy guns. Light artillery and tank fire made the ground buckle and jump out from under her feet. She yanked on a man who'd stumbled, towing him forward until he found his feet and kept moving, racing to make up lost time.

The sooner they hit the town, the sooner they'd get to cover. Tracinya just had to keep everybody moving and organized. It was like herding stray cats, albeit ones inclined to head in a particular direction.

Guys fell on either side of her, pinged by snipers and enemy machine gun fire. "DON'T STOP!" she yelled, voice going hoarse as she stressed her already strained voice to yell above the popping guns and earth shattering bombardment.

"GO! GO!" she insisted, as the Umbarans started raining blasts from their heavy guns. Artillery and tank fire shook the ground beneath her feet, sending some soldiers to the ground. She grabbed a man who fell in front of her and pulled him forward until he found his feet.

"KEEP MOVING!" She screamed herself completely hoarse, and then lowered her register and bellowed some more, as some of the guys in front slowed down now that they were under direct fire, moving more cautiously.

Out of nowhere, Dike screamed, "HOLD UP!" Tracinya immediately froze and turned about to engage the enemy Dike had spotted. There could be no other reason to stop the attack, not while they were still out in the open.

Seeing nothing, and putting it down to a battlefield illusion, she kept moving, waving her arm to usher the men behind her onwards since she could no longer effectively cajole them with her voice.

She figured she was correct about it being a figment of her imagination as she both saw and heard Lip bellowing from behind her to keep moving.

"EASY COMPANY!" Dike bellowed; there was no mistaking it this time. "HOLD UP!"

"SECOND PLATOON, HOLD UP!" Fernanda echoed, holding her fist up in the hand signal to hold tight.

Tracinya dropped to the ground, the sharp ice digging into her skin through her pants.

"HOLD UP!" she echoed. Her head swivelled, trying to take account of where everyone was, scanning the platoon for holdouts. There weren't any. The men had obeyed; the smarter ones were already looking for concealment to get out of view from the artillery gunners.

The majority of her Platoon hadn't made a dash for cover. They stayed on their bellies, trying to make themselves into the smallest targets possible.

She had to find Lieutenant Dike and figure out what the hell was going on.

She set about trying to account for her guys and her commander. Her mouth ran through curses absently as her voice dropped in and out, on its last leg.

She spent longer than she should ever have to searching for Dike. Santiago had always been right up front when he led, leading the charge all the way. Dike had somehow managed to disappear yet again, this time in the fray of soldiers attacking the town.

When she concluded that he was nowhere to be seen, she found Fernanda.

She was on her eight o'clock, flagging the still running men down to the ground and making sure everyone had obeyed.

A mortar shot – zeroed in on her squad – erupted twenty feet in front of her, showering her with dirt and black snow. Ice and dirt pelted off her armour as she was flung into the dirt. Her helmet slammed painfully back onto her head, rattling her for a moment.

She shook the pain away and tried to scream, "Get to some cover!" but her voice disappeared as she tried to pitch it for the men to hear. She gave it up as a lost cause and scrambled to find herself some cover, hoping the men would follow her example.

Fortunately, Fernanda was yelling loud enough for them both. "FIND SOME COVER!" she bellowed, shooing guys out of the open from his position on his knees.

"FIND SOME COVER! FIND SOME COVER!" Fernanda screamed again and again as the mortars hammered the exposed Easy Company, landing amongst the men and sending several unfortunate soldiers flying through the air in pieces.

Tracinya belly crawled forward. The powder fine icicles wedged themselves into even the tiniest gap in her armour as she waded through the snow.

She finally hit the cover she'd scouted, some farm equipment abandoned mid plow, now covered in a thick layer of snow. Cautiously, she peeked around it to take in the scene again.

If there was incoming enemy infantry hitting them, she still couldn't see them – which was all together worse news. If they were hiding, they could start opening up at any moment. If they weren't, then all of Easy Company was holding, with their ass out, in an open field for no Goddamn reason.

Fernanda called Perry to her six and took off, presumably to find Dike and get some orders.

Tracinya watched them go as she flinched from yet another artillery blast. She wanted to go with them to find out the reasoning behind the halt, but she damn well knew better than to abandon her platoon out in the open.

Tracinya stayed where she was needed, scanning the ground for stranded guys she could help.

She watched as the few men able to find their feet ran for it, becoming quick casualties to the enemy snipers and machine gun fire and the terrible realization of the inevitable sank in.

They were helpless, stranded.

There was no cover, there was no moving. Hope and prayer was all that was keeping her from becoming one of the poor bastards flung into the air and landing as mincemeat.

She'd thought lying in a foxhole was the worst thing that could ever happen to a person in war. She revised that belief.

This was like hell on Manadalor.

Her eyes darted around the field, desperate for a solution as men fell around her like dominos.

Her eyes found Cobb, hauling a replacement back towards a hay mound, the kid flailing and generally making everything much harder for the veteran. She'd bet two cartons of cigarettes that Cobb was growling and snarling at the idiot.

Tracinya flinched as the replacement Cobb was dragging was shot out from under him. She hadn't been sure she could feel horror anymore.

Cobb dutifully carried the corpse back to concealment, grim-faced at the turn of events.

The next familiar faces she found were Samuel and Babe, who had ended up crouched together behind some stacked fence posts. She watched Babe try to peek over the top, to see if he could get a shot somehow. She could see him duck down as dirt kicked up behind him in what could've been a fatal headshot had the kid been just a hair slower.

Samuel, smart bastard that he was, didn't even bother trying to get a shot off over the pile. He crouched down and waited for orders to move forward.

An advantage generally left unobserved until middle of an advance, is that of blending into the crowd. If there were a lot of targets to shoot at, sure the Umbarans had better odds of hitting people, but there were also better odds of it not being her.

The constant bombardment, the waiting for orders, went on forever. There was nothing she could do but wait, and it gnawed at her.

They were stuck here. She was going to die here.

Desperation turned her fear into determination.

Becoming bold in her desperation to just be able to do something, she peaked over her concealment, trying to see where muzzle flashes were in the town.

She immediately took note of the building with the caved in roof and tried to nail the sniper holed up in there, but she just couldn't get the right angle to hit the man, much to her frustration. The church steeple was equally as frustrating as her shots kept nailing the white grate surrounding the machine gun nest.

The ping of laser on metal and a hot scorch across her helmet made her gasp in surprise as she fell back, thankfully into cover. She blinked a few times, coming face to face with how very close she'd been to reaching out and colliding with her demise.

She came up snarling mad. She was not going to fucking die out here like a fish in a barrel. She got into a prone position, sighting her Westar Carbine through a gap in the farm equipment and aimed for an easier target, picking off the scurrying, armour clad Umbaran infantry as they scampered between buildings.

She didn't even notice how much ammo she snapped through, grateful that she'd stocked up as she slammed the next cartridge in the last's place and lining up shots. She spared only a few seconds on each shot, making sure her shots would hit a Umbaran, shooting on instinct.

Each one she nailed was its own victory, symbolic of her refusal to lie down passively for death. But every shot she made, encouraged the Umbarans to aim for her.

Tracinya found herself targeted by shell after shell of mortar fire as the heavy guns tried to take out her concealment. She flinched as clumps of dirt showered her, the shots narrowing in on her position.

She tried to scream, but her voice had long since gone.

To her left, Babe and Samuel opened up, trying to give the Umbarans another option to fire at, to remind them that the rest of Easy Company wasn't going to go quietly either.

Something shifted again. The guns turned their attention elsewhere.

When Tracinya was able to rally herself enough to take stock of the situation, she wished she hadn't.

She could only watch the disaster unfold as First, stranded and alone, tried to execute a flanking mission.

Flanking missions didn't work if the flankers could be outflanked.

Adding to the confusion were Fernanda's and Dike's orders for suppressing fire.

It was a terrible idea to have suppressing fire on a flanking mission. The suppressing fire could slam right into the flanking team. They ran the risk of shooting First rather than the enemy.

The whole idea was insane. And it certainly hadn't been in the plan Captain Santiago had laid out.

And then the ugly situation became worse. As the enemy fire that had pinned First down from the original attack plan wasn't dealt with, they were still stuck. Only now, they were dangling out from the safety of the line, and stuck.

It was a disaster.

Tracinya had to force herself not to do something stupid – like pop up and run to First's aid – as she saw man after man fall in the hail of plasma from the Umbarans in Foy, especially from the snipers nest tucked away in the building with the caved in roof.

At least Fernanda was aware of the danger. He started yelling to focus on that building. Tracinya joined the other men in trying to rain down so much lead on the position that the sniper wouldn't be able to twitch let alone fire again.

Tracinya found herself muttering curses again under her breath as she tried to ignore First's plight, now towing their wounded back to cover.

They were all going to die out here. Dike's leadership was going to kill them all.

She'd been right.

She'd never been so sorry to be right.

Suddenly, the building with the caved in roof went up in flames. Tracinya grinned in triumph before moving on to spot the next deadliest target. She nailed the bricks of the bell tower of the church, praying she'd hit one of the MG operators.

She was so caught up in the moment that she nearly missed the sudden forward movement all around her.

"- Second Platoon on the CO!" Fernanda shouted, following a sprinting figure.

Thank God.

Tracinya didn't care who the CO was, couldn't recognize him from this distance, but she got to her feet and started sprinting after him.

"Move! Get up and fucking move!" Tracinya yelled, not caring that her voice only managed every third word. She didn't even slow down as she snagged men and towed them forwards, forcing them to run.

She yanked whoever's webbing happened to be in her hand until the man in it managed to get his feet under him. Only when he'd stopped stumbling did she let him go and grab the next one who happened to be on her way.

Sure enough, the replacements followed her example and started towing their comrades forward until the entire Platoon was moving once again towards Foy and solid cover.

She kept hearing Fernando screaming behind her, trying to coax the rest of the guys up and moving, and poured on some more speed as she sprinted forward, leading the men onwards.

She slammed through the miniscule barbed wire fences that line the town, running roughshod through the barriers with relative ease. She certainly had enough motivation to get off the field.

Tracinya had always been one of the faster soldiers. Once all of her soldiers managed to get their shit together and keep moving, she ate up the ground between her and the running CO, catching him easily.

She stuck to him as they bounded through the last bit of the field desperate to hit Foy and the cover its urban terrain provided from artillery fire.

She was right on his six and thus nearly smacked into him when he did an improbable backbend to avoid an incoming tank round. He looked around for a beat before ploughing on forward. There was a cacophony of screaming behind her, the words no more than a muffled outcry as Easy Company finally surged into Foy.

The CO hit the first building they found, Tracinya only half a beat behind him, recognizing the man finally.

It was Lieutenant Speirs.

Thank God for that, she thought, grateful someone with sense was finally in charge of the company.

"Radio! Get over here!" called Speirs, spying Pedro. Tracinya hadn't even noticed the man dogging their trail and barely spared him any mind now.

She dropped into a kneeling crouch and went back to picking off the Umbarans in the open.

Fernanda joined them just a moment after Pedro, taking position next to Tracinya. He pulled her back with a hand on her shoulder to take his own assessment of the enemy.

A blast of MG fire shattered the corner.

Some of the Umbarans must have cottoned on to Tracinya's hiding place and the death that was emanating from there.

Fernanda jerked back with a wince. The NVGs the Orionains used didn't offer the same level of protection as Republic and Mandalorian visors.

There was a moment of stunned surprise as Fernanda curled up to protect her injury and Tracinya, after a deep breath to centre herself, whipped around and fired the last three rounds in her clip into the back of the retreating Umbaran.

"You okay?" she shouted, trying to be heard despite her disappearing voice and the continuing bombardment as she pulled back into cover to reload.

"What?" shouted Fernanda, not able to hear her properly, but she was curled up protecting her face with her hand first and then her entire body.

She worried that if she stopped to check on him, the Umbarans would take the opportunity to hit the building again, possibly with something a little bigger than MG fire and wipe them all out.

"What do you see, Fernanda?" bellowed Speirs, not even realizing that he was interrupting.

Tracinya took another deep breath, trying to re-centre herself, before she bent around the corner, lined up another shot, and nailed another Umbaran.

"Armoured infantry, a lot of infantry!" said Fernanda, reporting what she'd glimpsed, and then leaning out again around Tracinya to confirm.

If Fernanda and Speirs had a conversation after that, Tracinya didn't hear it as she fell into the trance that sometimes overtook her when she was shooting. The rifle was suddenly more like a limb than a tool and she fired again and again, automatically, without the slightest hitch or hesitation as she reloaded her gun and knocked Umbaran after Umbaran dead.

Fernanda screaming pulled her out of it. "Sir, I think they're going to pull back. If we don't connect with Ist Company, they're gonna slip away!"

"That's right," said Speirs, shouting to be heard. He patted Fernanda on the knee in reassurance and then Tracinya on the shoulder in warning. "Stay here!" he ordered and darted out into the line of fire.

Tracinya only just managed to register his intention and pull up her gun before she put a round in her new CO's back, cursing.

"What the hell?" asked Samuel, echoing Tracinya's thoughts so perfectly that she didn't even bother to put hers to words.

The three of them behind the wall shared a look before unanimously crowding the corner to watch as their CO fearlessly bounded through the enemy's line.

Horrified, she went back to picking off what infantry she could, giving the Umbarans a more lucrative target. She tried to nail some of the artillery gunners especially, but infantrymen immediately took their place.

All the while, she tried to comprehend what was happening right in front of her.

Somehow, the Umbarans weren't shooting at Speirs. He made it through their line practically unchallenged.

It was the strangest, most miraculous thing she'd ever seen, bar none.

She tracked the man as he disappeared behind a stone fence, picking off any who dared aim that way instead of at her.

It was absolutely amazing. But what happened next completely flabbergasted her.

Speirs came back through the line to Easy's position.

It was unbelievable. She was witnessing it and she still couldn't believe it. She traded dumbfounded glances with Fernanda and Samuel, thankful they were seeing it too and it wasn't some grand hallucination or her mind playing tricks on her.

Hands down it was the craziest thing she'd ever seen. Speirs was one stupid, crazy, son-of-a-bantha. She turned round the corner again to pick off more Umbarans and noticed they had started to flee in the direction off their capital. She watched as an anti-tank missile slammed into the form of a retreating Umbaran tank. She watched as it toppled a crushed a retreating Umbaran.

By now most the Umbarans had reached the safety of the woods opposite the woods and the few that stood and fought were quickly cut down.

* * *

Tracinya and the rest of Easy Company worked on cleaning out the houses of Umbarans who'd stayed behind to surrender. She'd paired up with Babe for the sweep.

Ist Company was posing for the newsreels on one of the captured Umbaran artillery pieces. She could hear them singing through the thin windowpane as she and Babe mounted the stairway, she on point and Babe behind.

There was an open doorway just in front of them. She glanced backwards at Babe, who gave her a nod. She took a deep breath and then popped around the corner, gun up and ready to fire. She'd prepared herself for Umbarans, but three of them was a surprise.

"Hands!" she shouted. "Let me see your hands!"

One Umbaran scrambled for his gun. Babe came from behind her, aggressively holding his M60-AR out, screaming, "Hey! Hey! Don't even think about it, pal!"

Tracinya kept an eye on the two other Umbarans, who'd seen sense and thrown their hands up immediately, shouting unintelligibly in Umbaran.

The Umbaran who'd tried to arm himself dropped the weapon and threw his hands up too, surrendering to them without further fuss.

"Out!" she barked. She motioned to the door with her carbine and the Umbarans were complying.

The sharp snap of a gunshot had her throwing herself to into the wall, gun up.

"HEY!" she shouted at the flinching Umbarans. The Umbarans had been only half a second away from trying to use the sound as a distraction for escape. When the second shot sounded, they found their own common sense and threw themselves away from the windows.

The singing outside had stopped. Someone screamed, "Sniper!" while another voice shouted: "Take cover!"

There was a string of gunfire that followed. If Tracinya had to guess, her money would be that the enemy sniper had decided to get one perfect shot and then kill as many as he could once he'd revealed himself.

The Umbarans had their hands covering their heads and were babbling again; scared the Orionians holding them would suddenly go crazy and start shooting them in retaliation.

"Babe," said Tracinya, "you got 'em?"

"Yeah, Sarge," the man answered, his entire focus on the Umbarans in case they tried to do anything stupid.

"Good," said Tracinya as she approached the window overlooking the main street. "I'm gonna see if I can't figure out what the hell is going on."

"You got it," said Babe.

She took in the empty street and the abandoned light artillery, scanning the upper buildings she could see for muzzle flashes that would give away the sniper's position.

And then some idiot broke cover and ran directly into the line of fire. Tracinya cringed and must have sworn aloud based on Babe's immediate response of, "What? What is it?"

Fernanda was making a suicide run across the square. The sniper took a shot and she finally narrowed down his nest to the right building. She took a deep breath and flinched as the enemy took another shot at the now weaving Fernanda.

A second shot sounded just after the last and the sniper went silent. The sound of cheering awoke. Tracinya followed the logical direction of the shots, and Fernanda's origins, and found Shifty lowering his Ac-160, a satisfied smile on his face.

Tracinya breathed a sigh of relief before telling Babe, "All clear. Let's get these prisoners out of here."

It took no further coaxing to get the Umbarans down the stairs.

* * *

Tracinya found out later that they'd taken over a hundred prisoners at Foy.

Perconte had gotten himself shot in the ass and evacuated to medical to the rear. The Easy Company tradition was alive and well. She still laughed long and hard when she saw the small man dangling from Bull's back like a cape or something, the big man ploughing determinedly on as though he didn't even feel the extra hundred odd pounds of Perconte's weight.

That night, as she looked over the smoking ruins of Foy, she took a sigh of relief, feeling like the worst was over.

LINE BREAK

Easy Company wasn't taken off the line after Foy, no matter how much they might have deserved it. They were all exhausted and after everything they'd gone through – all the men they'd lost – Easy Company had been selected to join the assault on another Umbaran settlement.

Adding to the injustice, the Brass had planned for the attack to take place at noon.

"At least we aren't laying siege to the place," said Tracinya, thinking of the dreadful, anxiety filled wait they'd had before attacking Foy and the shellings they'd had to endure.

It didn't make her, or anyone else, feel better.

The mist finally decided to come out the morning of the attack. The snow on the ground was knee deep.

Soon the plan came down from on high. Apparently, the plan was for Easy Company to trudge through the snow, through the half-mile open field, in full range of the Umbaran artillery and attack the town head on. At high-noon.

Suicide came to mind.

Luckily, Santiago had a plan.

"If this works," said Santiago as he addressed Easy Company's NCOs. "It should render the Umbarans advantages moot."

The Umbarans had the high ground, again, and had camouflaged their tanks with the settlements buildings and the like, in addition to their idiotic attack time, meant that things weren't looking up for Easy Company.

Santiago explained his plan.

He had to explain it again.

"We're going to what?" Lieutenant Pierce asked incredulously.

Tracinya shared a look with Malarkey.

Out of respect for the man, Tracinya didn't question the Captain's plan, despite how crazy it sounded. If it worked it would be a brilliant strategy, completely unexpected, and yes, eliminating the overwhelming Umbaran advantage.

And ultimately, Tracinya was willing to follow Santiago through hell. Following him through Umbara would be a piece of cake.

Easy Company joined the rest of Second Battalion and formed one long, single-file line. This all but eliminated the impediment of the snow.

It was also extremely dangerous. One lucky hit from the Umbarans could wipe out the whole battalion.

The Captain found a deep shoulder in the terrain, running parallel to their assigned approach line. He led the battalion along, Easy Company at the fore, using the ridge to help camouflage the long column as they moved forward, miraculously finding more and more cover the closer they got to the town.

Tracinya glanced over at First Battalion only once.

First was attacking the Umbarans about 400 yards to Second's left, taking direct fire from the Umbaran's artillery. Dozens of men were flung into the air at once, coming down in pieces if they weren't completely incinerated in the blast.

They were being slaughtered.

They probably wouldn't even be all found until spring.

The nervous knot in her stomach got tighter at the fate that awaited them if the Umbarans cottoned on to their plan. Even still, she was utterly grateful for Santiago's madcap scheme because otherwise Second would be right there being blown apart with First.

They kept moving.

She tried to put the constant, heavy fear of discovery to the back of her mind, focusing solely on the man in front of her, Luke, back as she tried to keep low and keep up.

It was a long tense march as they skirted their way around the southeast corner of the town, intending to attack the Umbarans from the rear.

By some miracle, they managed to circle the town without being detected as night offically fell.

There was just one more hurdle: a stretch of open ground, edged with a stream, between them and a prime position to attack.

Brrrrrrrrrrrrt!

Tracinya ducked, biting her lip to keep from screaming in terror as a Umbaran machine gun opened fire on them, peppering the front of the column as they tried to sneak across the open gap.

Santiago acted quickly, setting up two of Easy's light machine guns to provide covering fire. When the Umbarans fired, Santiago had their guns give a return burst to cover groups, roughly eight to ten men at a time, across the open ground and the stream on the other side.

Tracinya waited for her turn, watching anxiously as her friends raced across the gap, holding her breath until they'd made it across. Each group that made it across safely just ratcheted up the tension that the next group wouldn't be so lucky.

When it was her turn she took a deep breath.

Luke was running with her.

They could make it.

"Go!" ordered Santiago.

Tracinya didn't need telling twice. She ducked down and ran like hell anticipating the hot plasma of a bolt searing through her with every pounding footstep.

She nearly slipped into the stream, the rocks slick under her snow caked boots.

Luke seized her arm as soon as she started flailing, though, and hauled her across.

Safe behind cover, she sagged. "Thanks," she said looking up at Luke, who was also breathing heavily after the mad sprint.

"Anytime, Trace," he said with a smile.

Tracinya was, once again, glad she had Luke looking out for her.

When everyone had run across, they reassembled and Tracinya realized that somehow they had made it through the whole ordeal without a single loss or injury.

Somehow, Santiago's crazy, suicidal, scheme had saved them all.

It was some of the best leadership and tactics Tracinya had ever seen, let alone been a part of, and solidified her trust in Santiago.

She would never question him – not even privately – again.

By dark, wringing wet with sweat and freezing in the snow, Second Battalion waited in the freezing cold to launch the final assault on the Umbarans at dawn.

Their flanking mission was a success. For some reason, the Umbarans on the machine gun never managed to communicate that some of the Orionians had managed to make it to the southern side of town. As a result, the Umbarans were still oriented to the north, where all the Orionian attacks had come from for the past few days, and were completely disoriented when Second Battalion attacked from the rear.

Come dawn there was a heavy firefight before the Umbarans – despite having tanks and superior numbers – withdrew around noon.

Tracinya would remember none of it – lost as another firefight for another town with little to no actual value apart from the ever moving quest to go forward and rout the Umbarans – but the tactics from the night before would remain with her for the rest of her life.

* * *

Two days after they'd taken Foy, they learned that showers and a breather would have to wait yet again. Instead, they took a town, the Umbarans fleeing as soon as the Orionians reached the village proper after moderate resistance on the approach.

Victorious, the exhausted Easy Company bunked down in town hall. It was the first time Tracinya had slept inside a building in over three weeks.

Tracinya took a moment and prayed. She thanked Force that she'd made it, and thanked it for every single person in Easy Company who'd survived. She asked it to watch over those who'd passed and welcome them. They badly deserved the rest.

The mood was relaxed. They were going to be taken off the line tomorrow, they said. Back to showers and actual food. And, for tonight, they were inside.

She lay down on a pew for a few moments and closed her eyes, only to sit up and cough, hard and loudly. Damn, she'd thought her stupid cough had gone away. She lay back again, panting, and had to sit up to cough again. She tried to muffle it, but the guys around her, particularly Lieutenant Speirs sitting in front of her, turned to stare. She turned away, but she could still feel his piercing eyes on her.

She tried to suppress her coughing, at least while Fernanda was here, but after leaving her alone for most of an adrenaline filled day, the choking spasms gripped her hard now that she was resting.

Fernanda sat down beside her, pulling her close with a gentle arm and rubbing soothing circles into her back to calm her down. After another long minute of fighting to breathe, she collapsed against her warm chest, trying to ignore the tears no doubt lining her cheeks.

When she recovered enough to actually think about the rest of the world again, she found herself looking into the eyes of Lieutenant Speirs. "You all right there, Sergeant?" he asked.

"Yes, sir," she said. "Sorry, Ann," she said, blinking tiredly as she leaned into her to brace herself and push backwards to sit on her own. Tracinya pushed her away from her gently and leaned back into the pew. _Looks like I'm sleeping sitting up tonight_ , she thought, smiling tiredly at the man.

The man took this as she meant it, and let her go. He left her to attend to their new CO. She watched their interactions through hooded eyes as exhaustion dragged at her.

Speirs looked awkward as he stuffed a paper, Fernanda's report, into his pocket. "I've got to get this up to Battalion before they disappear."

"Yes, sir," said Fernada, eyeing the man, probably debating whether or not to try and speak with him.

Speirs caught Fernanda staring, "What is it?" he asked.

She immediately pretended she hadn't been caught out, "Nothing, sir."

Tracinya stopped herself from rolling her eyes. Men.

"You want to ask me, don't you?" said Speirs as he gathered his stuff together.

"Ask you what, sir?" said Fernanda with a disarming smile.

"You want to know if they're true or not, the stories about me." Fernanda didn't deny it. "You ever notice with stories like that, everyone says they heard it from someone who was there, but then if you ask that person, they say they heard it from someone who was there. It's nothing new really. I bet if you went back two thousand years, you'd hear a couple of Centurions standing around yakking about how Tertius lobbed off the heads of some Carthaginian prisoners."

"Well, maybe they kept talking about it because they never heard Tertius deny it?"

"Well, maybe that's because Tertius knew there was some value in the men thinking he was the meanest toughest son of a bitch in the whole Roman Legion."

"Like keeping all his cigarettes," interjected Tracinya, voice pitched in as close to a whisper as her sore throat allowed.

Speirs gave her a small smile, or maybe his lip twitched, she wasn't sure in the candle light and wasn't brave enough to call him on it either way.

"Yes," said Speirs. "And not having to deal with drunken, insubordinate, officers on duty."

"I hate drunk people," offered Tracinya, filter off now that her body was halfway asleep. Fernanda grabbed a blanket from thin air and laid it over her, tucking her in.

"Go to sleep, Sergeant Vizsla," chided Fernanda.

"Yes, sir," she agreed and let her head roll away from their direction. Up for trying to sleep, even if she didn't think she'd be able to.

* * *

 _2623 25th August Earth Standard Calendar, SGT Fernanda, Umbara_

Fernanda turned back to Speirs to find the man watching them carefully. The man jerked his head, and Fernanda followed Speirs a few yards away from Tracinya to keep from disturbing her.

"Is she all right?"

Fernanda shrugged. "She's not admitting to it, but I don't think so."

"How much do you know about her?"

Fernanda shrugged again, embarrassed this time. "A lot I think. Well enough to know that she'd say anything to stay with the men."

She took a deep breath, her own lungs twinging in a protest that she viciously squashed. The last thing she needed was to start coughing too.

"I just hope the men don't believe the rumours about me. It would make my job difficult."

"Just so you know, these men aren't really concerned about the stories. They're just glad to have you as our CO. They're happy to have a good leader again."

"Including you, First Sergeant?" It felt like Speirs was assessing her.

"Yes, sir," said Fernanda.

"Well from what I've heard they've always had one," said Speirs, looking hard at Fernanda's face. "I've been told there's always been one person they could count on. Led 'em into the thick of the fight, held 'em together when they had the crap shelled out of them in the woods. Everyday kept their spirits up. Kept the men focused, gave them direction. All the things a good combat leader does." He paused, searching for recognition on Fernanda's face. He seemed pleased when he didn't find any. "You don't have any idea who I'm talking about do you?"

"No, sir," said Fernanda. The only candidate she could think of was Tracinya, who'd bounced from foxhole to foxhole but Speirs had said person. Bull would have fit before he left, but if there was such a perosn still with them, Fernanda was kicking himself for not noticing him.

"Hell, it was you First Sergeant," Speirs said, cracking a grin. "Ever since Santiago made Battalion, you've been the leader of Easy Company." Speirs began to walk away, but turned back quickly as a thought entered his mind. "Oh and ah, you're not going to be a first sergeant for long, First Sergeant," said Speirs with the same smile.

"Sir?" They were demoting her? After that speech?

"Santiago put in for a battlefield promotion and Sink approved on your behalf. You should get the official nod in a few days. Congratulations, Lieutenant." Speirs grinned and walked away, his boots clacking loudly on the tiled floor.

Fernanda went back to Tracinya and sat down next to her, unsurprised when she leaned into her shoulder again.

"Congratulations, Lieutenant," she rasped, looking up at him with a grin. She smiled down at her and ruffled her hair.

It didn't take long for her to fall asleep like that, propped up on her.

Fernanda found that she didn't mind at all.

* * *

 _25032 Galactic Standard Calendar, Tracinya Vizla, Umbara_

The next morning, Tracinya found out that they were bound for FOB Frost at the rear for a breather. It was off the front line, they were no longer spearheading the advance, but leave would have to wait again.

At least they were in trucks. She sat squished between Samuel and Diego in one up front, shoulders up to her ears as she shivered, freezing even though it wasn't snowing anymore and by all accounts the day was far warmer than it had been when they were in the woods. The draft from the slowly moving truck made her tremble. She'd kept the blanket from Fernanda and tried to get a bit more sleep but it was useless. Each bump and jerk the truck jolted her entire body. She already ached, but if the driver didn't take it easy, she was going to throw up. And she'd just had the first warm food she'd had in a month, thanks-very-much.

"Hey!" called Samuel, scaring the shit out of her. She hadn't been paying attention to him, or what he was talking about with Fernanda. "Hey!" he called again to the men outside the truck.

"Whadda ya want?" one of the guys walking below shouted back.

Tracinya spared them a glance, First Battalion.

"Yeah, thanks for crapping in our foxholes, ya shitheads," grumbled Samuel

"Hey, it was our pleasure!" the man saluted.

"Enjoy the walk boys!" taunted Bull from across from her.

Tracinya's laugh turned into a cough. Diego pounded her on the back. She leaned over the side of the truck to spit out the goop in her mouth and caught sight of Samuel giving Fernanda a cigarette. _Huh_ , she thought. _When did that happen?_ As far as Tracinya knew, Fernanda didn't smoke. Something must've changed.

"There they go!" she heard one of the First Battalion guys say, "Easy Company, riding out again."

* * *

 _Extract from the book 'The Orionian Invasion' by_ _Kryv'szella'varr, detailing the impacts of the O.A.G. on the galaxy._

 _'The Orion Arm Government or Orion Arm Republic as it is known today had many impacts of the galaxy we live in today. As expected it's military doctrines and weaponry surprised the galaxy and the Clone Wars showed just how effective and efficient its war machine was. It's economy boomed with the new trade partners with its specialists goods and products. And later with the discovery of the Great Western Hyperlane that connected Empress Teta to the Orionian fortress world of Eylsium, even greater trade and exploration became possible. But all the unexpected impacts the most surprising was cultural impact the Orionians had. Orionian music, art, film, video games, computers and literature was new fresh and exciting to the galaxy. The upper class elites enjoyed reading the great Orionian authers like Shakespear. While the working class enjoyed the 'Hollywood blockbusters' to use an Orionian saying. Orionian fashion became popular due to its various clothes rather than the usual robes, gowns and basic leatherwork garments worn throughout galactic history. Children wanted the latest Orionian video games and consoles. Aristocrats and politicians chasing after Mozart and Beethoven. The Orionians wrangled their way to all aspects of media and culture to the point it was considered fashionable and cool to be like, live like and act like the mysterious Orionians. The Orionian soldiers that fought during the Clone Wars helped export their media further by talking about their music, art and literature and even handing it over to other combatants they fought alongside._

 _Orionian food and drink started to dominate the market. Foods like Pizza, burgers, Foie-gras and other foods and recipes unseen before became common place. Fast-food chains and restaurants opened up and became immensely popular among the working and middle classes. Drink brands like Coca-Cola, Schweppes, Carlsburg, Jack Daniels and other alcoholic/non-alcoholic beverages flooded market and out competed man of their competitors. I'll go more in depth about their effects in a moment but the bottom line is the Orionians started to dominate media, culture and people consumables._

* * *

 **A/N: This chapter is homage to the HBO series Band Of Brothers, one of my favourite TV series. Also the reason I turned Umbara into a more snowy/frozen world is because it annoyed me that even though Umbara was a world in eternal darkness where there was no sunlight and it frustrated me that there wasn't anything like that when everyone goes on about what would happen to earth with no sun or limited sun, so I decided to change that.**


	30. Vandyne

The First Contact War

Chapter 30

Vandyne

 _"The goal in life's journey is not to arrive safely at your gravesite in a well-preserved body…._

 _It's to slide in sideways, totally worn out screaming holy shit… What a ride!"_

 _2623 30th September, Sargent Claire 'Hex' Darnell, Vandyne_

"What a hellhole…" Hex sighed out loud to herself as she reload the SA-20 assault rifle, snapping the magazine back in with her palm. She held the weapon up and looked through the scope, moving forward and once again tripping over some form of debris. She grumbled loudly and stumble forward, looking back at the offending object on the ground with annoyance. This time some sort of locker door was to blame. The hinges were singed where it had once attached itself to the locker, the rest of it charred beyond recognition.

Hex moved forward down the hallway with her rifle raised, checking corners as she attempted to locate the rest of Anvil, her squad. They had unfortunately been separated when running away from pursuing Separatist Special Forces, the ones who were after the intelligence they obtained in the Vandyne capital, where she was now. As for a specific location, well…that would be a very rundown building in the middle of a town overlooking the capital city.

Hex turned the corner and cautiously approached a slightly opened door. She reached forward with her left hand and pushed it open, jumping back when a group of birds flew out in a hurry. She flinched when a few sets of wings struck her head and then cracked an eye open when the noise subsided. She kept moving forward into the room and then into a conjoining room, lowering her weapon a bit when she reached another hallway. She frowned when she began to wonder if radio silence was really a good idea when they would all be split up like this. Hex kicked a piece of concrete and watched it hit a wall as it sailed down the hallway, settling in a mound of dirt near another set of lockers. This was a school. A group of destroyed desks sat in a corner around piles of more rubble and destruction. Likely from O.A.A.F. bombing raids that used a mixture of dumb, smart and EMP munitions. It made sense seeing as Vandyne was one of the more industrialised Separatist planets.

She kept moving forward into another set of rooms, her rifle rising once again when she heard muffled voices on the other side of a closed door. She took cautious steps toward the door and then stopped, placing her ear near the door in an attempt to recognize the voices. When she couldn't make any of them out, Hex took the next best step and prepared to open the door. She straightened up and readied her rifle, reaching a hand out to push open the door only to have it forcefully opened from the other side.

"Surprise motherfucker!" Hex was grabbed by the top of her Plasmaproof vest and pulled forward, her eyes shutting tight in defence as a handgun was placed close to her temple. Hex opened her eyes and frowned, coming face to face with Clayton Miles, the field medic. He stared at her for a moment in complete shock before opening and closing his mouth a few times.

"Now would be a good time to put me down, Miles." She shot an annoyed glance at Miles as he lowered Hex to the ground, reaching a hand out to pat down the front of her vest.

"Jesus, Hex. I almost shot you in the face." Miles looked down at the ground as he adjusted the beanie on his head in embarrassment. Hex shook her head at him as she readjusted her gear. "I knew giving you a gun was a bad idea. What are you? Twelve?"

Miles looked up at Hex as she smirked at him. Miles was twenty-seven, but his boyish face kept him young aside from the usual wear and tear of war. That was what really showed in his tired eyes. Hex reached a hand out and pushed the beanie he wore down over his face, rubbing it in a little. He slapped her hand away and readjusted the beanie as another man walked into the room, taking one look at Miles and then at Hex.

"Hex, I thought Irish was with you?"

"I thought he was with you, Sir." She watched Sergeant Graham Dunn paced in front of a row of windows before sighing loudly, wrapping a hand around the radio attached to his vest. "I'm breaking radio silence."

Hex tapped a finger to her radio to make sure it was still in full function as she walked forward towards the window where Dunn was standing. She felt a twinge of pain tug at her ankle and grimaced, limping a few steps before regaining her composure. She felt a hand grab her left bicep and looked back to see Miles looking down at her ankle.

"Did you sprain it? You're limping." Before she could stop him he bent down and began feeling around her shin and ankle, her hand reaching out to grab the front of his vest and pull him up. "It's fine. I just stumbled about sixty-two times, but I can survive with a little bit of pain."

Miles shot Hex an unconvinced look and shrugged. "If you say so, Darnell."

He turned away from Hex and walked towards Dunn, her face contorting into a look of annoyance. "You know I hate when you use my surname. You sound like my mother when I did something that she considered bad," Hex blinked hard once and then walked over to the window beside the one Miles was positioned at. "I'd like to not go back there."

She saw Miles glance at her from her peripheral vision, looking as though he was about to say something when Dunn's voice rose. "Irish! Get the hell out of there!"

Miles and Hex both shot their gazes to Dunn who was beginning to tear off boards that had been nailed to the windows. "Get these boards off and get ready to shoot. Irish is across the street and coming this way with some friends."

Miles and Hex both turned to their respective windows and began tearing boards down. There was a commotion across the street from their building and then screaming could be heard. Hex bent down to a knee and switched to her other gun, an MK13-MOD 0.

"Irish get your ass over here!" Dunn yelled down towards the street where Irish could be seen stumbling out of an alleyway with two men running after him. Irish fired a few rounds behind him while he ran, the two men scattering to cover as Irish once again stumbled to the ground. Hex squinted through the scope and aligned it with where one of the men was hiding, waiting for him to poke his body out. Rounds sounded from next to her as Miles shot at the wall where the second man was. The bullets bounced against the wall and a few more civilians scattered. The man she was focused on responded to the firing of Mile's weapon and stuck his body out from cover. Hex smirked and then pulled the trigger, watching the man bend backwards from the force of the plasma hitting his head.

"Damn." She heard Miles laughing lightly from beside her, never ceasing his fire on the second man.

"Let's go Irish!" Dunn shouted angrily down at Irish who was still firing his weapon haphazardly at the man still standing. A garbage can being knocked over caught her attention and she pointed her gun towards the sound, seeing two more men running towards a speeder as cover. They began raining fire on Irish as he ran.

"Two on the left!" Miles yelled out as he downed another man, Dunn aiming at the one closest to him behind the speeder. He fired a few rounds and hit him, the body falling to the ground limply. The remaining man stood straight up and once again began firing at Irish, his gun stalling and then jamming as Hex focused on him.

"Got 'em." Hex pulled the trigger and the man fell flat on his back. Miles sighed and then stood up, watching as Dunn motioned for Irish to come to the window. Hex strapped the MK13 onto her back and then stood straight, grabbing her SA-20 as Dunn pulled Irish into the room, his breathing hard. He placed his hands on his hips and stood up, looking at all of them. "Thanks."

"Just be glad you weren't killed," Dunn crossed his arms and then looked between Miles and Irish. "What happened?"

Both men hesitated for a moment before Miles spoke up, a hand going to the back of his neck. "I think we got separated when we turned into a back alley. I turned around and Irish wasn't behind me."

"Yeah, there was a Commando clanker waiting in a corner and it forced me to turn down another alleyway to avoid gunfire." Irish finished for Miles as Dunn listened to them, his face remaining neutral.

"Alright," Dunn nodded at the two men and then grabbed his weapon from beside the window, reloading it. "At least now we can get out of here and back to the Prowler."

Dunn nodded at all of them and then made his way into an adjoining room. Miles followed behind Dunn and Hex walked forward towards Irish, patting a hand on his arm. He looked down at her with a slight smile and then straightened up, following Hex out of the room.

"We'll head to the extraction point immediately. We have the intel and that's all that matters right now." Dunn spoke as he continued to lead the squad down a long hallway, his gun raised at the ready in case more Separatist forces decided to show up. The end of the long hallway opened up into a sort of courtyard. It looked exactly like the inside of the school: destroyed and sullen.

"We'll cut through here. The dropship should be close to our location in a building not too far off." Dunn jumped down a short drop into the courtyard, Miles following behind him.

"More walking…" Hex heard Irish grumble from behind her and smirked, jumping down into the courtyard with a thud. As soon as Irish's feet hit the ground behind her a few men ran out from the doors to their right, gunfire soon following. All of them ducked behind concrete structures, returning fire. A few of the men fell quickly leaving two of them to duck behind pillars.

"Sync shot, Irish!" Hex yelled over towards Irish and aimed towards the man closest to her. "Take the one on the left. On my call!"

"Got it!" Irish raised his weapon towards the man closest to him, flinching slightly when a few bolts scraped the top of his concrete cover. Hex looked between both men and as soon as they both appeared from cover to fire she yelled out to Irish. "Now!"

Various shots rang out and the two men fell to the ground, the room once again going quiet. Hex lowered her gun and then looked around, standing up when she realized no one was left. Dunn nodded at Irish and Hex.

"Nice one, Hex, Irish," They nodded back at him as he looked around the open atrium. "Let's keep going."

Hex began walking forward ahead of the group as Dunn contacted the orbiting cloaked Prowler again. Hex stepped over a few more destroyed concrete structures towards a room with broken out windows. She stuck her gun through the door first, head peeking around second. She went to take another step when gunfire rang out again, shattering what was left of the windows. Hex smashed herself up against the wall, looking around the frame at a few stragglers. She aimed her gun at a few of them, taking them down quickly. Gunfire shot through the window and took down the last of the men, Dunn sticking his head through the window and looking down at the bodies when the coast was clear. He looked up and then towards Hex, raising an eyebrow. She slowly met his gaze and then smiled. "Uh, my bad. Probably should have stayed with the group."

Dunn remained silent as Irish and Miles came up behind her, Irish reaching out to punch her in the back of the shoulder. "Good going. Nice shots too."

He smirked at Hex as he walked past, Miles smiling broadly as he followed behind. She shot an annoyed glance after them as they all moved forward, this time as a group. They walked down another hallway towards a hole in the ground, all of them jumping through it into a small room in the basement.

"A dead end," Dunn walked up to the wall at the back of the enclosed room, reaching a hand out to feel over it. "The extraction point should be on the other side of this wall."

He stepped back and then looked at Hex, nodding. "Alright. Make it sing."

Hex smirked at his order and then reached back into a pack, grabbing some C17 and a detonator. She walked forward and planted the explosives on the wall, walking quickly back to the group.

"Fire in the hole!" Hex yelled out to the group before pressing her thumb into the button, turning her head as the wall exploded with a loud bang. Dust and small debris flew towards them and when the dust settled sunlight was pouring into the dim room.

"Wonderful. Let's go." Dunn took the lead once again and hopped over the now destroyed barrier out into an expanse of trees and brush. They moved forward until they came to a clearing on a ledge overlooking a vast area of completed and semi-complete skyscrapers and factories.

"There should be a building towards the centre. That's where our extraction point will be," Dunn looked over the buildings and then reached for a tactical visor attached to his vest, handing it towards her. "Hex, scan the area."

She nodded at him as she took the visor, kneeling down with the rest of the squad. She set her gun down by her side and slipped the visor over her eyes, turning it on. Hex looked out over the area and noticed a few hostiles patrolling a small area just in front of them. She brought her gaze to one of the centre buildings, which happened to be a semi-complete structure, and got the extraction coordinates. "I found our target."

She flipped the visor up and looked over at Dunn, pointing in the direction of the building. The squad followed her finger and looked at the building, Dunn nodding and smiling. "Good. Let's try and get over there without attracting too much attention."

"That seems to be a problem recently." Miles made a face and chuckled as Dunn and Irish took the lead, sliding down the short drop from where they were perched. Hex looked at Miles and shook her head, walking towards the edge. "Maybe just for you. You seem to make the most noise and attract the most attention," Hex looked back before jumping down the ledge, holding a finger to her chin. "Or maybe they're just attracted to the smell of fresh medic."

She smirked at Mile's scowl and jumped down from the ledge, looking back up to find Miles jumping down. He landed next to her and frowned, pushing her with enough force to make her stumble. "Remember you said that the next time you have a blaster bolt lodged in your chest and you can't breathe."

Hex frowned and followed behind Miles towards the cover that Irish and Dunn were stationed behind, hunching down to survey the three hostiles in front of them. Hex looked at the group and motioned to each one. "They're all stationed far enough apart that stealth will easily take care of them. If you guys stay here and cover me I can get it done."

Dunn looked over at Hex and nodded, raising a finger in the air and motioning in a circle. "Take points, gents. Hex will take the hostiles."

Dunn and Miles took to the left side as Irish and Hex moved to the right. She quickly started towards a hostile standing near a gate, staying hunched down and keeping a close eye on the two other hostiles. Irish took his place behind a piece of large pipe and nodded at her to move forward. She crept up behind the first hostile, pushing her gun to the side as she reached for her knife, unsheathing it and holding it at the ready. Hex walked up behind the man and slipped a hand over his mouth, bringing her knife quickly to his throat and shoving it in, twisting it a bit to make sure he wasn't going to get back up. The body struggled in her grip a bit as she slowly lowered it to the ground, unhinging the knife from his throat and then moving on.

Irish followed behind once again as she moved towards another hostile just to the left of the first. She moved quickly and overstepped a slight ledge, coming up behind the man and repeating the same actions. She slid the body to the ground and then moved towards the last. Hex walked swiftly up behind him and then froze immediately when he glanced behind him, whipping around towards her and shouting out something in Vandyne. He hit a button on a radio positioned on his collar, screaming into it as a plasma bolt struck his head. She relaxed as the body fell to the ground and turned around to see Irish, Miles, and Dunn quickly running towards her.

"Did he call in backup?" Dunn looked at Hex and she shook her head. "I don't know. He was screaming in Vandyne, but if I could make a guess I would say he started to."

"That means be on alert. They could already be moving in-" A flurry of blaster bolts whizzed past Dunn's head and they all ducked down, scattering to cover. Hex slammed her back against a concrete structure and peeked over it, seeing a group of hostiles making their way into the area on trucks.

 _"I've got you covered, Anvil. Give me some targets."_ A voice came over the radio as a large dropship flew overhead, kicking up dust as it flew towards the building where their extraction point was located.

"Nice timing, Firebird. Aim for the trucks just ahead of us." Dunn spoke into his radio and Firebird gave the okay, hovering just a few feet before the hostile group. 30mm plasma rounds rained down on the group, taking out all of the first wave of men.

 _"I'm picking up a lot more heat signatures heading your way. I'll keep you covered."_ Firebird took flight once again and flew higher above the area. Dunn stood up and threw his arm out in front of him. "Move now!"

Irish, Miles, and Hex all stood up and made a b-line for another group of large pipes that could be used for cover, skidding to a stop behind them as another wave of hostiles moved into the area. Hex peeked around the pipe and was met with a flurry of bolts hitting the pipe just next to her head, her body snapping back to cover behind the concrete structure. She looked to her left and saw Miles firing at the hostiles from behind a broken concrete blockade. She made the decision that he had the advantage from the side and from behind a more solid form of cover.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit!" Hex sprinted over to where Miles was positioned, shots just missing her form. Hex jumped and skidded behind the cover Miles now had his back up against, slamming into him a bit as she stopped.

"Nice seeing you here." Miles looked at her and smirked, her head shaking in response.

"No time for pleasantries. We're in the middle of a gunfight." Hex smirked back at him before peeking over the concrete slab, firing towards a group of hostiles. Two of them went down and the other bolted for another location, Miles taking him down as he ran. Miles smirked and looked at her. "I'm almost as good a sharpshooter as you are now, Hex."

Hex looked at him and began to smile. Her smile faltered when she saw another hostile running towards them from behind Miles, his gun up and ready. Hex grabbed the front of Miles' vest and pulled him towards her, holding her gun out behind him and firing a few rounds into the man. He fell to the ground lifeless as she sighed, sitting back on her butt as Miles stared over at the body.

"Jesus." He let out a breathy sigh of relief as he looked at her, her eyes going up towards the sky.

"Firebird, can you see the group in front of us?" Hex spoke into her radio as she darted her eyes around the sky looking for the dropship.

 _"Already on it, Hex."_ Firebird could be heard descending from the sky, hovering once again in front of the group of hostiles. Plasma rained down and took out the remainder of the hostiles, leaving a clear path towards their extraction point. _"I'll meet you at the top."_

With that, Firebird took to the sky again, hovering around the top of the building. They all began moving quickly towards the building, continuously scanning the wide open area for more enemies. When they reached the building they slowed down a bit, heading towards a lift in the back of a hallway overrun by weeds and other plant life.

"This shit is the best way up?" Irish's voice rang out and broke the silence, the scepticism apparent in his voice.

"It's the fastest and we don't have time to explore any other options, Irish." Dunn slapped Irish on the back as he walked past him onto the lift, the rest of them filing in behind. Irish leaned over the railing and looked up, his face scrunching. "I can't wait to see the terrace view at the top."

Miles snorted and smirked from beside him. "I expect to be blown away."

"Shut up and keep your eyes peeled." Dunn glared at both of the men and hit the button on the wall, bringing the lift to life. The lift began to rise rather quickly as they all stared out at the open land where they were in a gunfight just moments ago.

 _"Anvil, you got hostile air!"_ Firebird's voice once again lit up the radio and the panic that was present in the pilot's voice put all of them on guard, scanning the sky for a threat.

"Oh shit! Fuck!" Irish ducked down as a droid gunship came into view and began firing at the lift they were positioned on. The rest of them followed Irish's lead and took cover behind the short walls of the lift, the sound of heavy blaster bolts hitting the metal buzzing in Hex's ears. The sound between the gunship and the gunfire was deafening, forcing them all to keep their heads down as rubble and debris began to rain down. The lift suddenly began to rock and then disconnected from the wires on one side, tilting the car and forcing them to slide out onto a higher floor.

"We're some lucky goddam bastards!" The entire lift disconnected from its wires and fell a few stories to the ground as Irish yelled out at them, motioning for the squad to move. "Get up, get up, get up!"

The rest of them scrambled to their feet and ran towards a staircase that led to another floor. The gunship began shooting at them once more, bolts causing sparks as they hit metal beams in the small hallway they were running down.

"Fuck!" Hex felt a shot graze the back of her thigh and she stumbled a bit, regaining her composure and keeping up a steady pace with the squad. They ran up the stairs and into a large room with windows, the gunship keeping pace with them and hovering outside.

"I think this is the top floor!" Dunn yelled out over the noise of the gunfire, looking around and ducking behind some random structures. They all ducked down behind various structures as Firebird once again came over the radio. _"Anvil actual, where the hell are you!"_

"Top floor, running!" Dunn screamed into his radio as an explosion rocked the building, causing a structure collapse on the far end of the room and leaving a makeshift ramp leading to the roof.

"Get to the roof!" Dunn yelled over the gunfire once again and they all made a run for the ramp, stumbling up towards the roof. The gunfire ceased for a moment as they emerged into open air, Firebird coming into view at the far end.

 _"Move, move, move!"_ Firebird yelled over the radio as they moved towards the dropship, the sound of a gunship coming up on the left of them. The enemy gunship hovered by them for a bit before moving towards Firebird, beginning to fire in their direction right before they reached it.

 _"Shit, get everyone in here now! The building's unstable!"_ Firebird's desperate voice rang out over the radio again as chaos reigned. The building began to shake below their feet and then collapsed slightly, forcing all of them to the ground. Hex slid forward towards Dunn as Firebird began to lose control. She stared up in panic as the repulsers came down towards both of them, Firebird's panicked voice coming over the radio again. _"Shit! Back up! Back up! I've lost control!"_

Firebird got aligned just as it neared Dunn and Hex, flying over their heads with the enemy gunship right behind her. A large pillar creaked as it fell towards the building they were on, crashing into it and forcing the ground beneath them to collapse and drop all of them down to the floor below.

"The building is going fucking down!" Dunn screamed towards Hex as the floor collapsed once again, her body sliding on a slant towards the edge of the building. She attempted to grab at something to hold on to, but failed continuing to slide. Hex slid towards Dunn and he reached out towards her, her hand making a grab for his and missing. Hex slid uncontrollably towards the edge of the building and went over, grabbing the edge at the last minute and hanging on. She stared at the ground below her as her breathing got heavier, looking up just in time to see Dunn sliding off the edge. She made a grab for him with her free hand and caught his hand. Her arm strained to hold his weight above the ground below and She let out a cry of pain, looking up through watery eyes as a few concrete slabs began sliding towards her.

Hex's eyes went wide as the slabs hit the edge of the building and bounced off, chipping off the part that she was holding on to. Her body fell backwards and Dunn's hand slipped from hers, both of them falling a few stories to the ground as concrete rained down above them.

An explosion lit up above her before the world went black.

* * *

"Holy shit."

Hex cracked her eyes open when she heard a voice and squinted at the light around her. She blinked a few times before groaning, opening her eyes fully to take in where she was. A large slab of concrete was positioned on top of her body, but left just enough of a space at the bottom where Hex could see Irish coming towards her.

"Hold on, Hex," Irish grabbed for the slab, placing his hands underneath it. "Miles, any sign of Hawkins or the rest of the crew?"

"No one survived that!" She heard Miles' voice from somewhere nearby, but couldn't see him.

"Get Dunn away from the wreckage!" Irish yelled out towards Miles, motioning towards the direction she imagined Miles was in.

"I can't he's buried!" She listened to the panic and distress in Mile's voice and then felt her face fall. Dunn was buried.

"Try to get him out. I'm over here digging up Hex." Irish's voice took on a more calming tone, attempting to calm Miles in the process. Hex looked up at Irish again to see him grab the slab, lifting it with a grunt and then pushing it off to the side. He reached a hand out towards her and she grabbed it, allowing him to help lift her to her feet. When She stood and looked down at her body, assessing what damage she had or didn't have.

"Oh man, oh man…" Hex heard Miles' voice again and looked to her right, seeing him kneeling over Dunn who was pinned under a heavy slab of concrete.

"Jesus Christ, his leg looks like a popped sausage…" Irish walked over towards them and Hex cast her eyes down Dunn's body towards his legs when Irish said that. Her stomach turned at the sight of Dunn's right leg, bloody and deformed, underneath the slab. She walked quickly over to where they were positioned and kneeled down on the other side of Dunn, reaching out for his hand that was reaching for the air. He looked at her when she grabbed it, his conscious seemingly still disoriented.

"You're going to be fine, Dunn. We're going to get you out." Miles' voice was desperate as his eyes darted between Dunn's body and the concrete slab, trying to find an easy way to get Dunn out of his situation by causing the least bit of distress. Hex watched Miles stand up and quickly walk over to a pile of iron rods, grabbing one and then walking back over to Dunn. He shoved one end of the rod under the slab and tried to get leverage on it, poking it in different spots with the same failed result.

"Stop!" Irish's voice caught her attention and she looked behind her, seeing Irish yelling towards a silvery-blue speeder coming towards them. "Hex cover me!"

She let go of Dunn's hand and walked over towards the speeder, swinging her gun around from her back to the ready. Irish walked over towards the driver's side window, tapping on the glass with his gun. "Get out! Get out of here now!"

Irish and Hex both aimed their guns at the man as he exited the speeder, his arms raised above his head as he moved towards Irish. "Please! I help you, please!"

"No, you have to get out of here! Now!" Irish shoved his gun toward the man and he turned to run off. Irish shook his head and turned back to me. "Fucking civilians…"

"He was trying to help." Hex lowered her gun and looked towards Irish, seeing him shake his head once more and walk back over towards Miles and Dunn.

"Hex I need your knife…" She heard Dunn's strained voice and walked quickly back over towards him, kneeling down again.

"What for, Staff Sergeant?" Miles looked down at Dunn who kept his gaze on her, his hand reaching up again.

"We have to cut the leg..." Dunn looked hard at Hex as she stared at him. He nodded at her after a few moments and then looked between Miles, Irish, and herself. "A wolf in a trap will chew its own leg off to survive…"

Hex held on to Dunn's hand and placed a hand over his vest, seeing him yell towards her once again, this time with more authority present in his voice. "Come on! The bone's powder! It's just flesh and uniform keeping me here!"

She looked up at Miles to see him staring at her before Hex grabbed her knife, moving down towards Dunn's injured leg. She held the knife out in front of her and then looked back towards Dunn and Miles, seeing that Miles was now holding tight to Dunn's hand.

"Do it now!" Dunn yelled towards her and then put his head back. She brought her eyes back to the leg and brought the knife down. She felt the knife slice through what was left of tendon, bone, and flesh in his leg. A cry of pain sounded from Dunn and she cringed, throwing the knife to the side as soon as it had done its job.

"We have to go." Irish bent down on the other side of Dunn and grabbed underneath his armpit in an attempt to lift him up. Miles hesitated a moment when Dunn didn't respond to his shake, looking up between Irish and Hex. "Is he dead?"

"He's not dead, just passed out," Irish tried to reassure Miles as he began lightly dragging Dunn's limp body towards the speeder. "You're the combat lifesaver, man. You should know this, Miles."

Miles stared after Irish as he dragged the body, seemingly unsure of what to do. Hex reached a hand out towards Miles who just looked up at her. "Come on, man. We have to go."

He grabbed her hand and she pulled him to his feet, following after Irish towards the speeder where he was now pushing Dunn's body into the backseat. she looked back at Miles to see him mumbling to himself, looking around the area. "It was a three hour course…"

There was a sudden explosion to the left of them and it threw Hex off her feet. She groaned and rubbed the elbow that she had landed on, looking up to see the enemy gunship had made its way back to them.

"Let's go, let's go!" Irish was now screaming at everyone as he got into the passenger's seat of the speeder with Miles scooting into the backseat next to Dunn. Hex ran around to the driver's side and got in, slamming the door behind her and starting the speeder. She slammed her foot on the gas and the speeder jumped forward.

"Fortress, this is Anvil actual. We need another escape route. Do you copy?" Irish spoke into his radio as Hex drove the speeder back through the area where their first battle took place.

 _"Anvil, we're tracking you. There is another extraction point close to your location. Keep following the road three clicks west."_ Hex nodded at Irish when he looked at her, turning the speeder onto the main road with a loud whine of the engine.

"Oh shit, my leg. My wife's going to kill me." Dunn's groggy voice sounded from the backseat and Hex brought her gaze to the rear-view mirror, seeing him attempting to sit up.

"Stay down, Staff Sergeant." Miles placed his hands on Dunn's vest, pushing him back down into the seat.

"Where's the dropship?" Irish looked at her and she leaned forward to look at the sky above the car. "I don't know-"

As soon as the sentence left her mouth a row of explosions lit up the road in front of them. Hex swerved the car around the fiery aftermath and kept going, Irish reaching for his M303 grenade launcher. "We're going to need this."

"Can we shake it?" Miles leaned forward and placed his hands on the back of both her and Irish's seats, looking between the two. Irish glanced back at him. "Not fucking likely."

A short tunnel ahead gave them a brief moment of cover, but when they came out through the other side the gunship was nowhere to be seen.

"Do you see it? Where the fuck did it go?" Hex darted her eyes around the sky and the road in front of them. She kept driving, pushing her foot down farther on the gas to speed up in an attempt to outrun the gunship, which she knew was just a stupid thought.

"There it is! Get ready!" Irish pointed a finger in front of him, her eyes going towards the direction and seeing the gunship hover down above the ground right in front of them. It shot at the speeder a few times before Hex sped up more, rushing towards it and forcing it to pull away to the left of them.

"That was too close." Miles looked out of the window to his left as Irish held on tight to the M303 in his lap. Not soon after, the gunship was back in front of them and laying down fire. She looked up just in time to see another large explosion erupt right in front of the speeder. Hex swerved again and felt Irish grab the wheel in an attempt to steady the car. She leaned to her left and felt the driver's door give way, her hand reaching up in a desperate motion to grab the doorframe. Irish looked over at Hex as he kept his hand on the steering wheel, handing over the M303. "Burn those motherfuckers!"

Hex nodded at him as she grabbed the HE grenade launcher, holding it in her right hand and focusing it on the gunship that was behind them now. Hex steadied her aim and then took a shot, hitting the belly of the gunship as it flew back over them. It lost control and crashed in a heap right in front of the speeder.

"Son of a bitch!" Hex hauled herself back into the speeder as it began to lose control, both of her hands grabbing the wheel in an attempt to get back in control. The speeder swerved off of the road and towards the edge of land. Hex braced herself as the speeder hit a ditch, flipping itself over and rolling once before plunging headfirst into the ocean.

* * *

 _Turn around. Every now and then I get a little bit lonely and you're never coming round. Turn around…_

Hex cracked her eyes open and placed a hand to her forehead. She heard the beginning of the song Total Eclipse of the Heart coming through the speakers of the speeder and she wondered when they had turned the radio on. It was probably the new radio station, Radio Comet, dedicated to songs from the Orion Arm only. She sat up straighter and opened her eyes completely, looking around and realizing they were still in the speeder. Only this time they were upside down underwater.

"Man…I don't want to die to this song…" Hex looked to her left and saw Miles staring at the radio from the backseat. Next to him was Dunn, pinned in place by the passenger's seat. He looked at her and cracked a subtle grin. "Hey, Irish. Do you know what kind of fish they have in Vandyne?"

Hex looked over at Irish who was still next to her and he looked at Dunn, shaking his head. "Negative, Staff Sergeant."

She felt a wave of what felt like nausea wash over her and closed her eyes, a hand grabbing Hex's shoulder and shaking her back awake. She stared at Irish as he searched her face. "You conscious, Hex? Stay with me."

She nodded quickly at him as he retracted his hand. She brought her eyes back to Dunn, watching him attempting to shift his position underneath the seat. "Nice play, Hex. That was some of the finest driving I have ever seen. Right there until the end," Dunn's eyes cast upward onto Miles. "Hit the light, Miles."

Miles reached a hand out and hit the light switch in the middle of the car, illuminating the inside.

"This seat won't budge. You're pinned in." Irish shook the seat he was seated on and huffed, Miles looking at him and reaching a hand out to help.

"The last thing we would want to do in a situation like this is panic, Irish." Dunn spoke to Irish calmly, placing his hands over his chest.

"When you speak like that, man, you scare the crap out of me…" Irish made a face at Dunn, continuing to shake the seat gently in an attempt to break it free. "We'll get you free, Dunn, you hear me?"

Irish shook the seat harder this time. It still wouldn't budge as Irish swore under his breath. Hex brought her attention back to Miles, seeing him jiggling the door handle. "How are we going to get out? The doors are jammed shut."

Irish looked up at Miles and then at the door he was still attempting to open. "Shit…"

"This wasn't how it was supposed to happen Irish," Irish and Hex both looked back at Dunn to see him reaching around for his pistol, handing it out in front of him. "Hex, take my gun. It's yours now."

She reached a tentative hand out and took it, staring at Dunn. Irish looked between Dunn and her, shaking his head. "What are you thinking, Dunn? What the fuck are you thinking?"

"For the wolf to survive it's got to chew off its own leg," Dunn looked straight at her as she repositioned the gun in her right hand, unsure of what he was going to say next. "Fire! Break the windshield!"

Hex felt a hand roughly grab her right arm and she looked at a panicked Irish. "Negative! Don't do it!"

"Now, Hex! Shoot out the window!" Dunn's voice rose in an authoritative tone, his right fist slamming into the back of the seat he was pinned under. "That's an order!"

She stared at Dunn for a moment before nodding her head, turning back to the windshield and holding the gun out in front of her.

"Don't you fucking do it, Hex!" Irish's voice broke into her conscious and she looked at him, her face going grim and angry. "What choice do we have, Irish?"

"You save yourselves. Get the hell out of here…" Dunn voiced his last words and Hex looked at Irish before turning to the windshield, firing one round into the glass. The initial sound was loud, but was then drowned out by rushing water. The rest of the glass cracked under the pressure and she held her breath just as the water took over the interior of the speeder. she opened her eyes to see dark, murky water all around her. Hex felt a hand push on her back and looked behind her to see Miles motioning for her to go. She nodded at him before swimming out through the front windshield and then in a general upward direction. She saw the smallest amount of light coming through the surface of the water and she kicked her legs and arms as fast as she could. When she surfaced she took in a large gulp of air, sputtering and choking in the process. she gasped for air as she looked around, seeing a hand reaching down towards her.

"Sergeant Hex." She looked up at the owner of the hand and saw it was Irish on a rescue boat. She stared at him for a moment before grabbing his hand, allowing him to pull her into the boat. Hex coughed a few more times as she leaned on all fours on the solid ground of the boat, her eyes darting back up and around the boat. She crawled quickly to the edge of the boat and scanned over the surface of the water. "Where's Miles? He was right behind me!"

"Calm down, Hex. I'm sure he's fine." Irish grabbed her hand and hauled her to her feet, her eyes never leaving the water. A few moments passed before a large splash sounded from a few feet away, Mile's struggling form emerging from the water. One of the marines next to Hex reached a hand forward to pull Miles in and she moved towards him, pushing him out of the way as she leaned down and held a hand out. "Miles!"

He looked over towards her and coughed, beginning to swim towards the boat. When he reached her he grabbed her hand, her other hand reaching out to grab the back of his vest. She pulled him forward and out of the water, the weight of his soaking wet gear too much for her and forcing them both to fall backwards. He landed hard on top of her chest and she groaned, his own form beginning to cough up the rest of the water he had accidentally swallowed.

"Jesus, man, are you okay?" Irish walked over to them and pulled Miles' body off of her own, sitting him up. Miles looked up at Irish and nodded, his gaze coming back to her as she sat up on her butt. He placed a hand on her knee and patted, cracking a smirk. "Thanks. I owe you one."

"Don't ever make me think you drowned ever again and we can call it even." She shook her head at him and smiled back, placing her arms on the top of her knees to catch her breath.

"Ah, Anvil!" All three of them turned their attention towards Captain Garrison who was coming towards them. A broad, relieved smile was present on his face as he looked between all three of them. "We have much to discuss, but after seeing the condition of all of you, I'll let you get some rest first."

A sigh of relief made its way from her mouth and she saw Miles and Irish doing the same, their gazes turning towards the ground. She leaned back against the side of the rescue RHIB boat as it made its way quickly back towards their home ship. Hex leaned her head back and stared at the water, all of the previous events replaying in a blur through her mind as the other dropship touched down on the waters surface to take them to the awaiting Prowler in orbit.

* * *

 _2623 31st September Earth Standard Calendar, Supreme Commander of Orionian Forces Douglas Shapiro, Orionian Military Headquarters, Spire Base, Albion_

"Gentlemen, due to intelligence we managed to obtain yesterday from Vandyne, we now have uncovered a hyperlane that leads directly to the Separatist capital world of Raxus. We would pass several planets on the route that would need to be taken as well as launch a diversionary offensive to hide our intentions but we now have the capability to attack the Separatist capital and capture their parliament and deal a crushing blow. Which at the very least will end the war on the Eastern Front."

"So what's the plan." Asked General Wells, Commander of all Orionian forces on the Southern Front, Army Group C.

"Operation Flashpoint will take place on the 1st of January next year, giving us three months to prepare. A push will be made along the whole Eastern front with an emphasis on the south to divert Eastern front Separatist forces while the Intelligence Services will make it seem that the Eastern front offensive is a diversionary attack and the real one will come on the Northern Front. General Mathis, if you need to bring in more divisions to make the diversion a success then I can grant you another hundred."

"I'll see what I can do with what I have before I bring in more troops."

"That's all well and good, but the Separatists will notice a build up of our forces on a front which is controlled by the Republic and Mandalorians. How will we cover up the obvious build up." Inquired General Bahl, commander of all Northern Front Orionian forces, Army Group A.

"Simple, I've arranged for the Republic to take over the Southern Front in a months time and we will move most of Army Group C to their old positions and reinforce Army Group B. The 317th Legion, 12th Star Corps and 707th Attack Battalion will remain though. The 317th will be the Republic contingent that will assist our attack on Raxus and oversee and deals made with any Separatist captured leaders on the behalf of the Republic."

"How much of this Operation have we informed the Republic of?" asked General Wells.

"At this moment in time, none of it." answered Shapiro.

"And in future?" Asked General General Kym Lee of Army Group B and Eastern front Forces.

"The offensive on Raxus will be kept secret up to when the ships attacking Raxus enter Raxus space, at which point I will Inform the Chancellor and the Jedi Council."

"How many fleets are you going to need to make this Operation Flashpoint possible?" Asked Grand Admiral of the Fleet Ambridge.

"How many can you spare?" responded Shapiro.

"You want the new Carrier based fleets?"

"We have new Carrier based fleets?" asked Lee.

"Yes, the fleets consist of two Illustrious class carriers with fourteen Indomitable class frigates and three Acclamtors." the Grand Admiral answered.

"So we're shrinking the fleets then?"

"Yes, the super large fleets we had in defence of the Orion Arm aren't effective as large they are over the area they are used under the command of one Admiral so we're shrinking them to nineteen ships per Admiral."

"The Separatist Home Fleet consists of six Lucrehulk-class freighters, twelve Providence class Dreadnaughts, three Recusant-class destroyers and twenty Munificent-class frigates. With Thousands of Starfighters with one billion droids stationed on world. So we will need Seven fleets, eleven if possible at least." Deduced Shapiro.

"Will that be enough though? Even with eleven fleets and the hundred and twenty one divisions, it may be enough to defeat the Separatist fleet but will that be enough to take and hold the planet?"

"The objective is to capture as many Separatist leaders as possible and force them to surrender. And then we either have them surrender the planet, their planets or the Confederacy. If they refuse to surrender the planet the Navy will commence a orbital bombardment on all Separatist military and industrial targets then the Army will move in and secure the ground. And more troops can be brought in once the fleets secure domination of Raxus's orbit."

"And how will we ensure that as few as possible Separatist leaders escape?" inquired one of the Generals.

"ODSTs and other Special Forces will drop in and secure the Separatist Parliaments perimeter and any representatives' estates on world. Then when Army and Marine divisions arrive they will reinforce the ODSTs and other Special Forces as well as secure the capital Raxulon and surrounding area. Should the planet not surrender then all forces will move to crush the resistance wherever it remains." explained Shapiro.

"May I Suggest sending in the Praetorians," Intelligence Officer Schea stepped Forward, "So far they have been kept in reserve bar that run away one which is now serving in the 242. Why should we hold them back. They could easily infiltrate Raxus, kidnap the Separatist senators, destabilise the planet and escape before they were discovered."

"That may be true, but we are new to this galaxy. We joined this war to show our strength. Militarily, Economically and Politically to ensure our survival should the Republic not turn out to be a just, benevolent yet corrupt democracy. Or another threat emerges. The Praetorians are our secret weapon. One of the Aces we have up our sleeve. Why show them now when we don't need them beyond making the war easier for us."

"I'm not saying deploying the full three battalions but maybe a single squad or maybe equipping Vanguard with his old set of armour."

"He does have a point sir. Wouldn't they be more useful as an unknown mysterious threat than completely unknown?"

"I'll think about it."

"Glad to hear that sir." Schae said, a ghost smiling appearing on his face.

"Now then, back to the plan..."

* * *

 _Extract from the Daily Telegraph on 'Why was the Republic so successful as a political model for thousands of years'_

 _A large part of the Republic's long-term political stability is owed to the Jedi. The order provided a unique combination of power ambassadors/field agent/secret police to hold the Republic together and stave off many cataclysmic insurgencies.  
Another aspect of the Republic's long run may simply be that being "first to market" as it were made the other alternatives pale in comparison. If you're a world interested in long-term economic growth, are you going to tie your banner to the Republic or opt instead for the many Sith and smuggler empires that burnt out as quick they formed? By no means was the Republic a perfect political entity, but it benefitted from simply being the least despised option compared to all the other terrible options present in a dangerous galaxy._

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry for the wait for this one. The next chapter will have a Q &A so feel free to leave a question, either send me a PM or leave it as a review. **


	31. One Man's Freedom Fighter

The First Contact War Chapter 31

One Man's Freedom Fighter

" _It is the true duty of man to promote the happiness of his fellow creatures to the utmost of his power" William Wilberforce_

 _2623 20th November Earth Standard Calendar, Lt Luke Sparrow, Onderon_

Luke sat in the back of the Republic shuttle along with five Orionian Green Berets, all checking their gear. Due to the nature of their mission. To train an insurgency. They had to forgo their usual armour and weaponry. Instead they would be using the Republic's DC-15 carbine whilst retaining their original webbing. Rather than their multi-cam armour and clothing, they wore digital woodland camouflage fatigues with some light body armour and helmets that resembled the 21st century Ops-core FAST helmet but with a plexiglass visor. They all had a disposable jump pack provided by the Republic. They had been ordered to yet again assist Jedi Masters Obi-wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker and Jedi Knight Ahsoka Tano along with Captain Rex. All but Skywalker and Ahsoka having just come back from Umbara. Where General Krell had caused multiple blue on blue incidents and had gone on a rampage killing any clones he found until the 501st and 212th had him dealt with. Permanently.

"One-minute till drop." A clone pilot said as he walked towards to door access panel. Luke and the Green Berets stood up and waited for the ramp to open as the Jedi and Rex joined them. Luke felt the shuttle slow to a halt and the pilot lowered the ramp.

"Go, go ,go, go."

The Jedi were the first ones out followed by Rex and then the Orionians. The Jedi falling silently while the others activated their jump packs to slow their decent. Luke felt the cool night air around him as his decent slowed as he approached the ground. He could already hear the shuttle leaving above them.

As Luke hit the ground. His knees bent to help him land softly among the jungle. Already his sight was obscured by the thick native vegetation and the sounds of the night-life filled his ears. Anakin looked back at everyone to see that they were all right. After a moment, he gave a slight nod, put up his cloaks hood, and began to move. Kenobi and Ahsoka took to the trees while Anakin, Luke, Rex and the berets moved along the jungle floor, moving as quickly and quietly as possible, scanning for possible threats.

After a few minutes of walking a strange noise could be heard. Anakin kept on walking while Luke signalled for the rest to stop. Luke and the berets crouched down and raised their weapons scanning the jungle for the threat that was lurking out of sight. The origin of the noise made itself known when a woman atop a native creature appeared in front of Anakin brandishing a bladed weapon. It was too fark to make out the details. A few more unknowns appeared atop mounts surrounding them. Some with blasters, some with melee weapons. Each man drew a bead on a target encase things turned hostile. Rex lowered his weapon, waiting to see what his general to do.

Luke watched Anakin lower his cloaks hood a smile at the girl.

"You're the Jedi." She said with what was either a awed or relived tone. Ahsoka and Kenobi then chose to drop from out of the canopy next to two of the mounted rebels. Why they had decided on such dramatic entrances Luke had no idea.

"I'm Commander Tano, we're here to help you take back your planet."

"My name is Steela. I'll guide you to our secret base."

* * *

It took the rest of the night and into the early morning when the sun was up after hours of walking through the jungle. Steela had dismounted to lead them by foot. As they came to a clearing. She halted. Scanned the jungle and motioned them to follow again. Within the clearing, Luke could see the ruins of an arch and domed building which was missing a sizable portion of one of its walls. Looking around he could see nearly four dozen rebels. One was mounted on a giant bird-like creature and perched himself on top of the arch.

Luke noticed how in true rebel fashion, the Ondoran rebels armed themselves with various blasters from Republic to Separatist to independently made. Used various pieces of armour if they had any and seemed to be eyeing them suspiciously, not trusting the foreign aid sent to them.

"A bit rough around the edges wouldn't you say?" Asked Kenobi, eyeing the rebels.

"That's why I brought Rex, the good Lieutenant and the Green Berets he mentioned here."

"They're not exactly what I call shinies Sir but I can work with'em." Rex commented.

The man on the flying creature took off and swooped round to where they had stopped on the plaza and landed in front of them. He quickly dismounted before walking over to them.

"General Skywalker."

"At your service. This is General Kenobi. Commander Tano. Captain Rex and Lieutenant Sparrow and the Green Berets." Anakin said as each gave their own salute when mentioned, or bow in the case of the Jedi.

"We're look'in forward to taking the fight to those scrap droids."

"Yes, all in good time."

"Saw. Saw Gerrera."

"He fashions himself as our leader," Explained Steela, "though no one elected him." She finished hitting him playfully on the arm.

"Well for now, we're in charge. And there is much to learn."

* * *

The group now stood around the holo-projector at the centre of the ruined building. The rebels surrounding them. They had gathered around to watch the Jedi and soldiers give their first lesson on how to combat the droid army.

"The Separatists may strength in numbers, we're going to show how to target and destroy them." Skywalker began as Obi-wan stepped forward.

"Now to be clear, we are not here to fight your war. Rather to show you how to conduct it in the most efficient and successful way possible." The rebels nodded their heads in understanding. A few looked crestfallen that they would not receive aid from the Jedi and soldiers.

"Captain Rex." Skywalker said, motioning for Rex to come forward.

"I'm going to show you how the 501st destroy clankers. First, I'll need volunteers to carry our supplies at the entry point, a few clicks east from here."

"Shouldn't be a problem." Gerrera spoke up.

"Excellent." Rex said as Gerrera and a few others followed him.

"Sargent, go and assist Gerrera." Luke ordered, it would speed up the process.

"Yes sir. All right boys, you heard the captain. Let's go bring those supplies in." Sergeant Hartman ordered his four other Green Berets. Luke watched Ahsoka hurry over to the rebel called Lux, she had explained that Lux was a close friend of hers and had known him for a while.

"Lieutenant, I sense much unease from you." Master Kenobi said to him.

"I thought as a forceless being that was impossible?" Luke said as he turned to face Kenobi and Skywalker.

"That is true, but the force reacts to those in it's presence. While we can't sense you directly, we can sense the force's reaction to you. So, what is it that has you and your men on edge."

"Throughout our history both on Earth and more recently, we have problems with insurgencies. They were a real problem throughout the twentieth and twenty first century. They were armed, trained and fought proxy wars and sometimes turned on the nations that had sponsored them, leading to wars and deaths that never ended without a prolonged occupation that dragged on and on. Also, we spent the last half a century fighting the costliest and bloodiest insurgency in our history. Forgive us if we're not enthusiastic about creating a well-armed, well trained and well organised insurgency."

"You don't need to worry, these people are fighting for their freedom. They aren't about to attack your people." Comforted Skywalker.

"Funny, our politicians said the same thing, we'll just have to wait and see."

"How about we discuss what and how we will be teaching these rebels to fight against the Separatists." suggested Obi-wan.

"Indeed master Jedi, I recommended and brought the Green Berets for a reason after all."

* * *

"The pilot in the front hatch controls the tank, the shells and the short the short range blasters, the commander in the top hatch controls the turret and the main cannon. You have to take out both two chambers or else the tank will remain operational." Ahsoka explained while standing in front of a captured AAT and crowd of rebels. Luke and Rex stood next to the left of the tank behind Ahsoka ready to step in when she needed them. Giving a nod to Rex he began the demonstration. He climbed up the front of the tank and threw a droid popper into the pilot's hatch. From their he jumped onto the main gun doing a somersault on the actual gun before standing on top of the gun and walked down it to where the commander would be seated in the turret. Lifting the turret hatch he threw another grenade inside, then back flipped off the tank. The Grenades activated sending blue arcs of electricity course through and around the tank as its electronic circuits were fried. The rebels when the way they reacted looked very impressed.

"Alright, everyone divide up into teams of two and we'll practice in pairs and practice assaults on both hatches." Anakin explained. The rebels quickly scampered off to form into pairs with one another while Lux and Saw teamed up.

"I'll take the top." Lux stated.

"Let's see what your made of Bonteri." Saw responded while overly aggressively knocking Lux on the back.

Luke took out two droid poppers from his webbing and threw them toward the two who both managed to catch them. Saw immediately rushed over to the tank, not before pushing Lux behind him. Lux scrambled after him and began to climb the tank while Saw placed the popper in the pilot's hatch. Lux had managed to make it onto the main gun when it lowered due to his weight and caused him to fall. On his way down, he caught saw who had just finished placing the droid popper in the hatch and they both fell off the tank into a heap on the ground in front of it.

"Sorry about that." Lux apologised as he extended a hand to Gerrera.

"You're a terrible soldier Bonteri." Gerrera arrogantly growled at Lux as he knocked away his outreached hand and picked himself up. Luke just shook his head at the scene and walked off to go prep the next pair. _Just great, egotistical arrogant rebel who is a strong candidate for being the leader who is fanatical in his beliefs. Yeah, no. I see no possible negative repercussions for having someone like that potentially in charge._

"I'm not sure if these rebels are more interested in fighting the droids, or each other." He heard Kenobi say to Anakin as they walked off to the side. Handing the next two their poppers, they set off and quickly ascended the tank, lifted their hatches in quick succession and threw their grenades in before quickly dismounting the tank.

"Come on move it!" Luke yelled, "in combat the tanks not gonna be there by itself! Both it and the droid support will be trying to kill you! Move like you have fucking purpose!"

* * *

"As you know both myself and the Berets are here to train you," Luke began to the group of three dozen rebels, "While the Jedi and Captain are going to be mainly be focusing on how to engage the various droids and vehicles of the Confederacy we are going to show you the different strategies you can employ. Today we're going to show you how to create an effect IED ambush against a large convoy."

"An IED attack as I'm sure you know is a good way of dealing with light armoured and armoured targets as well as enemy infantry on patrol. But against larger convoys engaging the enemy becomes far riskier. For example, the most common Sepi convoy consists of two to three MTT transport and at least two AATs. With the supplies we brought you we included some high explosives. These will take out an MTT if used correctly and will absolutely take out an AAT. Now then can anyone tell me where the best ambush sights have been so far for you?"

The terrorists… rebels, he forced himself to correct, stood in silence for a moment, none having the confidence to speak up.

"Usually where the roads are narrow and where we have better cover or where the plants hide us." A young woman, likely in her early twenties spoke up.

"Very good. If you can do that and the IED hits the lead vehicle you will prevent the convoy from advancing. To increase the effectiveness of the attack either a secondary IED or rocket attack upon the rear most vehicle will ensure the convoy will not be retreating either. If you have chosen the ambush sight well then the remaining vehicles will be essentially unable to manoeuvre making them easy targets to follow up attacks. Most droids see things in the manner our own sight does. Meaning that camouflage will increase your chances of killing more of them before being spotted. Now camouflage can be a basic pattern that either distorts the bodies shape or help it blend in like our own BDUs we are currently wearing. However camouflage can be more advanced as my subordinate to your left is currently demonstrating." The rebels immediately looked left expecting to see one of the Green Berets Luke had brought with him standing there. Only to see no one there. They began to murmur to one another.

"I can assure he is there. In fact he isn't even ten meters from you." The rebels looked again. In trees, the jungle floor and in the vegetation near them. Still they found nothing.

"Well private they don't seem to be able to find you. Why don't you come out." Then like that, a bush began to move. It continued to do so until it took the form of a bipedal humanoid form that was formed entirely from a mixture of grass, leaves and some material that simulated plant stems and leaves. Private Williams had been equipped with a ghillie suit which he had covered in native plant life to increase the effectiveness of the camouflage.

"As you can see the private here using the ghillie suit was able to be only five metres away without anyone noticing his presence. While you won't be able to recreate what he did without a ghillie suit of your own, I'm sure you can all think of ways that using nature around you can help you blend in and disappear."

"Without out of the way, let's practice some ambushes."

* * *

Luke watched as the rebels sloppily went through their eighth consecutive attempt at an ambush. They had been trying for four hours now. Critiquing and correcting them as they tried to imitate the ambush the Green Berets had shown them at the start. Though the rebels hadn't been trained as long as he and the others had and up until recently they had been civilians so he couldn't expect them to pull of an ambush with the skill he could, he supposed.

" _Sir, I spotted movement heading towards the hideout. Approximately four dozen hostiles backed up with two tanks heading South West directly towards you. Awaiting orders."_ Private Williams had been sent out to watch for enemy movements, it seemed as though they were no longer alone.

"Understood. Observe for now. ETA on their arrival?" Luke asked.

"Something happening sir?" Sargant Hartman asked walking up behind Luke.

" _ETA until they reach the rebels and our Republic friends about seven mikes, they'll pass you in about three."_

"Okay then, shadow them for now and wait until we engage them. Sargent Hartman, prepare to ambush the clankers and assign four rebels to each man. Let's show them how its done." Luke ordered as unslung his rifle and walked off to grab four rebels.

"Attention everyone. Clankers are inbound in less than three mikes. Pair up in fours and find an Operator. Follow their orders and example and you'll make it out alive. Now double time it I want us ready to ambush these rust buckets in one mike!" the rebels immediately began to scramble round, picking up weapons and ammunition while the Orionians hide what evidence that they could that they had been training there. Once they had all been sorted the rebels followed them as Luke and the Operator melted away into the jungle behind trees and under bushes. For a while only the sounds of the jungle could be heard. The wind through the trees, the songs of the birds and the call soft the larger animals. That was broken by the methodical clanking of the droids. They could be heard before they were seen as was often the case. The rebels watched them emerge from the vegetation. The column of B1s was the first to appear, eight across and five deep, followed by half the number of Super Battle droids. Then the engine noise of the two tanks could be heard as they bulldozed their way through the thick overgrown jungle.

"Wait for my mark before engaging." Luke ordered through the comm. He watched and waited until the droids were in the centre of the clearing before he gave the order. "mark."

With that one word the operators opened fire. DC-15s firing followed by the weapons of the rebels. One of the Operators had brought a grenade launcher and fired. The grenade landed under one of the tanks and detonated. The tanks engine sputtered as it died and the tank ceased to move. The second tank manoeuvred to fire as the droids turned in two directions as they were being hit on both sides. The precision fire of the professional soldiers dropped the droids while the rebels acted as more of suppressive fire force, lacking the aim of the Green Berets. Another grenade landed amidst the cluster of B1s ending half a dozen in a single moment. The logic circuits of the droids lacked the ability to react as quickly as a organic creature, especially the B1 and Super battle droids, making them easily susceptible to ambush tactics.

Luke saw two rebels runout of the cover of the tree line and into the clearing from behind the last tank rather foolishly, droid poppers in hand. He watched as expectedly the droid commander in the turret hatch spotted them and began to turn the turret until William's sniper rifle blasted the clanker's head clean off. The two rebels clambered up the tank lifting the drivers hatch and throwing the droid poppers in as taught. They then quickly began to scamper back to the safety of the tree line as the grenades detonated. With the tank support gone, it was only a matter of time and ammunition until the remaining half of the droids were gone.

The remaining tow dozen droids were slowly cut down one by one under the sustained fire the Orionian Special Forces and rebels. The Super's lasted longer in part to their thicker armour and ability to take more damage. Luke pulled out a grenade and pulled the pin and threw it. It sailed through the air and landed at the feet of the last surviving droids. A B1 looked down at it before it exploded sending dirt, grass and fresh scrap metal flying. As Luke and the other Operators silently emerged from the undergrowth to inspect the damage of the ambush and to make sure all the droids were inactive. The rebels instead cheered and pumped their fists or guns in the air celebrating, once again their greenness showed. Luke approached a droid he thought was still active and nudged it with his foot. The lack of response seemed evident of its current state. He heard his communicator buzz to life as General Kenobi's voice filled is ear.

" _Lieutenant, we've just been engaged by droids though things have no quietened down. What's your situation?"_

"Had a little live fire example of the ambush exercise with some unwilling volunteers. No casualties, all hostiles neutralised."

" _That's good to hear, we're moving on to the capital. Split the men under your command, half will accompany you to the capital where we're expanding the AO to. One half needs to remain here. Either meet us on the way there or inside the city."_

"Understood Sir." Luke paused.

"Sargent!" Luke called.

"Yes Sir?" Hartman responded.

"I want you to take half the men under your command and the rebels and continue to train them. If your confident in the rebels ability to hit the Sepi's then I trust you to make the right call and hit appropriate targets. I'll take the remaining two men under your command and six rebels. We'll be heading to the capital."

"Understood sir, good luck."

* * *

 _2623 21st November Earth Standard Calendar, Lt Luke Sparrow, Onderon_

It had taken a day and a half to reach the Capital from the rebels location. Luke and privates Jones and Walter as well as the six rebels then had to wait another seven hours until darkness had fallen, and a rough idea of the droid patrol patterns changed. They had another two hours until the guards changed shifts. The plan to get in involved neutralising the guards outside the gate and one the ramparts on the large wall that circled the capital. Then the cart which had been fitted with a remotely detonated IED would be placed outside the gate to destroy the ray shield that blocked access to the city. It would also act as the precursor to the follow up attacks the rebels would commit inside the city, no better way to start it than with a bang.

They had spotted four droids standing guard outside and two on the ramparts. Kenobi had informed him that there were no droids on the opposite side of the gate which seemed like negligence to Luke but he wouldn't complain. It just made it easier to get in.

Luke turned to Jones and Walter and hand signalled them to move into position and they wordlessly moved. Luke signalled to the rebels to be ready to move the cart into place or shoot the droids at the base of the gate, depending on their assigned roles.

"Prepare to engage on my mark," Luke whispered into the comm, "Three, two, one, mark." He pulled th trigger once and the shot struck the targeted B1 in the chest. Five other shots followed suit with Jones and Walter taking out the two atop the wall. Immediately after he and the others dashed out of the jungled and took up positions outside the shielded gate. Two rebels pushed the cart up to the gate before running back to the safety where Luke and the others where. Luke pulled out the remote detonator once they had and thumbed the trigger. A large explosion rocked the gate, sending debris into the air above the wall. The shield gate flickered momentarily before it collapsed and smoke from the explosion began to settle.

"Move now!" He ordered as he began to run toward and through the smoke as the rest of the unit followed after him. Navigating the smoke and crater from the explosion he came out into the city into what appeared as a small market place. He paused as the rebels and operators caught up with him as he scanned for where Ahsoka and Lux were supposed to be to usher them to the safe house. His eyes were drawn to a green glow emanating from an alleyway to his left and he headed towards it. He stacked up on the wall with Jones and Walter next to the alley. Raising his carbine he moved round the corner and came face to face with Lux.

"Glad to see you made it." Lux said seeing the three DC-15 carbines pointing at his face.

"Wasn't that hard, droids were sloppy." Luke said lowering his weapon as did the others.

"Safe house is this way, we'll fill you in there." Ahsoka said as she deactivated her lightsabre and motion for them to follow.

"By all means, lead the way."

* * *

 _25031 Galactic Standard Calendar, Ahsoka Tano, Rebel safe house, Onderon_

Ahsoka was waiting for her master, master Kenobi, Rex, Steela and the others to get back to the safe house they were in today. They, or at least Luke had been out constantly as much as he physically could, setting up ambushes, drive byes, sniper ops and IEDs using droid poppers. It was almost scary how methodical it was for them to do it all. Luke especially. He seemed to never rest, never allow time to think outside his next target. It was scary how machine like he was becoming and she was beginning to start being worried. She saw him, the two other operators and three rebels going with him head towards the door.

"Heading out again." She asked Luke while walking towards him.

"Affirmative, going to set up an ambush at the market." He replied holstering his blaster pistol after removing the safety.

"Don't you ever need to rest?"

"Sometimes, I am human after all." He said somewhat sarcastically.

"You know what I mean. You've been going out everyday since you got here. You should really take a break." Luke stopped but motioned for the others to go on.

"Commander, I know my limits and I know what I can and can't do better than anyone else. When I need to take a break, I will." With that he turned and walked out the door to join the rest of his crew to go out and carry out another act of freedom.

"Okay, just... be careful then." She said as she slouched a bit. _I don't remember him being so confrontational, it must be the mission getting to him._

* * *

 _25031 Galactic Standard Calendar, Unknown, Unknown Regions._

"We'll be dropping out of hyperspace in a moment" Informed Captain of the _Wanderer_ , a small shuttle designed for long range deep space exploration. Captain Anzati Gor, a human from the backward and agricultural world of Ansion. The remaining crew were also from the world, medical officer Andrea Duros, technician and engineer Donjon and specialist Juldarr Lith. Ever since the O.A.G. had appeared and refused to reveal its location there had been an unofficial reward to find it location. He and his crew had been searching for nearly two years trying to find it, as had many other explorers, merchants and other parties that had an interest in locating it.

As a result of the widescale search many new planets had been discovered and navigating the edges of the unknown region were becoming much less unknown and easier to traverse. But nothing had been found to suggest the Orion Arm Government was there. They had all been forced to venture further and further out into the unknown regions, refuelling stations had to be bought, equipment and maintained because of the distances needed to be traversed. Many explorer had gone missing and most had been unrecovered. Courtesy of asteroid fields, blackholes or any number of dangers that lurked in the unknown regions. It acted as a natural defence of the O.A.G., its location both being unknown and the dangers that would have to be overcome to reach it.

Ensuring that all checks had been completed before exiting hyperspace.

"Any bets on whether we find the Orionians?"

"I'll take that bet." Juldarr said.

"You still have money after Nar Shaddaa?" Andrea quipped."  
"Ha, ha, haha, ha, I spent money on booze and women, I'm sorry I like to have fun." Juldarr said back

"Fuck you."

"I knew you always wanted to." Juldarr said to Andrea in his seductive voice.

"Now, now children settle down. There's no need to fight like the three year olds you are." Donjon said.

"Fine!" they both said simultaneously.

"It's a miracle you both haven't killed us." Anzati commented as he pulled the lever that took them out of hyperspace. They all felt the ship decelerate and the blues and blacks turn into the black void covered in stars. In front of them was a planet, a garden world, nothing to out of the ordinary but unlike all the other planets so far, this one had ships moving around it, or so the scanners said.

"We've got movement on the sensors, lots of ships of various sizes moving about," Anzati informed the others, "Donjon any comm traffic?"

"Plenty, I can't make any of it out due to the volume of it all though." Donjon responded.

"We've got movement, something big is approaching from the moon!" Juldarr yelled

"I'm getting something, a signal, likely from the ship Juldarr spotted." Donjon called out.

"Put it through." Anzati calmly ordered.

" _This is Captain Malcom Hardgrave the Orion Arm Service Dauntless to unidentified vessel. Power down all weapons systems, do not attempt to flee and prepare to be boarded. This is not negotable."_

"Captain, I'll take my winnings now if you don't mind" Said Juldarr nervously as the captain quickly followed the instructions of the Orionaian warship. They had found the Orionians, now they had to survive to tell the galaxy about their discovery of a new hyperspace lane that led to the Orion Arm.

* * *

 _2623 26th November Earth Standard Calendar, Lt Luke Sparrow, Onderon_

"Targets approaching, range 300." Luke's observer noted. they were situated on the south side of the market in which the unsuspecting patrol of two B1s and Super were policing. Luke was three storeys up and had a good view of the market and the many shoppers down below as they bought trinkets, luxury goods or foodstuffs. Thinking back to when he spoke to Ahsoka he realised he may have come off a little rude but... he didn't need her to look out for him, she didn't need to worry. He tweaked the scope to ensure the right clarity for the distance. _I guess I should apologise for the way I spoke to her, but my point still stands. I'll rest when I need to and I can catch up on any rest I missed when I'm dead. Besides, I've not fucked up yet, therefore there's no problem._

"Wait until they've passed the fruit stand, then engage. I've got the Super, Eagle-Two take the B1 on the left and Eagle-Three, you take the other." Luke ordered.

"Roger." They both confirmed. Luke adjusted the sight until the reticule hovered over the Super's head. He watched it slowly work its way round the market, the citizens skittishly moving out of its way. It was obvious that they weren't to fond of the Separatist's presence on world. The rebels had been hitting patrols both in and out of the city, though Hartman had focused more on the convoys. The effects being the rebels gaining a larger arsenal and increased patrols and convoy escorts. That just meant more targets. The rebels in the city had also attacked checkpoints, thrown droid poppers at unsuspecting clankers and in some cases openly shot droids.

Luke continued to watch the droid as it came upon the fruit stall as he continue to think. The rebels had done little to win the hearts and minds of the people. They hadn't done anything to show they were the side people wanted to chose, they didn't try to convince people they were the good guys by helping the people either. Though maybe that was more of what the occupying force was suppose to do rather than the terrorists.

He waited until the exact moment when the Super Battle Droid passed the stall until he discharged his weapon. The blaster shot smacking into the droids head, melting its internal circuits while leaving only a burn mark on the surface. The two B1s suffered a similar fate. He saw through the scope the droids fall over and the shoppers begin to scream and panic at the sudden display of violence.

"Mission successful, all teams bug out and meet up at the safe house, Eagle-One out." Luke quickly collapsed the sniper rifle. taking the scope off and removing the barrel of the gun before placing them into a carrier case designed to look like a rucksack. Slinging it over his shoulder he followed his rebel observer down the fire escape on the back of the building.

* * *

 _An extract on the progression of the war from the Orionian Times, December 1st 2623_

 _Over the last few months the vast sweeping shock and awe tactics employed during the start of the First Contact War or Galactic Civil War have become increasingly less successful. Through the combination of distance needed to be covered, logistics and the Separatists finally becoming able to counter Orionian generals the progress made during the first year of the war and the former half of the second seems unlikely. With the war beginning to drag on into its third year the war is starting to reflect a long battle of attrition between two sides unless the stalemate can be broken. Fighting on three separate fronts has spread Orionian forces far and wide especially as they alone are fighting on all three fronts and are mostly alone fighting on two of them._

 _With the death toll rising and reaching 1.3 million dead and a further 7 million wounded people have begun to question why the Government is and was fighting this war that has nothing to do with them. Some have joined the peace movement who are campaigning to end the war and join the League of Neutral Systems and opening the borders to allow travelling to Republic space which Parliament has currently decided is forbidden. The current poles show 60% of people want to continue to fight this war with 24% saying they do not and 16% saying they were unsure._

 _Orionian forces in the Southern Front_ _began to relocate to the Eastern Front after Republic forces arrived to relieve them. Unconfirmed rumors suggest this is a precursor towards an offensive in either the Northern or Eastern Front with the intention of closing one or both of them and then to only fight on two fronts although the military has refused to comment on these rumors._

 _More alarmingly is a rumour about a ship which arrived off Babylon IV, a fringe colony world with a small population of only a million inhabitants. The rumour states that a ship that came from either Republic or Separatist space managed to navigate through what is known to the wider galaxy as the unknown regions, and end up discovering the colony's location. The Government and the Military have both denounced the rumour as fake and highly inappropriate though some sceptics believe that the rumour is true and the Government is hiding the truth. If the rumour is true however then it would indicate that the Orion Arm, Earth and the colonies aren't as untouchable as we'd like to think ourselves and that a large proportion would be required to be stationed in orbit over a hastily constructed fortress world to prevent invasion by outside forces._

 _Chancellor Palpatine has been granted by the Republic Senate to expand the clone army up to 100 million and for the construction of additional cloning facilities. He argued that this would not only increase the Republic's defensive capabilities but also help relieve the pressure on the Orionian Forces who have born the brunt of the war so far. Despite opposition led by Senators Padme Amidala and Bail Organa the bill was passed almost unanimously by the Senate. Talks have also been happening over the possible switch to a war time economy by the Orionian Government should the war last longer than another year as well as a limited conscription. The bill for a limited conscription will be debated in January next year._

 _With all that is happening with the ongoing war and the neither the Separatists or Republic-Orionian-Mandalorian coalition ready to give up, the future looks grim and dark with only war ahead of us._

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry for the wait, writers block and work stalled me for some time. Anyway, without further ado, the questions:**

 **Q: CT7567Rules; So the weapons of the UEG infantry forces, what are they and what are their calibres?**

 **A: Okay, so the infantry grunts have the standard issue M60-AR (Mark 60 - Assault Rifle), it would look like a modern bullpup M4 carbine and would fire the equivalent to the NATO 7.62mm round but just as plasma like from Halo instead. Machine gunners would use the LMG-5 (also NATO 7.62mm rounds)which is a futurity version of the M249 SAW machine gun. Other than those they have access to pistols, mortars, SMAW rocket launchers, M303 grenade launchers, marksmen rifles and other small arms.**

 **Q: .Bird.; will the orion government eventually clash with the republic? I mean Sheevy won't want them interfering no?**

 **A: Of course Palpatine won't want them interfering with his plans but he won't do anything overt that would implicate him, at least not yet. Sidious on the other hand... well that's another mater entirely.**

 **Q: Zireael07; did I see *Mandalorians* praise the *Polish* military**

 **A: Yes, yes you did. Allow me to show you why by directing you to a Wikipedia page and a Sabaton song. wiki/Battle_of_Wizna , watch?v=XnFSb8xcmN4**

 **Q: Guest; Will dead space be brought into the story and also with Isacc Clarke and aegis 7.**

 **A: Maybe**

 **Q: greviousrommel; Is DiNizzo lurking around somewhere? Or better yet a certain Sniper? :)**

 **A: Probably not**

 **Q: 5.56X45; Where these guys Para Rescue jumpers? Aslo Finn will die alone.**

 **A: Yes the were and yes he will**


	32. Another Man's Terrorist

The First Contact War Chapter 32

Another Man's Terrorist

" _Fighting terrorism is like being a goalkeeper. You can make a hundred brilliant saves but the only shot people remember is the one that gets past you." Paul Wilkenson._

 _2623 1st December Earth Standard Calendar, Lt Luke Sparrow, Onderon_

"Carriage is leaving the palace." Walter reported. He was looking through the binoculars towards where the IEDs had been placed. A small speeder had been parked by one of the rebels on the opposite side of the street from the large sculpted gate that lead to the palace. The rebels had then entered the store next to the speeder and exited from the back out of sight of the guards. Luke, Walter and Jones were a block away in a bell tower lying prone observing the gate.

"Two escort speeders, one leading, one following." Walter called out.

"Wait for the carriage to get close the speeder. That's our target." Luke informed. He was looking through his own binoculars. He counted a dozen human guards backed up by two dozen droids. He watched as the carriage and its escort approached the gate. The Royal Carriage was just as one would expect it to be. Golden and covered in precious jewels and stones. Every inch screamed extravagance and wealth. The gate guards lowered the shield allowing the convoy to pass through.

"Walter, detonate when ready." Luke ordered.

"Yes sir."

The lead speeder pulled out and turned left towards the parked speeder IED as the carriage and rear escort followed suit. The carriage had just begun to finish its turn when Walter pressed the detonator. An ear-piercing explosion rocked the junction a block away. Smoke and debris filled the air reaching higher than the surrounding buildings. The carriage was completely obscured by the blast and was strewn all over the area. The lead and rear speeders were caught in the blast and sent flying into nearby buildings and the palace fence. Some of the guards were caught in the explosion or struck by the debris. Through their binoculars the operators could see the chaos and destruction they had caused. Guards were running around, panicked or trying to aid an injured comrade. Droids rushed the area to secure it from further attack. Civilians were running and screaming in fear, even a block away where they were. The store next to the speeder was missing the entire front half of itself and exposed the inside of the building which was blacked and covered in dust and debris.

"Fuck'in A." Jones commented with a grin on his face.

"You said it," Walter responded as the two fist bumped, "Hey, LT. You think their king will like this early Christmas present?"

"I doubt these people even know what Christmas is, let alone celebrate it. Though maybe we should send him something?" Luke said as they stood up and began to head back to base.

"Oh, I know. How about a high-velocity round to the head. Or an IED." Jones said.

"Yeah, we could wrap it up in Christmas themed wrapping paper and send a card as well." Walter said.

"But how would we get it to him? I'm sure the guards would check to make sure there isn't anything explody being sent to their king."

"That's easy. We go down the chimney and leave it in his bedside stocking!" Jones said without missing a beat.

"In that case, I'll find the Santa costume, Jones'll get the present and you Walter can find the reindeer and sleigh." Luke spoke, humouring the two.

"Yes, Operation Christmas Demolition is a go!" Jones yelled. Luke could only smirk at Jones's boyish enthusiasm for their fake assassination plan.

" _Lieutenant, get back to the safe house. We're having a meeting to discuss further action. Meet with the rebel contact near the old temple and he'll lead you to the new safe house."_ Luke heard through his ear pierced from General Skywalker.

"Change of plans boys, we're heading somewhere new. General Skywalker's orders."

* * *

 _25031 Galactic Standard Calendar_ , _Ahsoka Tano, Onderon_

Ahsoka walked into the meeting room that had been agreed upon following behind Lux, Steela and Gerrera but in front of her master and Obi-Wan. The small darkened room had two sofas in the centre with a few rebels already in the room waiting. She noticed that Luke and the two operators were standing to one side in the shadows with their arms folded across their chests chatting to themselves. Luke turned his head and nodded in recognition to her. He had apologised for the manner in which he had spoken to her a few days ago but still had insisted his point stood. Taking a seat next to her master and opposite the three rebel leaders. She and her fellow Jedi all removed their dark brown robes hoods. One rebel offered Obi-Wan a drink but he declined with a gesture of his hand.

"Your success will not go unnoticed." Her master spoke eliciting cheers from all the rebels gathered which brought a smile to her face to see them all so excited.

"I agree, but we need to be mindful of public perception," Obi-Wan mindfully reminded them, "What was your Observation Padawan." He continued as everyone turned to look at her.

"The people were fearful master." She replied.

"Indeed. Judging from the reactions I saw today I'm afraid they'll mistake your intentions." Obi-Wan said as he stroked his beard like he did when he was thinking.

"We need to do more damage. A few dozen broken down droids will do little to free Onderon." Saw passionately said as he smacked his fist into his hand. She felt, more than saw Luke's eyes roll.

"The people need to believe we can succeed. Without their support our efforts are meaningless." Steela more helpfully suggested.

"If they are afraid they won't support us. We need to assure them of our intentions." Lux put. As a senator he understood the importance of public relations and image.

"I don't understand, why are they afraid." Saw asked confused.

"They're afraid we're not strong enough to win. We need to earn their trust." Steela answered.

"You need to convince them your not terrorists." Luke interjected.

"What's that suppose to mean?" Saw asked through narrowed eyes as everyone turned to look at where Luke and the Orionians were standing.

"Oh, was it not obvious or are you a bit deaf. I said you need to convince them your not terrorists. Congrats, you've attacked patrols and checkpoints, set of a few IEDs and you've done…. What exactly to show the people your fighting for freedom? You've shown them your fighters but there's little difference between a fighter and a terrorist." Luke snapped back, from the looks on the other two Orionians faces they seemed to agree with him. Their history wasn't pleasant when it came to 'freedom fighters' or terrorists if she remembered correctly.

"But we're fighting for Onderon's peoples' freedom." Lux spoke a little defensively.

"A terrorist can also fight for freedom. It's a matter of perspective really."

"You'll have plenty of time to earn their trust and change people's perspective of yourselves. All of you are going to be very busy." Her master interrupted before the situation could dissolve further.

"The last week or so has only been a test. You'll get your chance." Rex added.

"I the meantime, make the most of your victories. Welcome and learn from them." Obi-Wan suggested.

"Perhaps if we hit something big, show them our strength, maybe they would overcome their fear and join us." Lux said standing up between the two sofas.

"do you have something in mind?" Ahsoka asked.

"I have the perfect target." Lux supplied, "There's an energy generator in the west district, it feeds al the other sub-generators in the city. It's lightly defended but has thick high walls that we will either need to go over, under or through. But if we succeed, the power throughout the city falls."

"That's not an easy target you understand, it will wake a lot of planning and recon." Luke spoke again.

"I know, but we don't have to hit it immediately." Lux responded.

"How exactly will that help? Droids aren't linked to a central command anymore." Steela asked.

"Yes, but they still need power to recharge. If we knock out the power grid, it will only be a matter of time until the droid army is brought to a standstill, literally." Lux answered, evidently, he had put a lot of thought into this move.

"If you carry the plan out at nightfall, you'll maximise your strike capability." Ahsoka advised.

"Okay, so we just need to figure out how to destroy the power station." Steel said. Anakin and Obi-Wan had remained silent, opting to allow the rebels to work out their strategy for themselves.

"We need to do some surveillance." Lux said taking Luke's words into advisement.

"Those droids should have all the intel we need held up in those tin cans of theirs right." Saw asked.

"They should." Ahsoka responded.

"Then I'll get us one." Saw spoke as he stood up and walked to the door.

* * *

 _2623 2nd December Earth Standard Calendar, Lt Luke Sparrow, Onderon_

Luke once again found himself on a rooftop, sniper rifle in hand. This time he was providing overwatch for the rebels as they attacked the power station. He, Walter and Jones had decided to not comment on some of the potential effects of destroying the cities power grid when the rebels had mentioned the plan. The Onderonians were stupid for building a power grid where the main power station went down the rest would go down. The rebels also hadn't thought through the ramifications of attacking the facility an succeeding. With no power, the droids would lack the capabilities to recharge and power their army true. But that was only if they didn't bring a charging device with them or have a back up generator. The rebels had elected to ignore or more worrignly had not thought about what else would happen, hospitals would be without power, the streets would not be lit at night which would cause all sorts o problems, the police and fire departments would be stretched trying to deal with it all. Heavy industry would grind to a halt leaving people without jobs. There was a reason why the O.A.A.F. had taken to dropping EMP bombs on Separatist cities, modern life shut down without a power source.

His eyes scanned the dimly lit plaza outside of the Power Station's high walls. A few droid patrols where walking about but civilians had completely abandoned the square as a result of the curfew that was now in effect. He continued to watch as a patrol of B1s passed five storeys below him.

"Eagle one in position awaiting operation start." Luke reported the others letting them know he was ready. Generals Kenobi and Skywalker had probably nearly reached the rendezvous point back in the jungle where the republic shuttle was to take them back to Coruscant to report to the Jedi order. He hoped for the galaxy's sake they told the Jedi Council that while insurgencies are effective, they do cause more harm than they didn't.

" _Eagle two, also in position."_

" _Eagle three in position."_

Luke's eyes where on the street where a speeder now pulled up in a hurry right in the centre and a rebel quickly hopped out. He watched the rebel scurry into the alley opposite to where Ahsoka, Steela, Saw, Lux and a few other rebels were. Shifting his rifles aim up the street he carefully followed the approach of the droid patrol. One commander droid, ten B1s and eight Supers. He felt the trigger of the sniper rifle, gently tapping it, the reticule hovering over the head of an unsuspecting battle droid. One Super droid started to push the speeder out of the way as the patrol parted to go around it. Blue electricity danced on the speeder and spread to the Super pushing the speeder and the surrounding droids as their systems were fried.

The lone rebels down the alley way ran out and started to fire at the droids, he downed one before being shot like Luke expected the rebel to be. Pulling the trigger, the droids head went flying off and two other shots rang out from eagle two and three. The rebels, mainly Saw, sprang out from their cover and started to shoot up the droids. Saw ran and slide under the front droids leaving them a droid popper for their trouble. Saw stood up a blasted the remaining droids.

Luke watched as the commander droid hobbled away calling for hopefully reinforcements. As it approached a bend Steela blasted its head off.

He watched as Ahsoka and the rebels congregated in the street. A strange noise reached his ears, like metal rolling along the cobbled streets. He saw Ahsoka tense up and turn towards the rebels behind her. Two Droidekias rolled up and activated their shields as they started to fire at the insurgents. Ahsoka activated her two lightsabres as she deflected the blaster bolts while the rebels took cover behind the speeder, walls or even fallen droids. Luke didn't even bother to fire, Destroyers had a shield that couldn't be penetrated by small arms so he was forced to sit on the roof and merely watch helplessly the battle panned out. He saw Lux and Saw come out an alley behind the Destroyers. Saw rolled a droid popper through the shield of one of them and it detonated right underneath the destroyer. Lux then tried to do the same but put to much force behind the roll and the grenade did nothing. Saw pushed Lux out of the way to avoid being shot and then jumped and rolled behind the now deactivated Destroyer to avoid being hit himself as the Destroyer shifted its attention to them instead of Ahsoka and Steela. Steela then ran at the droid and sliding the last few feet placing the grenade through the shield at the Destroyer's feet.

With the Destroyer down, Lux and Saw helped Steel to her feet. Once again, they all stood up in the middle of the street talking to one another. In Luke's opinion they could have done the same thing but only in cover and cot have the risk of having to find some under fire and exposed.

" _All forces be advised, I've spotted a tank support by six supers approaching from the Western end of the street."_ Eagle three informed them all as a tank could be heard approaching before it came round the corner. Luke had taken his first shot by the time the rebels had scattered for cover. Eagles two and thee followed suit. The front left most droid fired a rocket at Luke's position. The missile impacted below him, destroying the wall supporting his section of the roof. Before he could react the roof gave way and he fell down a storey into the room below. The fall itself didn't hurt that much. Landing of the debris of the wall and roof, that hurt. He felt his torso hit the rubble and bricks, leaving him with some definite bruises. He wheezed and coughed from the mixture of feeling a little winded and inhaling the dust. He started to feel around for his gun as the sounds of combat continued to reach him from outside. He felt around blindly for a few seconds before his hand found the barrel of the weapon. Picking both it and himself up he strode up to the hole in the wall in time to see Steela shoot the last tow super droids.

" _Eagle one, you okay?"_ Luke heard Walter ask.

"Just peachy." He responded.

" _Overwatch move to secondary positions and prepare for phase two."_ Luke heard Ahsoka order. Placing his hand on the wall he inspected it to see if it would hold up. Deciding that it would he started to pull himself back up onto the roof. Placing the gun on the roof above him, he hoisted himself p onto his elbows and swung his leg on top. Once again on the roof he hurried over in the direction of the power station. Leaping over a low wall on the next roof he continued to make his way to his next position. Vaulting up to the next roof which was higher up by a meter and a half or so the roofs evened out a little and he was able to make it quickly to the last building on the street which overlooked the power station at a slightly lower level than the walls of the power station. Lying down he set up his position as he poked the barrel of the gun through the many gaps created by the railing which used many small white columns to hold itself up.

" _We're almost in position. Ready when you are Steela."_ Saw said through the comm. Steela opened fire at a B1 and Luke and the others followed suite. Shots rang out as three more snipers opened fire and Steel fired again. Switching his aim from the droids bellow Luke instead focused on the ones behind the parapets on the walls. Eagles two and three kept the pressure on the droids at the gate while Ahsoka and Steela dealt with the droids who had flanked them. Luke made sure any droid that stuck its head out on the wall regretted it. The tank piloted by Lux and Saw made its way round. The droids didn't attack it thinking it was one of theirs. Saw opened the hatch stupidly exposing himself to fire and Lux had to blast a droid that would have otherwise hit Saw. The tank began to run over the droids at the gate until it stopped. Aiming it's barrel at the gate the rebel AAT fired. It took two shots for the gate to be opened. One for the front gate, one for the rear gate. Commando droids rushed through the gap but the generator was now exposed.

Steela ran forwards and began to use the tank as cover while all the rebels were shooting at the approaching commando droids. Three commando droids made it through the fire to the tank. Lux was thrown against the side by one of them as Luke scored a lucky shot on the second from his vantage point. Steela shot one in the head, downing it put the own that had thrown Lux against the tank kicked her pistol from her had. Luke spotted Lux lift his blaster at the droids head, it looking down at him and fired. The droid fell. Saw fired two shots at the generator. The generator released a luminescent blue field that expanded outwards, Lux and Steel taking cover behind the tank. The Generator started to exude blue arcs of electricity as it started to explode. A large explosion rocked the central node and a small EMP blast discharged from it s wake, frying any inadequately protected electronics as the nearest few blocks fell into total darkness. The rest of the city followed, plunging into darkness. Luke could already hear a few shouts and worried screams from any awake citizens.

Switching from his prone position to crouching Luke reached for his comm, "All eagles, our work is done. Make back to the safe house and rest up. Our work is done for today."

* * *

 _2623 2nd December Earth Standard Calendar, Lt Luke Sparrow, Onderon_

"We must celebrate." Steela commented. The safe house was full of excited giddy rebels. Luke supposed the only ones weren't smiling were the Orionians, himself included, and the Jedi on the holo-call. Ahsoka was smiling with the rebels. While Luke and the other s had been making their way back, rebels cells had launched dozens of attacks on blind patrols and convoys throughout the city, even some of the local populace had joined in. the brave ones anyway, many had hidden in their homes, just wanting to be left alone and untouched by the strife that plagued their streets.

"With pleasure." Saw said picking up Steel and swinging her around once before setting her down. The rebels continued to excitedly chatter.

"Come here you handsome senator." Steela said to Lux as she walked up to and hugged him. Luke caught the brief frown on Ahsoka's face. Though he was unsure why it was there, she had placed great faith in the skills of the insurgents and Lux and lacked the misgivings he and the Orionians had so he didn't see why should would frown.

" _Steela is a born leader"_ Rex commented over the hologram.

" _And quite courageous I hear."_ Kenobi commented, his hologram being left to Rex's and Anakin's to his right was Anakin's holographic image. Steela, Lux and Saw were in their own little world talking about something.

" _Ahsoka, remember what I said about staying focused."_ Her master commented.

"I can't help it master."

" _I understand."_

"You do?"

" _I do, but try to remember. Always put purpose ahead of your feelings."_ Her master told her. In Luke's opinion those were wise words, though he assumed Tracinya would have something to say about that. Too machine like she would have likely told him.

" _This latest development will surely get count Dooku's attention. He will respond hard. They will stop at nothing to find you, you must adapt and continue to confront them in order to liberate Onderon."_ Kenobi informed the rebels.

"We will." Saw said.

"And we shall win." Steela finished.

" _In that I have no doubt."_ Kenobi commented.

" _Now you must rally the people, you will need their support. Your ability to influence them will also effect your capacity to represent them. Not only on the battlefield but off of it against your enemies and even in your own ranks. Your commitment will inspire others, your conviction will lead to victory."_ Anakin spoke, many rebels nodded in agreement.

" _After todays events the people will be ready to follow. You will need a leader for them to rally behind."_ Kenobi once again pointed out.

"We need to build on our momentum and continue our attacks to keep them off balance." Saw spoke.

"We have to assure the people first, if we keep disrupting their lives we risk alienating them. We have to gain their trust." Lux reminded them all.

"And with both of you, we can balance both, we also need to recruit others to join us. Onderon is ours. We will remind everyone, and keep reminding them. Until we get it back." Steela finished as cries of 'Onderon is ours' and 'free Onderon' filled the room.

"All in favour of Steela as our leader, raise your hand" A female rebel stood up and said. Immediately every rebels in the room raised their hand.

"Okay, looks like its been decided, you're the leader." Saw said putting his hand on Steela's shoulder before walking out he room, finishing his beverage.

"let him go, he just needs to blow off some steam. He'll be back." Lux said diplomatically.

Steela sighed, "I can't," she said before chasing off after Saw.

"Why?" Asked Ahsoka.

"He's my brother." Steela said before going outside after Saw.

* * *

 _2623 3rd December Earth Standard Calendar, Lt Luke Sparrow, Onderon_

" _This Mother Bird to Eagle One, repeat. Mother Bird to Eagle One."_ Luke was resting upstairs when his comm went off. Mother Bird was the JSOC handler for the Op on Onderon. They were supposed to remain strict long range radio silence unless an emergency.

"This is Eagle One, I read you."

" _Eagle One, you have new orders. Intelligence has learnt about a subterranean Separatist base in the industrial district of Izis. Intelligence believes there to be a weapons programme being secretly conducted there. Your team is to infiltrate the base. Steal the data and blow up base if possible. You will then immediately had to the extraction zone where you will be taken off world. Sending relevant data now. Good luck Eagle, Mother Bird out."_

Luke brought out his tac-pad and saw that the information had been received. Immediately he started to scroll through it all. Schematics, research believed to be into chemical weapons, staff, estimated defences and defenders and possible routes into the base to the target locations. The main lab at the centre of the facility and the generator at the base. From the timescale he had one week to be ready and execute the mission. Luckily the rebels had diverted the Separatists attention and spread their forces. That made his job a little easier.

"Eagle Four, come in Eagle Four." Luke said into his headset trying to raise Hartman.

" _This is Eagle Four."_

"Eagle Four, Eagle team is meeting at rally point Delta. Bring all gear and as many high explosive and breaching charges as you can. More details will be available once Eagle Team has regrouped at rally point Delta. How Copy?"

"Solid Copy Eagle One, we'll be Oscar Mike in five."

Luke strode out of his room to find Jones and Walter. Going down the stairs he found them in the rec room teaching cards to some of the rebels.

"Jones, Walter. Pack your gear and prepare to move. We're heading to rally point Delta."

"Why sir? Are we compromised."

"Negative, we've got a mission. Be ready to leave by 2000 hours."

"Sir." They both said. They both stood up and hurried up the stairs and Luke followed. The rebels downstairs were left a little confused as to what had gotten the Orionians so worked up.

* * *

 _2623 5th December Earth Standard Calendar, Lt Luke Sparrow, Onderon_

"So why have you gathered us all here?" Hartman asked as Luke and the four other Berets stood around a table.

"JSOC command has given us an Op. We need to break into a underground Sepi base, steal research data, then blow the base up. Then we are going to exfill to LZ alpha ten clicks from the east gate of the city."

"Okay then, how are we getting in?" Hartman asked.

"We'll entering the southern ventilation system which will take us right above the corridor to the main lab. Though for the last bit we'll be crawling through the air vents due to how narrow they become. There's an air duct opposite the door we want. Team One lead by Hartman have the choice of either blowing the door down or hacking it open. Once you're inside you'll download the information. Team Two led by myself will make for the generator. We'll place explosives if we can't overload it. We'll rendezvous outside this maintenance shaft. It will lead right next to the sewage system. A charge here will rupture both pipes. We'll cross into the sewer pipe which will lead outside the city. After that it's a matter of reaching the extraction point." Luke explained to the assembled men.

"What resistance are we likely to face?" Williams asked.

"Mainly B1s. There are suspected to be about three dozen commando droids and about fifteen destroyers. There are hidden turrets outside and ray shields inside. Nothing we can't handle." Luke read off his tac-pad.

"We'll be back in time for Christmas." Jones commented.

"You know whenever that's been said the conflict never does end in time." Luke deadpanned.

"Yeah, but it's us this time." Jones said with a smirk.

"I've forwarded the information to you all so make sure to read and reread the material."

"What about our rebel and Jedi friends?" Hartman asked.

"I'll think of something to tell them." Luke replied. Just then his comm started beeping.

"Speak of the devil. Hartman, Williams and Brown will go with you. Jones and Walter are still stuck with me. Dismissed." The berets started to exit the room as Luke answered his comm.

"Eagle One here."

" _Lieutenant. Where are you. You're needed in an operation the rebels have planned."_ Ahsoka voice came over.

"I'm sorry but events have transpired beyond my control that will mean that unless this operation takes place within four days I can't help."

" _It happens in five. What's happened"_

 _We could use that actually. Launch our attack just after the rebels do theirs and the Sepi's will be distracted._

"Classified. But our operation can take place as a diversion for yours."

" _Thanks Lieutenant. I can always count on you. Good luck with your mission."_

* * *

 _2623 10th December Earth Standard Calendar, Lt Luke Sparrow, Onderon_

"God it's cramped in here." Jones complained in a whisper as they all crawled through the last hundred meters of vent

"Not much further to go." Luke said as he approached a bend in the ventilation. Going around the corner he saw some light coming through the panel that they needed to go through to gain access to the corridor. Getting so far hadn't been a problem. There was little droid presence on the surface curtesy of the rebels who were planning on freeing the true king of Onderon from execution. An ample distraction for an operation like theirs.

Crawling up to the ventilation panel, Luke peered through the grills and spotted no droids patrolling or standing guard. He nudged it to see if it would come loose. The panel shook but didn't come loose. He shuffled forward so his legs were facing the vent. He then kicked the vent as hard as he could and the panel shot off the wall and made a metallic clang when it hit the adjacent corridor wall. Luke pushed himself out of the ventilation system and landed in the corridor after a slight drop. He scanned both ends of the corridor for hostiles as the rest of the team clambered out after him.

"sergeant you know your objective, good luck. Walter, Jones on me." Luke ordered.

Luke, Jones and Walter hurried to the end of the corridor as Hartman and his team began to try and jack the main lab door open. As Luke's team approached the end of the corridor, he and jones approached from the left side of the corridor and Jones from the right. Both he and jones kept their DC-15 carbines trained on the opposite side of the corridor junction from them. when they reached the end both Luke and Jones simultaneously turned round their corner and scanned the new corridor they were facing. Luke and Walter moved forward to where the elevator shaft was located, their eyes constantly scanning the corridor. Jones brought up the rear making sure they wouldn't be jumped. At the end of the corridor Luke could see the elevator door at the end of another junction leading to two new corridors. Repeating what they did at the last corridor Luke and Jones came round the next to the elevator junction.

"Walter, get that door open." Luke ordered. Walter then hurried over to the elevator door panel. Opening the small button panel next to the door Walter plugged in his Tac-pad and began to hack the door open. Luke could hear Walter tapping away on his Tac-pad. Luke had taken cover behind a protrusion from the corridor wall as he kept his carbine ready and pointed at the end of the metallic well-lit corridor. He could hear them low and gentle hum of the lights and the methodical clanking of the base's droids moving around. So far none had been seen, only heard.

"Walter, what's taking so long." Luke whispered.

"Nearly there sir, just one moment." He responded.

"We may not have a moment." Luke snapped back in a hushed whisper.

"Nearly there, almost, one second," Walter said while tapping on the Tac-pad, the elevator doors opened and revealed the darken elevator shaft.

"Doors open." Walter said.

"Good, attach cables." Luke said as he walked to the door. Looking over the edge he saw down the shaft where they would have to go in a moment. He could just about make out the elevator at the bottom of the shaft, not moving.

"Be careful of that elevator at the bottom. We don't want to be hit by it." Luke reminded.

"No worries, I override the system and now it won't move without my permission." Walter said while smirking.

"Good thinking." Luke attached the cable to his belt and gave it a few tugs to see if it would hold. Feeling satisfied he leant over the edge of the shaft with Jones and Walter. He pushed of the edge and began to abseil down. Reaching the door to the generator room. Walter stopped above it while Luke and jones stopped just above as well, just on opposite sides.

"Walter, open the door then me and Jones will go in first." Nodding in affirmation Walter set got out his Tac-pad. Luke and Jones both tensed their legs ready t push of when the door opened. Walter held up his hand and held up his fingers and thumb and began to countdown. When his last digit went down, Luke and Jones pushed off and the doors slipped open. As Luke and Jones swung into the generator room, none of the two dozen droids looked up, as they had expected the elevator to open and either more droids or staff to come out, not two Orionain Special Forces operators to come out guns blazing.

Luke aimed at the two droids on the elevated walkway first. Pulling the carbine's trigger, the blue blaster bolts shot out and smacked into both droids centre mass. Jones also gunned down a droid next to the door. The reaming twenty one droids in the room and the three staff turned to see what was going on. Luke and Jones wasted no time as Walter joined them on the elevated walkways. Luke aimed his rifle to his left and steadily shifted his carbine left as he aimed and shot each droid in his crosshairs one by one. A few droids managed to send of a few shots but they had been caught unaware and their reaction speed left much to be desired. One staff member went for what Luke assumed was an alarm button but a quick shot from his carbine sent that one to the ground, the other two staff shared a similar fate. Far less cruel than being exposed to a generator/reactor overload, or allowing them to stop it.

"Okay, Walter start attempting to overload the generator's reactor core. Jones and I will start setting charges for if overload fails." Walter walked over to the control console and moved the dead engineer's body off the top and sat down as he got to work. Luke walked over to the right elevated walkway that circled the generator. He took out the charges and began to set them in out of sight places or places that were hard to reach.

"Walter, how's it coming along?" Luke asked setting one of the last charges.

"Done, I've set a time to twenty minutes but I've synced it to my Tac-pad so I can remotely detonate it if necessary. Failing that we've got the explosive charges."

"Good. Hartman you got that data yet." Luke asked into the comm.

" _We've got the data and wiping it from the system now. We experienced minor resistance, no casualties."_

"Good. We're done down here. We'll meet you at the maintenance shaft."

* * *

 _25031 Galactic Standard Calendar_ , _Ahsoka Tano, Onderon_

Ahsoka Tano was running with Lux, Saw, Steela, some rebels and the Onderon Guard and their general Steela was escorting the King of Onderon who was surrounded by the Onderon Guard. Thye were currently making for the South Gate of the city. They needed to get the King out of the city.

"Come on, the gate's just up ahead!" Saw yelled leading the charge.

Ahsoka was bringing up the rear when she and the others felt a rush of air suddenly. Then an ear shattering explosion rocked the entire city. Ahsoka realised that the rush of air was the shockwave from the explosion. Her ears were still ringing and she rolled over onto her back and look back at the massive smoke cloud forming itself into a mushroom as it exceeded the height of the Royal palace. Looking around she saw the others lying on the ground or those that were able to stand stumbling around disorientated. She saw that one of the rebels who was in front of her clutching his ears as blood seeped out of them. The sound having shattered his eardrums.

She felt something land on her. Looking top the side in the direction it bounced off her she saw that it was a small piece of rock. She felt another one land, then another, and another. The last one was slightly larger than the other two.

"Everyone, into the buildings before the debris hits you!" She yelled as she stumbled to her feet and wobbly ran inside the nearest building. Watching the others stumble after her made them look like a crowd of armed drunkards.

"What the force was that?" Lux asked.

"An explosion of some kind." Ahsoka answered.

"What do you think caused it." Saw asked, holding one ear.

"I don't know, there's nothing in that area that should cause an explosion of that magnitude. It's a old industrial area that was being turned into a residential area. If anyone was there or near there they are probably dead now." The general answered. Ahsoka looked outside and watched the debris continued to fall in their various shapes and sizes. She hoped Luke and the other Orionians were alright and weren't caught in the blast. She had no doubt the Separatists would blame the rebels, or the attack and the rebels would blame the Separatists. Making the rebels look even more like a dictatorship but the rebels as terrorists. She realised this had the potential to split Onderon society and possibly start a civil war. The situation was starting to get out of hand, she needed to contact masters Obi-wan and Anakin.

* * *

 _2623 13th December Earth Standard Calendar, Keith Richards, Earth Senate Station._

"So what are our options?" Keith asked his surrounding advisers.

"We have a few open to us. Currently a handful of people know about those explorers, we can keep this covered up. That would leave the fate of the crew. Either execution or imprisonment. This seems like our best option out of all of them. Option two is we let them go and allow the knowledge of our location to become common galactic knowledge. This is the worst option in my opinion. We could alternatively let them stay and live in the Orion Arm. Lastly, we offer them anything that will keep them silent and send them back, another bad option." Explained Eric Raymond, the Secretary of Defence.

"We can't let the galaxy know of our nation's location when it's in the middle of a bloody civil war. We'd leave ourselves open to attack with two thirds of our military forces fighting on the other side of the galaxy! We should imprison or execute them." exclaimed the Secretary of State, Martha Williams.

"True, but we can't execute them or imprison them just because they stumbled upon us. They've broken no laws and an execution would blemish our democracy and justice system." Countered Keith. State executions made him feel uncomfortable and if it ever leaked would be disastrous for the Conservative Party, likely giving the Democrats the upper hand in the upcoming mid-terms. Keith rubbed his temples as he thought about what to do next.

"We can't let them go back to the Republic as then we would be compromised, but we can't imprison them or execute. What else would option three entails." Keith asked.

"We'd set them up with a new life on the colony world of Babel. New identities, jobs in some space faring profession. They'd never be allowed to leave Orion Arm space or contact any friends or relatives in the Republic. They'd also have tracking beacons placed on them, so we could always know where they are." Raymond explained.

"As invasive of their privacy as it seems, it appears the only way for you to keep a clear conscience by not killing or imprisoning them and it doesn't let them go be able to reveal our location either." Martha said.

"Raymond, I want your analysists to draw up a detailed report on how option three would be implemented. Now if you excuse me, I have a meeting with the Chief Whip." Keith said as he walked away.

* * *

 _25031 Galactic Standard Calendar_ , _Darth Sidious, Coruscant_

Sheeve sat back in his Chancellor chair in his office overlooking the cityscape of Coruscant and the many speeder lanes. He placed his holo-pad down on his desk. Another exploration ship had gone missing, all hands assumed to be lost. He had taped into some Republic funds he had siphoned off for his own personal use. Using the money he had hired explorers to traverse the Unknown Regions to find the O.A.G.'s location. Its military capability was becoming worrisome. The Grand Army of the Republic was no match for the forces of the O.A.D.F. that were known about. His Grand Army of clones numbered just under one billion, while the Orionains had swelled to over two billion fighting on three separate fronts. The Orionians had managed to single handily hold off the CIS onslaught for two years with large success. He doubted even the Jedi could survive a concerted effort of the O.A.D.F. if they chose to attack the Jedi order.

That was when the thought struck him. He didn't _need_ to invade and control the O.A.G. through force. He just needed them as an ally. If he could get them to side with him when his plan to eliminate the Jedi came to fruition, he could get them to help or if not, maybe they could report Jedi that escaped his initial move or act as a safe haven for Jedi then actually hand them over to him.

Yes, if he couldn't control the O.A.G. through ruling them, then he could limit what they did through an alliance. Then if he needed to, he could control them through force when he had established himself as Supreme Emperor with a larger and more powerful army than anything the galaxy had seen before.

He picked up his Holo-pad once more and started looking over the other reports he had been sent by his vast spy network, but not before he sent out the order for the construction of new, hidden and larger cloning facilities. The reports on the recent Orion Arm Defence Force build-up on the Eastern Front and the false build-up on the Northern Front peaked his interest the most. As did another on a massive terrorist attack on Onderon, the freeing of the old King and the massive following explosion afterwards that had killed hundreds and injured hundreds more of innocent people. He recognised unlike the Republic and Separatist people that the explosion originated from the subterranean research centre, where one of his new chemical weapons designed to cause horrific burns from an inextinguishable fire that was based on Dioxygen Fluoride that would react with anything it touched and the special containment units necessary to carry and utilise the chemical as a weapon which had now gone up in flames itself. Why couldn't trying to wipe out an ancient order of monks, playing two opposing sides off each other into fighting, dealing with an unknown powerhouse civilisation and trying to take over the galaxy be so hard.

* * *

 _25031 Galactic Standard Calendar_ , _Rena Shan, aboard the Republic Star Destroyer Tranquillity_

Rena sat in her chambers, her legs crossed and lightsabre by her side while she meditated. Her old master had often told her the importance for a Jedi to meditate and reflect upon the Force. She felt in her mind the force in all her men aboard the _Tranquillity_ and her sister ships, the _Dawn Breaker_ and _Solstice_. She felt the force tugging at her mind, as if it were trying to guide her. Rena let her mind relax and allowed the Force to carry it wherever the Force wished to. She saw what looked like a jungle world, rich in vegetation and life. She then could make out the distinctive sounds of combat and death as the vision moved on. And also on that world, there was a temple that exuded the Light side. Then she felt a colder, darker presence. It began to cover the world then slowly encroached upon the temple until it smothered it. The vision seemed to turn to black, as though it were the end. She was about to break her meditation when one last image appeared in her head. The image of a Jedi Temple burning, its inhabitants dead, and the light side being snuffed out by the dark.

She came to with a jolt. She felt some sweat drip down her face and her hair felt a little damp. She clutched her head as she tried to process what the force had shown her. She needed to talk to a master. She then needed to start planning for the rendezvous with the Orionian personnel sent to be the liaisons between herself and her forces and the Orionian forces for the upcoming offensive.

* * *

 **A/N: Merry Christmas**


	33. The Jungle Moved

The First Contact War Chapter 33

The Jungle Moved

" _There's something out there waiting for us. And it ain't no man."._

 _2623 5th January Earth Standard Calendar, Lt Luke Sparrow, The Republic Star Destroyer Tranquillity_

Luke was sitting in the recreational area of the YT-1300 freighter, _The Shadow_ , as he cleaned his weapons. It had become a portable FOB. Stocked with rations, medical supplies and various assortments of weapons with ammunition. Shutters had been installed on any glass panels, meaning the cockpit and turret windows to give added protection. The Freighter had also experienced many armour and systems upgrades to make it even more valuable for the missions he and by extent the 242 would have to undertake. He and a dozen other Orionians had been sent to work as liaisons between Jedi Knight Rena Shan's 317th Legion of the Grand Army of the Republic and the twelve Orionian fleets and thirty Orionian divisions.

Christmas had come and gone uneventfully bar scrambling around attempting to find a suitable present for Hex, Tracinya and few other squad mates. He had found a pricy yet effective flamethrower module for Tracinya's left wrist. Hex had gotten some emerald green kyber crystal earrings that had made her let out an uncharacteristically girly squeal which had left him laughing seeing as she tried to make herself seem like one of the guys. In return he'd gotten some pathfinder combat boots from Hex which were far superior to the combat boots he had been issued and not to mention more comfy. Tracinya had gotten him an ornately designed knife, a beautiful yet practical present. The blade shared a resemblance to the Ghurkha Kukri knife and had a sharper edge to it. He had tested it out on some training dummies and the dummies had been cut cleanly with little resistance.

Luke had only spoken briefly to the 317th's General Rena Shan. Aside from her being green in some areas… he wasn't shore what to think of her. She was nice, though sometimes could come off as arrogant and a bit prudish. She cared for her men and saw the clones as people, but previous combat records showed that got in the way when she became hesitant to make any move that would encounter heavy loses, even if they were necessary or unavoidable. She wasn't a bad person or leader per say, but she left somethings to be desired in terms of tactics. She didn't exactly fit into any mental boxes he liked to put things in to keep everything simple. She was an anomaly. Jedi he met were either like Skywalker and Kenobi who were brilliant generals, or like Pong Krell who cared nothing for what they considered beneath them, i.e. forceless barbarians from beyond civilised space and clones and lastly Jedi with inept military leadership but were alright people which somehow redeemed them as Generals much to his bafflement. He had decided to place her in new mental box labelled as anomalies. He noted that her appearance was somewhat Slavic and Asian, yet she spoke with a somewhat posh British accent.

The Clones of the 317th were just like the rest of their brothers, fun and charming to be around and stood by each other. At this point he expected nothing less of them. Many Orionians liked them despite the controversy of using a Clone army to fight a war.

As Luke began to reassemble his rifle his wrist comm went off.

"Lieutenant Sparrow here."

" _Lieutenant Sparrow. General Shan requests your presence on the Bridge."_ The voice of Captain Korun said.

"Understood Captain. I'm on my way." Luke walked out of _the Shadow_ and made his way past the AT-TE walkers and LAAT gunships that found their home in the rear left section of the Star Destroyer's hanger. At the back of the hanger there was an elevator which he got in that took him up to a walkway which he followed down the many well light silvery corridors on that level until he reached another elevator that would take him to the bridge. A difference between Republic and other galactic starships compared to Orionian ships was that Orionian ships still had stairs in them that took you from one level to another.

When the elevator doors opened he walked onto the bridge. He immediately stood out. No less because he dwarfed everyone by nearly two feet but also by the fact he was dressed in his Multicam BDU compared to the clones who were dressed in either their armour or officer uniform. Just behind the bridge was the command room where Captain Korun and General Shan were, standing around the holo-table. Rena was dressed in her usual dark brown cloak that left only her brown boots and head exposed.

"General, Captain, Lieutenant Sparrow reporting as requested." Luke said saluting.

"At ease," Rena said, "As you can see here, the red planets are the ones that are currently under attack by your military." Two dozen red planets appeared courtesy of the holo-table.

"Separatist forces have scrambled to confront the attacks and are currently committed to defending the Eastern Front. We're currently sneaking round their left flank, stopping at unpopulated and unexplored worlds."

"Weren't we supposed to meet up with the 36th, 37th, 40th, 48th fleets?" Luke asked.

"We were, but a solar storm meant we've had to divert our course and re-route ourselves around it. Our hyperspace drives aren't as fortunate as your Slipspace drives." Captain Korun explained.

"That's very well and all, but I fail to see why you needed to talk to me if that's all you wanted to talk about sirs." Luke responded.

"We'll be dropping out of hyperspace shortly above an unknown world to give the Hyperdrive some maintenance, its been acting up again. While the fleet waits in orbit, Captain Korun, you, Bantha Battalion and I will go planet side." Rena explained.

"Am I allowed to ask why or is it classified?" inquired Luke, concerned over how far behind schedule that could put them and as a result the attack on Raxus.

"While I cannot say, there is no need to worry. The maintenance will take two cycles and that is as long as we will remain on world. Once the Hyperdrive has been repaired or cleared of any faults, we will be underway once more.," Rena replied before continuing, "I am asking you to come along as you have more combat experience than any of us here and know more about fighting in jungles than we do, making you experienced person currently with the fleet."

"I have no problem with being boots on the ground, ship was feeling a cramped anyway."

* * *

 _2623 6th January Earth Standard Calendar, Lt Luke Sparrow, Unknown Jungle planet_

"Captain, leave two dozen men here to guard the gunships, the rest will come with us." Rena said to Captain Korun. Luke was still in his Multicam BDU but now had his combat vest, upper arm and thigh armour on. His helmet's vizor HUD was telling him it was currently sitting twenty-eight degrees Celsius. The humidity in the air was evident from the way his clothes clung to his body and the heavy feeling to the air around him. He wiped so sweat of his face due to the swelteringly hot sun beaming down into the clearing. Jungle worlds and jungles in general were unpleasant places, beautiful for sure nut the climate was not worth it.

The clearing they were in now contained five gunships, two of which would be scouting the planet from the air. That left three in the clearing and a total of one hundred a fifty people planet-side the LAAT gunship's crews not included. Rena's reasoning behind the large number of people was that as the planet was unknown they could find anything down below. Luke would have still preferred a smaller group but had decided against arguing. Looking off to the treeline he couldn't see through the dense vegetation of various shades of greens, purples and other brightly coloured alien fauna. He could hear the noises of the alien jungle wildlife. Some were reminiscent of birds found in the jungles in the Orion Arm.

"So then General, where are we heading to?" Luke asked Rena, curious as to why she had felt it necessary to go boots down onto an unknown world.

"Do not worry Lieutenant, I know the way. Captain Korun, are we ready to move out?" Rena replied.

"Ready general." Korun replied.

"Very well, follow me." She ordered."

"Bantha Battalion let's move!" Korun yelled at the assembled clones. Luke noted that their armour had a sandstone cream highlight to it in the same fashion many clone legions did. Orionian troops didn't get the same level of customization for their armour or gear beyond emblems. Luke walked after Rena and Captain Korun as they entered the jungle. Unlike Rena, Luke and the clones were constantly monitoring the surrounding forest for hostile movement, either from the indigenous wildlife or extra-terrestrial like clankers. The large party kept a tight formation as they began to trek through the jungle or otherwise they'd lose each other in the very dense greenery of the jungle. Luke had taken a position where he was in twenty meters from Rena who was leading them through the jungle but was among the clones whom followed after. The heat had not improved any since they'd entered in fact it had only become more humid. They had been walking for nearly two hours before Luke noticed Captain Korun raise a finger to his helmets headset before speaking ton the General who stopped. Luke and the clones by instinct set up a circular perimeter around area as the two talked and used their comms once more. Luke raised his rifle and scanned the jungle though he doubted there was much need for him too. The jungle seemed devoid of any big animals or other people but that didn't mean there weren't any.

"Lieutenant Sparrow." Rena called as Luke got up and walked over to the two, pushing some shrubs out the way as approached.

"Yes ma'am?" Luke asked.

"We lost contact with two of the gunships that were scouting the area around us from the sky. Take Echo Five with you and head to their last reported position and see if you can find out what's happened." Rena instructed.

"Echo Five, front and centre!" Korun soke over the comms. Thirty seconds later five clones stood in front of them three.

"Echo Five reporting." Spoke one of the clones with a sandstone coloured stipe going down his helmet.

"You will be assisting the Lieutenant in finding out where two of our gunships have gone. Remember he's part of our ally's military so you will be representing the 317th Legion, I expect mothering except your best. Now out gunships vanished twenty miles South West of here, we don't know how so be prepared for anything."

"Understood Sir, okay then Echo, let's get moving." Luke said before motioning for Echo Five to follow.

* * *

They were an hour into what Luke estimated to be a nine to ten-hour trek. The clone squad he was with appeared to be quite green and were going out of their way to seem professional and elite it hurt. He noted that his HUD's waypoint put the missing gunships location still a couple of clicks away.

"You boys can stop trying to impress me. Just do a good and I'll be impressed. I might even give some tips." Luke spoke aloud. He had been deliberating whether or not to speak up for a while now but he felt he had too.

"I told you guys we were trying to hard." One spoke.

"Shut up Zuc." The Sargent retorted.

"We were trying pretty hard Draft."

"Shut up Dex. And not a word from either. You two" Sergeant Draft said.

"Dutch and Mac often make smartass comments." Zuc whispered to Luke

"Its fine, you were under orders." Luke joked.

"So.. uhh… are you going to teach us how to be, you know. Awesome clanker kicking badass like you." Zuc asked.

"ha, ha. Well I can teach you some things but nothing to secret. Okay." Luke swore Zuc had a childlike grin on his face beneath that helmet and that his squad were rolling their eyes.

"Right then, class is in session. I shall train you in the ways of Force, not to be confused with _the Force_. And you all shall be my Padawans. We'll start with some observational skills."

* * *

They had moving in the general direction of the NAV marker Luke had placed for nineteen miles. About half a mile ago the jungle had become straggly silent. No sounds. Bar the rustle of the leaves and the wind. It was unnerving. He shook it off, not wanting to worry himself too much. He had been teaching what he found out to be fresh clones about how to observe their environment, better team worker skills, more efficient ways to clear out rooms and such. They had picked it all up like a sponge in water. Luke found himself having fun with them. The squad moved silently, none of them having anything to say, the clones anticipation was building as it was their first significant mission entrusted mainly to just them. After a few more minutes, a curious sight was unfolded in front of them. In front of them, were about 20 cat-sized creatures.

He couldn't describe them in any way other than that they resembled a cross between a bird and a rat. They had brown fur all over their body, with a beak-like mouth and razor-sharp teeth. Their arms and legs ended with small claws.

"Scavengers. Not a danger for us." Luke said.

"Look…" Draft said. luke saw that Draft was looking upwards as he followed his gaze.

Above them there were four… things hanging from some sort of a rope. He should have immediately known what was hanging there, but it was completely covered by the scavenger creatures. It was obvious though that whatever it was, it had once been alive. He saw one of the creatures tear off a part of the flesh and swallow it as its claws were dug into what ever the thing was.

Luke drew his handgun and released a shot into the air. The creatures squealed, a high-pitched shriek, and scattered all around, disappearing in the undergrowth around them. Just as the last of them disappeared from sight, luke heard a startled gasp emanate from one of the clones. He looked up and understood why.

Above them, hanging upside down from a rope of sorts, four, half eaten human corpses. But there was something even more disturbing about the sight; some of the bodies had no skin, and all of them were headless.

"What...the fuck…" He heard Zuc whisper. Mac mumbled something about him not feeling well.

Luke inspected the bodies. They were fresh ones, at least no older than a couple of hours.

Questions rose in his head, leading only to more and more questions.

"Who the fuck would skin someone?! Its not Sepi's as far as I know… they've never even tried to pull shit like this before." Draft said with disgust creeping into his voice, expressing Luke's exact thoughts.

What the fuck was going on here? First, the jungle went dead quite, and now… these bodies hanging upside down from a tree. He looked at the ropes that were tied to the feet of the bodies. The ropes had been tied to the high branches of a huge tree but… that looked like an awfully difficult job to do. The one or "ones" who did it must've climbed up the tree, while carrying the bodies. From there, they must have hung the corpses from the highest branch. But the fact that the branches were 25 feet above the ground and extremely slender… well whoever they were, they were very dedicated to whatever reason they had done this for.

"Bodies must belong to the pilots." Dutch declared.

"I have a feeling we'll soon be finding out who's bodies these belong too..." Luke said, "Come on, the gunships shouldn't be far from here."

"No need, I think I found them." Dex spoke in a voice that was somewhere between stunned and horrified.

"Really, I don't see… any… smoke…?" Zuc said before he saw what Dex had found and the others turned to see. The two gunships hadn't crashed like they had expected through either malfunction or being attacked which they now had expected. Instead they were sitting, motionless in the sky. It was if they were hovering in the air which they could very well do under their own power. But what scared Luke was not only the fact that the engines weren't on, but that every single part and every single piece of the two gunships ha been disassembled and was all hovering in the air. It was as if he was looking at a life sized model Airfix Kit of two LAAT gunships laid out piece by piece before assembly.

"What the fuck happened here?" Luke asked to no one in particular. He was equally stunned and terrified, more so than when he'd been tortured on Mandalor. Not even Varad had this kind of power. The only thing or being he could think of that could even manage to do something like this was a Jedi or Sith. Either way he used his helmets camera to take snap shots of the pilots and state of the gunships as evidence to show the general in the inevitable derief.

"Whatever did this also killed the pilots. And it's out there somewhere." Luke said.

"Krif, it could come after us next." Mac said his DC-15 rifle pointing at the jungle, he swung it around pointing at different places, trying to find what had committed the two acts they had found.

"Shit we need to report and warn the General. General Shan come in. This is Lieutenant Sparrow, I repeat General Shan come in." Luke said into his comm but all he got was static, likely from some kind of interference.

"I've just got static. One of you try." Luke said. Draft immediately went to his wrist comm.

"General come in, general come in. Krif. Just like you sir, nothing but static." Draft said sadly.

"What do we do, we have no comms and no way to contact either the fleet, landing zone or General Shan?" asked Dutch.

"Simple, we trek back to the LZ, every half hour we attempt to radio General Shan, the fleet or the LZ. Planetary rotation means we got three more hours of daylight, but as we're in the jungle we have only an hour before it gets dark for us. We have around thirty clicks of ground to cover so we'll be travelling through the dark. I don't want to stop encase whatever thing that did this finds us." Luke decided.

"What about the pilots?" Zuc asked, hesitant to leave his brothers in such a state.

"Its not ideal and I'd rather not, but I do not want to risk my life, yours or any of our lives while we're cutting them down and burying them. On the Brightside, we know where they are so we can always come back for them." Luke explained grimly but honestly, "Come on we've got ground to cover and we don't want to be found by anything except friendlies."

* * *

Anxiety, a lot of fucking anxiety; that's what Luke was feeling right now. At this point in his military career he was considered a veteran, especially since he'd been fighting from the beginning. Currently in his early twenties, fighting hard and living rough, but now he felt himself slowly losing his edge, as if the tip of a knife were to become dull. With the death and destruction he had witnessed and partaken in, he needed to take a break and detox it all from his system. Or at least take week long break from combat or transferring to a new combat zone. Some of his best friends had died right in front of him during battle, a few of them in his arms occasionally, their blood always soaking his BDU's. Injured beyond memory, both emotionally and physically, it was surprising just how much he was still able to take now that he thought of it.

He'd always felt a slight fear before battle, knowing that every time he dropped into battle could possibly be the last time he ever did. Fear, when soldiers who had been standing right next to him got egged by plasma bolts, falling to the ground screaming in agony and rage, refusing to go down without a fight. He definitely felt fear a lot of times, but he'd never felt anything like this. During the Galactic Civil War, and the following Insurgency as many called it, he had always known what he was fighting.

The Orioian military had spent years of learning how the Insurrectionists fought and developing counter-measures against them, a hidden enemy, the fight had always been hard but at least there had been ways to fight back against the enemy. Here though... here there was nothing to shoot at, nobody to fucking return fire to.

They all knew something was here in the jungles with them, but they didn't know where or what it was.

He knew one thing for sure though; it was definitely not friendly and it was most definitely not of Separatist origin. In any recent war he could think of, no one had ever conspired such grotesque displays. Sure, people had been treated like vermin, but they never hanged the dead; usually they'd just leave the bodies on the battlefield until they rotted or until the planet was in ruins.

They also never took heads for trophies, as the Luke and the clones had guessed after inspecting the bodies. The heads had been ripped clean off along with a portion of the spinal cord, as if it had been a normal and effortless action to perform. Dex had suggested that perhaps it was a local alien race that was intelligent enough to hang bodies and skin people, but that theory was quickly ruled out.

The planet was uninhabited and uncharted, and the _tranquilities'_ scanners had been unable to detect any signs of sentient life on the planet. Whoever was out there in the jungle with them, didn't seem too keen on making allies. Despite slowing down to attempt radio contact with any friendly forces they could they had simply been met by more static. It was now dark, and the clones had been forced to activate their helmets night vision mode while Luke had activated his visors own night vision. Luke had forbidden them turning on their helmets and rifles torches as it would give away their position which he was not about to take any chances on. The jungle was still ominously quite, and the dark didn't help matters. The human imagination, cloned or not, ran wild in the dark. Especially in places were there was low visibility and the earlier sights of floating disassembled gunships and skinned clones were not helping put their minds at ease. The shadows seemed to jump out at them. Vegetation sometimes appeared humanoid. The slightest rustle of a bush or leaves made some of them jump ever so slightly. They were tenser than a spring. Whenever anyone spoke in sounded like a yell in contrast to the lack of noise from the jungle.

They were coming to a crest in the ridgeline they were walking along. Luke took a knee and motioned for them all to stop. The clones immediately gathered around him in a circle. Their backs facing each other. Luke motioned for Draft to come over next to him. As Draft crouched next to Luke who pointed off to the distance through the thick foliage.

"Six hundred meters West, in the clearing, at the bottom of the hill." He whispered. Draft took out some binoculars which were kept on his belt. Putting them up to his helmets visor Draft could see what Luke had spotted. The Silhouettes of huts made from wood and leaves from surrounding trees in the centre of a semi-clearing. Enough trees to hide the village from detection but enough space for a small village of what could be anywhere from fifty to a hundred people.

"Looks like a village of some kind." Draft commented.

"Indeed it does. Might be home to some force sensitive natives." Luke speculated.

"Should we investigate?" Asked draft.

"No, we've covered half the distance and you guys are clearly tired. We'll dig in here for an hour or two, then continue." Luke explained, the clone squad looked a little relieved by the way their shoulders sagged a little at hearing that. As the clones settled in, hiding in between the large sturdy roots of the tall trees that put the red woods on Earth to shame. He sat down at the base of one of these trees behind a root. He was just settling down after five minutes when he felt as though something was looking at him. He peered out over the top of the root out into the jungle. Just off to the east of the village. He peered through the may greens of the night vision but couldn't make out anything. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Dutch doing the same. Luke also noticed that he had gotten his M60-AR at the ready. Looking back out into the jungle he spotted nothing out of the ordinary or creepy looking. However, down by a small river than ran past the village, he could have sworn he saw the jungle, or something move. And when he said it moved he meant it, a humanoid figure of some kind had moved with a slight white colour to it.

"Did you see that!" Dutch asked in a panicked whisper.

"Yeah, we're no longer as alone as we thought." Luke said as he raised his rifle and aimed it off into the Jungle. Dutch was shaking the others awake as they'd all began to doze off.

"What's happening?" asked Dex as he grabbed his DC-15 carbine.

"Somethings out there. Me and Dutch don't know what, but we saw something move. We're assuming it's what killed the pilots, we spotted it down by the river. Can't give an exact size but its camouflaged, can't tell how well. Either we stumbled upon it or its been following us." Luke explained scanning the jungle for what he saw a moment ago but had now vanished. The clones by this point were up and alert, the sense of urgency released adrenaline which helped.

Luke continued to peer into the jungle. The air felt heavy and almost sweet. The silence hummed loudly. Luke spotted pair of yellowy-orange glowing eyes staring back at him to his left about two hundred meters away. He turned his head to focus on them but when he did the glowing eyes vanished. He spotted them again in a new location and swivelled his eyes and rifle towards them but when his focus was on the eyes they would disappear back into the jungle. From the startled reaction of the clones around him, they too were experiencing what he was seeing. They were panicked. Everyone was holding their breath with their rifles at the high ready. Luke expected some kind of ambush or attack. After ten minutes or so the eyes stopped appearing but the sense of danger remained. Somehow, everything got darker, as if the moon itself had stopped shinning down upon them. The only things Luke could hear was the breathing of the clones and himself as well as the blood rushing through his veins. For another ten minutes Luke performed the Stop Look Listen Smell procedure he had been trained to. Nothing. Not even all the bugs that one would expect to be out and about eating them were present. The air and land were silent.

"Do we stay or do we go." Asked Draft, the fear creeping into his whisper.

"We've got a good defensive position here. We stay dug in until day break, then we leg it back to the LZ." Luke said quietly and calmly in contrast to the urgency he felt.

"There over by the river!" Mac whispered in a urgent tone. Immediately they all turned to look at where Mac had pointed out. Down walking toward the river a figure of human shape could be seen through the night vision. It seemed to move unnaturally. It seemed to pass through any and all obstacles in it's path as though they were made of air. He saw it melt through trees and hover over plants as it continued its path. It appeared t had the same bone white to it that the humanoid from earlier had, but Luke could make out what appeared to by unskinned muscle and sinew on it. He judged it to be seven to eight feet in height. Through their night vision the things eyes had the same yellowy-orange glow to them. Luke scoped up at it and saw it was looking directly at them. It was pitch black and they were behind lots of thick and dense flora. There was no way that thing could have seen them without some kind of night vision optics.

Suddenly it stopped. He picked up one of his limbs and held it in the air, almost like he was waving at them. Then the arm melted back into it's form, like it wasn't an arm at all, but some kind of extendable proboscis that was meant to look like an arm from a distance. Luke was about to ask the guys if they could see it too, when it suddenly disappeared. Lights then started flashing in the village, circular in form that flashed a brilliant bright white light out into the darkness that hurt to look at through the night vision. None of them were going to get a wink of sleep that night.

* * *

2623 7th January Earth Standard Calendar, Lt Luke Sparrow, Unknown Jungle planet

When dawn broke after thirteen hours of sleeplessness and fear and started to penetrate the canopy of the jungle the small unit moved. They had decided to investigate the village before the continued back to the LZ to get some clues as to what was out there. As they slowly and cautiously approached the village they passed through where they had seen some of the lights from the night before. The stench of death and decay reached his nose. Luke and the others soon saw why. Five… bodies, he was hesitant to use the word bodies, laid around the surrounding trees with far more blood possible for just five people. Blood had be sprayed over the trees, ground, plants, everywhere possible there was some amount of blood near a piece of flesh belonging to its previous owner. The bodies if they could be called that had been rendered beyond recognition and were in dozens of pieces. Luke could feel his stomach churn and one of the clones, Zuc, took of his helmet and emptied his stomach contents.

"What happened here?" Asked Dex, not trying to hide his discomfort or fear. Luke pressed on after adding to his photographic evidence. The clones quickly hurried after him, not wanting to be left alone. The village itself was comprised of a large central hut surrounded by many smaller huts and one larger hut to the North, likely belonging to the chief of the village. They only fund more of the same in all the huts. Parts of corpses, some with skin, some without, blood everywhere and no survivors in sight or evidence of an attacker. It just repeated hut after hut with no one spared, not even children or babies. Luke continued to add to the ever-growing collection of morbid photos he was collecting for his report despite the ever increasing feeling of sickness in his stomach. His adrenaline levels and heart rate were through the roof. His fight or flight instincts kicking in screaming at him to get out of dodge and get the fuck odd the planet. Further investigation found some bodies skinned and hung from the trees like the four clone pilots. By the time they had swept the village they had been there a hour and only the large communal hut in the centre and the chiefs hut were left.

Luke and the clones stacked up by the large wooden door on the South facing side of the hut. He could see the intricate tribal carvings on the door, door frame and wooden wall of native spirits and demons and he was inclined to believe one of those things was responsible. Dutch kicked the door down his right leg then immediately took cover to the side as Luke and the remainder of Echo five passed into the hut. They found no threat inside but only more wonderment and fear. In the centre of the dark room were benches and a fire pit. Above the fire pit was a dozen humans. Unlike the ones they had found so far they were still dead but they had not been torn limb from limb in a bloody mess. Instead they were in a spherical shape made entirely from their levitating corpses. Luke picked up one of the spears from the masks, trophies and weapons that were mounted on the huts wall. Slinging his rifle and holding the spear he poked one of the bodies that was levitating. It moved on the direction he poked it before it swung back as if on a string back into its original place in the rotating sphere. Luke took several shots of the awe inspiring seen. He could not deny he wasn't impressed despite his terror at what he was seeing.

"We are in way over our heads." Mac said gazing upon the spectacle.

"You think whatever that thing was last night did this?" Asked Zuc fearfully, he wasn't dealing with this all thing very well but Luke didn't blame him. Never before was he so proud to say he could sometimes exhibit sociopathic tendencies that allowed him a certain level of detachment from everything.

"Whatever it was. It chosen them, not us. We should be thankful for that small mercy." Luke commented. He did not want to fight whatever did this, not with out a dozen divisions, tanks, artillery, air support, any support vehicles possible and a full-scale orbital bombardment from two fleets.

"We are going to clear the chiefs hut then we are hoofing it back to the LZ and we aren't stopping until we get there." Luke clarified, and the others seemed to agree with him, wanting to get out of there ASAP. They left the hut Luke leaving the spear behind them a quickly made their way to the hut belonging to the village chief. AS they came to stack up on the door Mac fell over and screamed. They turned to see what had spooked him so. Out of the wall an arm was sticking out through, however this arm no skin. While muscle and sinews could be seen they were an oily black-reddish combination that was covered in a insect like plates covered it some sort of exoskeleton. Were the wooden structure had punctured the arm an oily black substance leaked out of the arm like an ooze for its blood. Various curses were muttered upon seeing it by all of them. The arm withdrew back inside the hut. Luke pulled a grenade off his chest rig, pulled the pin and threw it through the opening the mystry arm had made in the hut.

"Get down now!" Luke yelled as he dragged Dex with him away from the hut and behind a tree as Zuc, Mac, Dutch and Draft scrambled to find cover of their own. The explosion rocked the quite jungle and village. The left side of the hut was gone. Either as debris that now covered the surrounding ground or collapsed into the main structure. Splinters rained down on the surrounding areas in the shape of wooden spikes in many lengths that would have hurt to be hit by.

Poking his head out from behind the tree he could see no sigh of what the arm had belonged too among the destruction. He carefully advanced upon the hut, assault rifle raised and ready. As he came up to collapsed side of the hit he could see a hand made out of the same stuff as the arm reaching out of the wood that was on top of the thing below.

"Move the debris here." Luke said to Echo Five who set about slowly and cautiously moving the debris off of the thing underneath attached to the hand. Luke's rifle never moved off where the hand was. The Dex, Zuc and Dutch lifted the last board off the creature while Luke, Mac and Draft kept their weapons trained on the soon to be visible creature in case it was still kicking. When the last board had been removed Luke didn't know what he was looking at. It was humanoid for sure, probably once human as well. It had little skin on it but what was there had been seared off and was now dangling off. The arms looked like they belonged to a praying mantis in the way they had formed. Where the grenade blast had caught the creature, it revealed a exoskeleton like form underneath that seemed like it belonged to a spider or cockroach. The head had part of the skin torn off revealing the exoskeleton cranial structure that appeared to be a single white plate that covered the head from the nose up that never went below where the ears would have been to just past the top of the creature's head. The plate also had small indentations or holes on the front of it. It's mouth was beak like, it had no lips that were distinguishable, it just seemed to meld together into four protrusions that spouted from the top of the mouth and five from the bottom that slotted together when closed. It looked like an eldritch abomination brought to reality. Luke made sure to document it.

"I want you guys to cover me. I'm going to dissect it real quick." Luke said, while he was no scientist it may clue him in to any weakness the creatures had.

"Just be quick, between yesterdays findings, that thing from last night and now this creature and village I want to be out of here as soon as possible." Draft said.

"I've got a bad feeling about this." Mac spoke aloud.

"Shut it Mac." Dex snapped back. Luke took out the knife Tracinya had gotten him. He began to peel back the skin and then the plates underneath. Ooze and goo leaking from the intrusions he made. Everything he took out he placed to the side. He took as many photos as he could as he did so. He could hand of off to the intelligence department to make sense of. Once he had finished he wiped of the ooze that now coated the knife. The clones now gazed upon the dissected corpse in morbid curiosity. Beneath the exoskeleton of the creature he found the bones and organs reminiscent of a humans though if the organs were necessary to the creatures life he had no idea.

"What the hell is that thing. Its not anything recognized in the galaxy." Commented Zuc.

"I don't know. I've visually documented what's happened on my helmet camera so I can hadn this over to someone to study. Though I fear if I take back any samples it will eventually be used to make biological weapons. So we'll leave the body here." Luke said standing up.

"Come on, this place is giving me the creeps, lets move out." Luke said before they quickly exited the village and headed toward the LZ quickly as they possibly could. They were not going to hang around in case anything was after them. As they left they were unaware of a being in the trees watching them with a low deep growl that was now following them.

* * *

 _25031 Galactic Standard Calendar_ , _Jedi Knight Rena Shan, Unknown Jungle world_

Rena walked under an extended branch and she let the Force guide her towards her destination. The moment the fleet had arrived in orbit she had felt it through the force. Something on this planet was calling out to her, it was the same planet as the one she had seen in her vision. She was sure of it. She trusted the force to guide her to the temple and protect it or what it contained from the dark presence that was either on or to come to this world. She found the planet to have a remarkable connection to the force, it was in the plants, the animals, in the very air itself. The force permeated the very essence of the planet and it was amazing to experience the connection. Though the calm and ancient she could sense an underlying tension, as though the jungle itself was on edge.

To make matters worse, two gunships and their crews had gone missing and the search team hadn't reported back yet. Captain Korun had said that it was probably just interference of some kind and that they wold head back to the landing zone if they had lost contact. The troops back at the landing zone had been told to keep an eye out for the search team and report back the second they appeared.

The felt the Force grow steadily stronger around her as it had been doing since leaving the gunships, she was getting closer to the temple.

" _Gener… han… come…n, neral… Shan… is… Lieuten… rrow… ome in…"_ Her wrist comm went off as the broken voice of Lieutenant Sparrow came through after the better part of a day of no communications. It seemed Korun was right when he said there was interference.

"Lieutenant Sparrow, I hear you. What is your status." Rena asked.

" _We fou.. gunships… pilo… KIA… gunships… assembled…. Village... creature… Inhabitants killed… not alone… heading back… LZ…"_ The static was proving annoying. It was clear to her that the missing gunships had been found and their crew were dead, why he had said the gunships were assembled confused her. From the rest of the garbled transmission the search party had found a village and an animal of some kind and that those that inhabited the village were now dead. The Not alone part probably referred to the village and what killed the villagers. As Korun also had said they would head back to the landing zone.

"Captain there's a clearing up ahead isn't there?" Rena asked.

"Yes General, the orbital scans indicated as much." Korun answered.

"Lieutenant, continue back to the landing zone." Rena ordered.

" _Underst… Genreal…"_

"Lieutenant Marr, the search team is heading back to your location. Once they arrive you are to move to a new landing zone at a clearing nearer our location where you will remain until we leave tomorrow." Rena ordered the clone left in charge of the Landing zone. She needed to know what the Lieutenant had found without the report being all scrambled by poor comm communications.

* * *

 _2623 7th January Earth Standard Calendar, Lt Luke Sparrow, Unknown Jungle world_

Luke sat on the floor on the Gunship's troop compartment with his legs dangling out of the gunship. They and the other two remaining gunships skimmed the canopy of the jungle. The land was amazingly flat with the only differentiation in topography came in the various heights of the trees and the few hills that popped up.

They had managed to make it to the LZ without any incidents and the closer that they had gotten the less the interference became a problem. That didn't make his and Echo Five's sense of danger any less. They wanted to be off this rock before they encountered that creature again. Looking out the gunship he saw the clearing they would be touching down in as the three gunships made their orbit around it. He could see the clones setting up a small encampment and some perimeter guards patrolling the tree line. A few trenches had been dug in the clearing in an L shape as it provided the most line of fire and protection. Though he wasn't sure if small arms could harm what attacked the village.

As the gunships touched down he pushed off the floor and landed on his feet on the clearing's grass floor. The clones followed shortly after once the gunship had stopped moving. Luke immediately made a beeline to where General Shan was, they needed to get off this planet. That thing they had encountered had spooked him, he kept glancing into the forest trying to see if it had followed them. He found General Shan meditating under a small tree near the centre of the clearing a couple meters away from where the gunships touched down. He stood a few metres away from her deliberating whether to interrupt her meditation.

"I can sense your presences, or rather, lack off Lieutenant," _Fucking Jedi magic._ It seemed like he didn't need to wait for her to finish meditating, "Do you have a report on the missing gunships."

"Yes General. Echo Five and I made our way to the location where the gunships went missing. We found them and their pilots. All the pilots were dead. They had been hung from the trees by their feet and completely skinned alive," He saw her face contort in horror at the fate of the pilots, "the gunships themselves weren't shot down or crash landed." Luke explained.

"What do you mean?" Asked Rena.

"Well, the gunships were suspended in the air regardless of what made contact with them. They had also had been completely taken a part piece by piece like a toy model." As he told her he showed her the pictures his helmet came he had taken on his tac-pad. She scrolled though them taking in every detail.

"What do you think did this?" She asked concernedly.

"Let explain what else happened first," She nodded, "We lost comms about that point and as such decided to head back to the LZ. We were understandably on edge after all that, so we moved quickly and around dusk came upon a ridge where we spent the night. From the ridge we discovered a village. During the night something, what we believed what also attacked the gunships, hit the village. There were no survivors, the villagers were all found the same way as the pilots, except for this one creature," he brought up the images of the cockroach-spider like creature they found on the Tac-pad for Shan to see, "we don't know if it's indigenous or the thing we found was responsible."

"And what was this creature you think did this." Rena asked curiously.

"Taller than me, no skin or flesh. Just bone with some sinew and muscle. Likely connected to the Force in some way. If the abomination we found in the village is a product of this creature we can assume it can either create these things or turn people into them. And it skins its victims, sometimes even removing the head. It is certainly a supernatural being. We didn't stick around to see if it came back and if it followed us. We therefore don't know if small arms can harm it or not. I would recommend we get off world as soon as possible." Luke would admit to the fact that he had been spooked by this thing, he was prideful, just not that prideful.

"Thank you for your assessment and I respect your expertise, but we will be remaining on world. We are close to our destination, so we shall be staying." Rena said dismissively.

"With all due respect General, I must insist that we get off world. This thing can dismantle gunships in mid-flight. You, a Jedi, might be able to fight that, but me, the clones. We are unlikely to be able to harm it." Luke said. For once he wasn't keen on seeing if he could fight and win an engagement, especially with this creature.

"As I said earlier, we will be staying. Your dismissed Lieutenant." Rena spoke ignoring Luke's point. Not about to push the issue, he decided to let the Jedi reap what she sew. He decided to go find Echo Five and plan for how they would survive an encounter with the creature.

* * *

Luke sat in the trench, the rain drizzling down his face. When it rains in the jungle, it pours down relentlessly with no sign of mercy. The tiny, cramped trench shared by Luke and Echo Five already had a little pond forming at the bottom. There had been no sign of the supernatural being they had encountered a day earlier but Luke wasn't one to take unnecessary chances. He had spent the entire night awake, scanning the jungle in the downpour, the members of Echo Five had taken usual watch rotations. His clothes were soaked through as was all his gear. He involuntarily shivered from the rain induced cold.

It was approaching three AM standard time, Mac had taken over watch from Dex. The two stood in silence, the rain making the only sounds they could hear.

"Movement, one hundred yards, three o'clock." Mac spoke quietly. Luke turned in the direction Mac had pointed out. The green tinted jungle revealed nothing to him through his night vision goggles, he couldn't spot what Mac had seen.

"What did you see?"

"Not sure, but I have a sinking feeling it might be that thing we encountered."

"Get the others up, it's better to be safe than sorry." Mac left his position in the trench to shake Dex awake to help him get the others up. Luke continued to watch the jungle through the night vision. He could see if anything was moving around. There was a lot of plants that would make it impossible to spot someone determined to remain unseen if they so desired. He raised his gun to point at a branch in a tree that looked sturdy enough to hold some weight but had moved as if something was standing on it. He couldn't make out anything on the branch though which was around twenty-five metres from his location. By now Mac and Dex had been able to wake the others up and all had taken their positions in the trench.

"What are we dealing with?" Asked Draft, taking a position next to Luke.

"Mac said he saw something move in the jungle, we have a hunch it's that thing from earlier. I thought it best that we were prepared in case it was rather than be caught with out pants down." Luke said, not looking away from the jungle edge.

"And what if it is." Draft inquired.

"Engage if it proves hostile or given direct orders from above." Luke clarified. He kept his gun trained on the jungle. The cool rain continued to fall, the small layer of water in the bottom of their trench rising and increasing the gloopy mud that sucked your foot in and would be a struggle to get out of. The cold rainwater sucked the warmth from his body and his attire resulting in more shivers from him.

" _General I have movement."_ The comm fizzled to life. Luke and Echo Five immediately tensed and waited with baited breath.

" _What is it trooper?"_ General Shan could be heard asking.

" _A number of humanoid figures have appeared and are walking towards our position. We can't make out any of their features."_ The voice of the clone could be heard.

" _Engage only I-"_ Rena began.

" _General we've got similar contacts on our side!"_

" _Same here!"_

" _General there here as well, we're being surrounded."_

Luke looked around to the other positions and could see what the clones had spotted. Even with his night vision he struggled to make out any details of the silhouetted figures. Turning around he could see where his vision wasn't obstructed by the General's tent or the gunships. The unidentified attackers had surrounded their position, but none had yet to appear in front of them. That meant they were either hiding in the undergrowth or leaving the stretch of jungle deliberately free of their presence to offer and escape route that would likely lead to a trap.

"Get ready, we made need to make a quick escape." Luke told the others.

" _My orders stand, engage only if they prove hostile."_ Rena informed.

"And what constitutes as 'hostile' in this case General." Asked Luke to clarify for everyone.

" _If you are attacked by them."_ She answered as though he should have already known.

"That's not what I was asking and she knows that." Luke said aloud to no-one in particular.

Luke heard a shot ring out from the opposite side of the clearing. An unearthly loud piercing shriek emanated from the side where the shot came from and was echoed by the other silhouettes. The silhouettes began to sprint towards their positions. The clones began to fire at the attackers, most if the shots missing in their panic. Those that did hit seemed to do nothing but enrage the undeterred attackers. Luke and Echo Five added their own fire power to the mix, despite the illuminating qualities of the plasma and blaster bolts it was difficult to make out any more details of the attackers, even with the night vision they appeared as a solid block of colour.

The creatures faster than any man could and soon they were among the clone positions. Unlike Orionian troops, clones that weren't in the Special Forces were not issued with combat knives, let alone bayonets. As a result when they engaged in hand to hand they had a disadvantage when it wasn't droids. Luke could hear, rather than see the results. Luke could heart their screams as what he assumed the creatures mouths or claws that rendered the armour. He did his best to tune out their screams of pain and death throes, the panicked commands of General Shan, the desperate voice of Captain Korun. Luke fired at one of the creatures attacking the clones in a nearby position. The shot struck the creature's head, it let out a screech and toppled over. Casting a quick glance at the direction his position was facing into the jungle he couldn't see any creatures that way.

" _All forces withdraw to the gunships!"_ Rena's voice came through the comm above all the other noise. Based on the situation alone Luke knew that many clones that hadn't been killed would still be unable to board the gunships without being killed by the creatures. Those that did get aboard would then have to survive the creatures swarming the gunships. Already he could see troopers breaking from their positions and quickly hurrying toward the nearest gunship.

"Central Peel now!" Luke yelled to echo five, "cover in twos. Me and Zuc will cover first, then Draft and Dex, then Mac and Dutch will cover us by the gunship." Luke and Zuc continued to fire at the creatures while the other four began to run toward the nearest gunship. Luke waited ten seconds before he tapped Zuc's shoulder and they turned a clambered out their tiny trench toward the gunship. Draft and Dex had already crouched down and were laying suppressing fire and up ahead Dutch and Mac could be seen nearing the gunship. Luke brought up the rear behind Zuc as they passed Draft and Dex. He could see Dutch starting to lay down covering fire by the gunships bay doors with Mac not far behind. He could see General Shan with her lightsabre out, unable to do anything unless the creatures came near her. He could also see Korun helping a limping clone toward the gunships supported by three other clones all of whom were covering him. He could see some blaster fire strafing harmlessly into the air from clones who had been thrown to the ground and being torn into.

Luke had crouched down next to Dutch and added his own suppressing fire for the retreating clones. Luke could hear one of the gunships powerful engines revving, it was likely about to take off. Thye continued to fire at the attacking creatures, some going down, and staying down but most just kept coming. One of the gunships had begun to take off, either from being full or being under threat of the creatures. Luke let off a two round burst into one creature before swivelling to a new target. Through the scope he almost missed it, emerging through the trees, his eyes just making it out through the scope as he transitioned from target to target. It was the same creature that had attacked the village. He was able to see it more clearly now. A humanoid skeleton with the bones, muscle and sinew were all on display, there was not a trace of skin, its head had nothing but the skeletal bones. He judged it to be seven foot or higher. As it approached it pushed trees, bushes or anything in its path out of its way. It was about to enter the clearing when it raised its arms. It began to become covered in an armour that looked like solid blocks of meat that linked together to form a protective shell, on its back and head, bones began to protrude as spikes of different lengths. It raised its hand toward the gunship that had started to climb to the safety of the sky. Luke took his eyes off it to turn to the gunship. It seemed to just freeze in the air, unbale to move. Then the outer nuts and bolts came out, followed by the armoured panels until the surface layer of the gunship had been completely removed and hovered around it. Then the gunship began to be further disassembled, the outer layers, electronics, nuts, bolts and all slowly became a separate piece rom the rest as the gunship began to resemble the two gunships Luke and Echo Five had found. The clones he could see were clutching their helmets and rolling on the floor of the gunship, all were screaming. The unluckier or perhaps lucky ones fell off the gunship and plummeted toward the ground. For Luke that ruled out using the gunships present for escape, if the creature could do that to three gunships it could do it for the other two. He saw its gaze move to the other gunships as it raised both of its pointy hands toward them.

"Away from the gunships now!" Luke yelled as he moved to get at least ten metres away. The clones around and in the gunship nearest him obeyed.

" _Lieutenant, why are the men near gunship 1-4 running away?"_ Rena asked, she soon got here answer. Both gunships started to be disassembled. Luke and the clones around and in gunship 1-4 were fine dur to not being near the gunship when it was being taken apart. Those in gunship 1-5 and those right next to it suffered the same fate as those on gunship 1-3.

"General, there's a gap in the enemy line to the west, we should escape while we can and call for evac somewhere else." Luke said as the clones nearest to him regrouped at his position, their backs facing the gap in the enemy lines. Luke could see Rena, Korun and their few surviving clones. They were taking the brunt of the attack and were close to being overwhelmed.

"General you need to fall back now!" Luke yelled into the comm. Luke continued to lay down covering fire. The blaster fire seemed to be ineffective unless very concentrated, plasma on the other hand seemed to do the most damage, even if it took a few hits to put them down. The creature rom the night before with the godlike powers began to advance on the Generals position. Luke fired upon with Echo Five, their shots seemed to miss. It wasn't that they were able to hit it, they should have been. It was that any shot that would have it seemed to bend around the creature, like it hit some shield. The shot would then roll over the creature and then continue on. Small arms had no effect on it. It just kept on advancing undeterred by the sustained fire.

"General fall back! We'll cover you!" Luke yelled into the comms once more. Luke couldn't tell if her comm was working or she was just to absorbed in the fight. He noticed some of the clones led by Korun attempting to disengage and make it to his position, however they were being held up y the fact that the Jedi was not following them. Korun seemed to snap her from her battle induced stupor by shaking her shoulder a nearly losing the arm to her lightsabre. He pointed to where Luke and the others were shooting from. As Rena, Korun and the half dozen other clone survivers with them made to Luke the creatures seemed to ease off.

"There's another clearing about four miles west from here, we'll head there. Lieutenant, you take point," Korun said, "Alright men, let's go!" Luke lead the surviving thirty troopers as they later counted. Thirty-three survivors, hunted by a creature they could not kill and its minions it controlled that seem to feel no pain. The creature that was able to control the jungle and possibly reality around it. A Jungle God. That settled it for Luke, he was going to ask for a raise, or a bonus or some form of compensation. Even if he wouldn't get anything he was still going to ask. But first, he had to survive and escape. He would be damned if he allowed himself to die on a backwards ass planet, he was going to survive, and kill anything that got in his way. Even a God.

* * *

 **A/N: This Story is now currently two years old, I never though when I started writing it that I would have kept writing for as long as I have, nor had such a positive reaction from the readers. Thank you for the continued support and reading of the Story and to everyone who has favorited and followed this story.**


	34. Hunted

The First Contact War Chapter 34

Hunted

" _A Hunter must stalk his prey until the hunter becomes the hunted. Then the Prey becomes the Predator. Then the Predator and Hunter fight"._

 _25031 Galactic Standard Calendar_ _,_ _Jedi Knight Rena Shan, Unknown Jungle world_

They had been keeping the quick pace Lieutenant Sparrow had set when they had stopped running away from the things, roaches as the Lieutenant and Echo Five had taken to calling them, had ceased to pursue them. Since then, Sparrow and Echo Five had taken point to leading the survivors through the jungle, and unknowingly to them, towards the sense of the light side of the Force she had been sensing. She could still feel the dark presence from the thing that had led to roaches was still lurking around their old position. Since she had served as the General to the 317th she had never experienced anything as terrifying or confusing as the attack from earlier that night.

She had not expected the attack, nor had she been prepared for it. She had felt overwhelmed both mentality and also in combat which had seen most of the troops she had brought with her dead. The remainder were demoralised, tired and exhausted and she would by lying if she did not admit that she was also a little exhausted and demoralised. The only ones who seemed to be fine by comparison were Echo Five. The clones in the squad seemed to take the quick march, combat and the experience in stride though they had experience the roaches and the creature a day before the rest of them. And that was before she even got to Sparrow who Echo Five likely drew their motivation from. Sparrow appeared to be like gung-ho stalwart soldier from an action-holo. He stayed professional, always knew what to do and was an excellent shot.

Rena guessed from the growing strength of the Force presence that they were close to the source. If she could find it then she could Find the source of the light side presences on this world and save it from the darkness that wished to consume it. Once she had protected it or collected it, they could get off world and get back on track with the invasion.

Sparrow had just disappeared over a rise in the jungle and the shrub closed behind him when she heard him call back to her.

"General, I think you should see this!"

Rena pushed her tired legs to move a bit faster and pushed a few of the vines and bushes in her path out of her way. Pushing through the bush Sparrow had walked through. She came out onto a ledge that was just covered in grass. Before her stood a vast clearing that was mainly grass as was usually seen in such clearings, however, here there was a sky-blue river that meandered through the clearing with a few tall trees springing from its bank with reeds dotted the whole way along. Behind the river there was a large pyramid stone structure that towered above the surrounding trees. It was made of a dark grey polished stone that even from the distance they were at she could tell the stone was worn and cracked, parts of the structure had crumbled and lay at the base of the pyramid in piles. She knew that from the light side of the Force that the building exuded that this was the source of the light side presence she had felt. Whatever it was the Force was guiding her to was inside.

"What do you want to do sir?" Sparrow asked.

"Do you believe we could fortify this position and wait for extraction here?" She asked

"I can say that this is probably are best bet if we want to hold out for an extraction, and we'll definitely be able to get a signal out."

"Good, in that case we'll set up positions at the top, you, Echo Five and I will make sure that we're safe from any internal threats from the pyramid."

"Understood General."

* * *

 _2623 8th January Earth Standard Calendar, Lt Luke Sparrow, Uncharted Jungle World_

The flashlight attachment on Luke's gun illuminated the large stone door in the floor of tiny little building that sat on the top of the pyramid super structure. The room was dark and cool compared to the surroundings and was a welcome relief to the humidity outside. The clones had taken up positions on the top two tiers. Captain Korun was left in charge and was currently contacting the fleet in orbit for a rescue. For now, Rena was trying to understand how the door worked by feeling for a stone that would act as a release mechanism for the door like in an old adventure flick.

Personally Luke could wait to go back to fighting conventional enemies and getting off world. But that all depended on the fleet in orbit getting a transport to them. Luke stood off to the side as he continued to watch Rena press different tiles on the floor to see what they would do.

"It's clearly not working sir, we should just go outside and assist the rest of the men on lookout." Luke said, though he didn't expect Rena to listen to him.

"Patience Lieutenant, I would've thought that a soldier of your type would be able to wait. Besides, I know there's something here." Rena responded.

"You have been trying for the past ten minutes, there's nothing here. We should head back outside and wait for the gunship." Luke said once more. He was antsy, that thing and its roaches somewhere out in the jungle and they had no idea where it was. Rena pressed yet another tile and Luke expected it to go the same way every other time did. However, this time, just so the universe could prove him wrong, the tile did something.

The ancient mechanisms of the structure began to creek and groan as they started their age-old purpose. The floor began to open up making everyone move towards the walls away from the now forming staircase in the floor. _Maybe if I don't say anything or do anything. There won't be an I told you so._

"Well then Lieutenant, I told you something was here." Rena's smug voice could be heard.

"One, how did you know, and two, isn't smugness against your Jedi code or something." Luke bit back playfully.

"Firstly, the Force guided me, if you trust it the Force will guide you, all you have to do is listen. And secondly a little smugness doesn't hurt every now and then." She responded in kind, "Now come we've got to clear this building." With that she activated her lightsabre and entre the stairway into the building below.

"Not a word." Luke said to Echo Five as he followed after her, aware of the sniggers from the clones who in turn followed him.

Upon walking down the stairs the walls and floor grew wet if the sheen from the stone was anything to go by as was the moss like vegetation on the walls. In the walls were crude cut notches were old torches were. The steps were not perfectly cut and varied in shape or size though all were slippery. Rena's lightsabre illuminated the dark and damp spiral stairway as they continued to descend. The few drops of moisture that made contact with the blade fizzled and immediately evaporated.

After a minute of walking down stairs they came to a passage way with runes adorning the archway that separated the stairs from the rest of the temple's interior. Rena stopped and held up her lightsabre to them, trying to get a closer look. Luke knew that the chances of anyone understanding a language that had never been encountered before without being a linguist was minimal. Luke took up a position behind the arch next to Rena and kept his attention at the other end of the passage way ahead of them.

"Must be Runes of some kind but I can't make them out, let's move on." Rena spoke aloud.

Following the passage way led them to a large dome roofed chamber with a stone table in the centre on an elevated position. Oddly there was an artificial light source coming from a crystal spire in the centre of the dome roof. It shone a blue tinted light into the room that gave everything it touched a luminescent glow to it. Dutch let out an impressed whistle and Luke didn't disagree, it was all very impressive. There were three tunnels that led out of the room, not including the one they used.

"Which one do we use?" Asked Mac. A low screeching noise could be heard coming from the dark passage way to their left.

"I elect we don't take that one." Dex spoke. Another screech could be heard from the same passage way. From the echo it made there was at least some time before what they could only assume and hope that was a single roach or two. He didn't need to see the clones faces to know they were jittery.

"General, I have enough explosive on me to level the tunnel we used to get here and keep those things from hitting us from below, I suggest we get topside now and seal the passage behind us." Luke said turning quickly to Rena who seemed engrossed by the tunnel directly ahead of them with a far off look in her eye.

"General!" She didn't respond.

"General!" He said louder. She still didn't respond

"General!" He said, this time grabbing her shoulder and shaking her a little. That seemed to wake her from her trance. Her eyes widened and she let out a startled gasp.

"General, we need to leave. Now." Luke said once more.

"No, I'm sensing a presence of a powerful force object down that tunnel. We need to get it."

"General I must insist that we leave now and seal the tunnel behind us."

"No I am getting that object. I must get that object." Rena said determinedly. Luke let out a frustrated sigh.

"Alright fine," he said as he took out any grenades bar one as well as the two sticks of c-17 he had on him and gave them to Zuc, "If those things appear before we get back I want you to blow the tunnel behind us, ensure nothing can get back. I'm going with the General."

"Why not just blow the tunnel they are coming from?" Asked Rena.

"Because if they then come from one of the two remaining tunnels they'll be no way to stop them from reaching everyone back on top of the temple. If we seal the way back up we still have another tunnel we can go down if we are sealed down here. And it makes sure that everyone back up top is just that more secure. And you shouldn't go alone down here, especially if those things are down here as well." Rena nodded in acceptance. The clones seemed less enthusiastic but none raised any complaint. As the clones either took up position at the stairs or planted the explosives, Luke and Rena started down the centre passage to whatever Rena had been sensing. Luke was sceptical about the Force and more sceptical about it drawing them down here. However, Rena as a Jedi and as many of her clone legion as they could now have would be vital for the assault on the Separatist capital world, he couldn't allow any more to die, at least if her could help it.

The corridor they made their way down was made of the same stone as temple and was still just as damp and cold to the touch. The two walked in silence. Rena moved quickly and inquisitively, taking in every detail as they passed through, guided by her Force. Luke instead walked just as quickly but instead was looking over his shoulder, checking corners and not letting his guard down. The screeches hadn't grown any less infrequent and had slightly increased. Fortunately, he hadn't heard any explosion meaning the roaches hadn't made it to the clones yet.

"So what exactly are you looking for down here?" he asked, if he was going to die down here he wanted to know why he was going to die on some nameless planet facing these eldritch abominations.

"I'm not sure?" she answered.

"Neeeeaaat. That just super neat. Get stuck on an uncharted world with eldritch horrors, that's neat. We're likely going to die down here, that's just supeeerrr neat. Don't even know what it is we're looking for. It's all just neat." He said rolling some of the words, making it clear to even a brick wall how he felt.

"You aren't very happy right now, are you?" Rena dryly responded.

"I am very not happy right now."

"You did choose to come with me, so you don't get to complain."

"True, in hindsight it might've been best to stay with the clones and leave you down here." He said wistfully.

"But then you would be without my charming company." She playfully jibbed back. It was good to see that she had a sense of humour, He like many others found it to keep one sane in the darkest of times.

"I'm sure I and the clones would manage just fine. The Captain is a far better conversationalist."

"Please, that stick in the mud has nothing on me." Rena said as they took a left fork in the tunnel.

"He's the stick in the mud? Talk about the pot calling the kettle black."

"I assume as an idiom you Orionian's use?" She asked.

"Yes actually, it's used to call someone a hypocrite. Oh, wait you're Jedi, no wonder it fits." He knew from experience that some COs could take a joke and some could not. He knew he could be pushing it but he felt as though she would currently allow it.

"And how exactly are Jedi hypocrites?" She asked more curious than offended at his remark.

"Well," he started, "I think hypocrisy is more a symptom of the problem than the actual problem."

"Care to elaborate?"

"Well, I think if I had to use three words to describe the current flaws of your order, they would be arrogant, dogmatic and misguided."

"And why those three words."

"For starters, Jedi arrogance can be seen in your view of the galaxy. If what I've heard from the clones is correct, the Jedi Master in charge of the Jedi Library, um a Master…?"

"Jocasta Nu." Rena supplied.

"Yes her. She said that if a planet, or Kamino as the case was, did not exist because it wasn't in the Jedi Archives. Now if it were a person or story then fair enough. But with a place or thing like a planet. It doesn't just not exist because its not on a map. It's someone from Earth in the 15th Century in Europe, a continent on one side of the planet denying the existence of Australia, another continent on the other side of the planet simply because it wasn't on any map of the world they had. You have to go there to prove it's not where you claim it is. You need to empirically prove it's at least not where you claim it is or that the chances of it existing at all are minimal before you writ it off," Luke saw Rena nod in understanding, "The prime example of Jedi being arrogant would be ex-General Pong Krell. I'm sure you've heard of him" Luke finished.

"I have, but he lost his way because he succumbed to the lure of the dark side." Rena counter argued.

"True, but he only succumbed to the dark side was because he was arrogant and believed himself superior to clones and forceless beings like myself. His arrogance and pride were his downfall. But I will grant you that not all Jedi, at least I hope, are like Krell, but in regards to us Orionians even you must admit there is a certain level of superiority complex coming from you Jedi." Luke pointed out. While he had been lucky enough to serve with Jedi like Skywalker, Ahsoka and Kenobi he heard the stories from other men and women who hadn't been so lucky.

"Point conceded there, even I thought that you Orionians were a little below us at first though you Orionians seem unable to not break expectations." Rena admitted as they both ducked under a segment of collapsed roof that still had enough room to get under.

"Then there's the Jedi Code, let's start from the beginning. There is no emotion, there is only peace. Jedi should not experience strong emotions because strong emotion inhibits rational thinking. But this implies that the lack of strong emotion will bring you peace and I think that's ridiculous. Emotions like love bring trillions of people peace because they know that people strongly care for them. Revenge or vindication brings closure and peace to those who a crime has been committed against, forgiveness doesn't always work. But most importantly there are things that you should never stay peaceful in. don't get me wrong having clear and rational thought is great, but let's say a close friend has just told you that they had been raped. And in response you show not outward reaction and act all calm and logically to the issue." Luke paused before he continued.

"I personally think that it would incredibly hurtful to said person to see the person they have just admitted something that horrific to, just to see them act in a logical and peaceful manner, regardless of intention. In that situation you should acted shocked and get angry, a very strong emotional response. Acting in any other way trivialises the issue and makes you come off as haughty and arrogant. By all means keep a rational train of thought but feeling strong emotions is what makes us human. To be truly human is to experience all emotions and thoughts, the good and the bad and not to suppress one or the other, but to live in a healthy mix of the two."

"I was taught that the line was more about controlling your emotions rather than ignoring and shutting them out entirely. To do so would make us robots which we are not. I agree with your rape analogy but I think things like that are the exception, not the rule. Sometimes your emotions could get the better of you when it's important to keep a level head and reacting strongly would be a bad idea." Rena defended.

"I agree with that interpretation, but that line of the code should be written like that than what it is currently. I would have to then read between the lines then to draw the conclusion I have but with the way it's presently written I don't have to. It's an example of how the code misleads Jedi which in turn makes them misguided."

"The next line, there is no ignorance; there is knowledge. I understand this, for the most part. Constantly learning and evolving as an organization is the only way to stay in synch with each other and understand the universe around you. The problem comes about when you know so much that you consider yourself superior to other people/races. Take a look at Pong Krell again and the battle he oversaw on Umbara. His thirst for knowledge made him a formidable Jedi General, so much so that he sought success no matter what. He refused to listen to his clone troopers and viewed them as dispensable units, so that the troopers were dying in large numbers. Captain Rex and his troops showed that not only were they individuals with the ability to feel and think through problems themselves, they also understood more about the current battle than Krell did. His thirst for knowledge and success, led to his thirst for power, which in turn further led to him turning to the Dark Side."

"I can't think of a counter argument for that point. As you stated there's nothing intrinsically wrong with mitigating ignorance and increasing knowledge. We just have to not let the pursuit of knowledge blind us and make us arrogant."

"Glad we agree. Now, there is no passion; there is serenity. This to me is perhaps the most frustrating of all the lines in the Jedi Code. Rather than acknowledging these feelings and working through them, it is pushed aside under the guise that passion brings a Jedi to recklessness. In my opinion, it's a good concept, but horrible in reality. One of those "easier said than done," moments. But passion is essential to the reason for why people do things. And a life without passion is not serenity. It's boring." Rena didn't respond to that point and instead looked thoughtful. Luke waited a moment to see if she would respond, when she didn't he continued.

"There is no chaos; there is harmony. First question that rises to my mind: is it referring to inward or emotional chaos or are they talking physical and galactic chaos? If they are referring to the former, then I've already gone into this enough so I won't barrage you again. If it is talking about chaos within the galaxy, then you are striving for a grand goal, but perhaps overreaching a bit. Sometimes your need to create harmony within the galaxy ended up making you look like the enemies and seen creating more chaos, as shown in the fact we are currently in a war right now because your order felt the need to maintain galactic peace warranted an invasion of a planet to save three people and kill a bunch of powerful leaders. But the Jedi are seen as guardians of the peace in the galaxy, so this line is understandable. Also, the more harmony there is in the galaxy, and then I'm sure there is more harmony within the Force, which leads to more harmony within yourselves. Out of all the doctrines in the Code, I find this one to be the best only because I can see the overreaching effects provided it refers to the latter, not the former."

"As for the last one. There is no death, only the Force, if you want to believe in reincarnation then hey, you believe what you want and I'll believe in what I want. Even if you believe that you become some spirt or ghost type thing."

"Overall, I find the absolutes suggested in the code which is followed so dogmatically make the Jedi arrogant, misguided and hypocritical, at least philosophically and therefore is ultimately responsible for any Jedi falling to the Dark Side which in regards of the philosophy, the Sith Code is a far better practically and as a representation of human nature. Not that I support the Sith." Luke added.

"I'm surprised. You never struck me as a philosopher. You've clearly thought through your points and acknowledge the drawbacks and positives of the Code which you've identified as the source for the problems facing the Jedi. It's interesting seeing it coming from someone who isn't a Jedi or a Sith. You have given me something to think about once we get out of here alive."

"I'm not exactly your average block headed plasma sponge." Luke joked.

"Quite," Was Rena's response, "though if you want to debate the Jedi Code with someone more knowledgeable than I. I can point you in the direction of a few Masters."

"Why not, could be fun. Just have to survive this planet until then." Coming around a corner they both came before another large stone door. This time Rena didn't look for a tile or brick that would magically open the door. Instead she held out her outreached hand with her eyes closed. Luke could hear the stone rumble as it lifted. The lifted door revealed a long rectangular room that had o light bar a red and blue one in the end of the room. The sources of the two different coloured lights was two small cubes.

"Go through already, this door isn't light you know." Rena told him, the strain evident in her voice.

"Really, I couldn't tell." Rena shot him a dirty look as he passed under the door. Once he was through, Rena herself passed under and allowed the door to slide back down with a loud thud, sealing them inside. Now that they were inside the room seemed to grow darker, despite the blue glow of Rena's lightsabre and the flashlight from Luke's gun. And a mist or smoke started to rise from the room. Rena moved forward toward the cubes first as Luke brought up the rear. He was a little more on edge from the horror movie vibe he was getting from the room.

"This place, the connection to the Force is the strongest of anywhere I've been before. It's so overwhelming."

"I don't feel anything." Commented Luke.

"Not surprising seeing as you lack mediclorians." As they walked further into the room Luke began to expect that his eyes were playing tricks on him as the room began to keep extending and going on, they were not progressing further in. The smoke at the bottom of the room seemed to grow thicker and obscure more of the room. He only assumed it was his eyes was because Rena hadn't stopped.

"Wait." Rena said holding her hand up to signal him to stop. She switched to a more defensive stance. Luke instinctively took a knee and shouldered his rifle.

"What we looking at here." Luke asked.

"I don't know, I felt a sudden and massive disturbance in the Force." Rena explained.

"And that's bad?" Luke half asked half stated.

"Probably." Rena answered. The room yet again grew noticeably darker and the smoke/mist yet again grew thicker. Luke could hardly see a foot beyond his rifle's muzzle which like himself had a blue tint to it from Rena's blue blade. The became dead silent expect for their breathing and the humming of Rena's blade. He felt the air grow colder as a red glow appeared in front of them with the sound of another lightsabre activating. Luke saw from the corner of his eye that Rena immediately tensed up. He was waiting for a silhouette to appear, so he had a target to shoot at instead of firing blind. Footsteps could be heard as the red glow became closer and louder. A soft, seductive feminine chuckle could be heard from the figure that sounded a lot like it could be Rena's.

"Well, well, well… what have we here. A lost little Jedi and her Orionian dog." The sinister voice that definitely sounded like Rena's echoed throughout the room.

"Show yourself!" Rena demanded.

"Come now, have you no sense of the dramatic." The more seductive version of Rena's voice permeated the room.

"Rena, explain." Luke said, his rifle sights pointing at where the red glow and voice was coming from.

"It's likely a Force apparition." Rena explained.

"And that is?" Luke asked.

"Essentially a Force based hologram, looks like a real person but isn't physical. Nothing to be worried about."

"Okay, and why does it sound like you?"

"It's likely a test to see if I'm worthy of acquiring the two Holocrons we saw earlier." She was probably referring to the two cubes he had seen when they first entered.

"I'm afraid its not quite that simple." The voice said from behind them. Luke hadn't even heard Rena's Force counterpart move nor had he seen the red glow move behind. He moved on pure instinct and dived forward in time to dodge the red lightsabre cutting him in half. Rena immediately swiped her blade at the attacker. The red blade rose and blocked her swing. Luke raised his rifle and switched it to full auto. Pulling the trigger the rifle spewed out plasma at the hidden attacker. Rena received a nasty kick and doubled over, allowing the attacker to deflect the incoming shots. Mid way through the deflection of his concentrated fire Sith Rena raised her other hand and he then felt a sensation of weightlessness, that was when he realised that we was flying backwards, and fast. He collided with the stone wall. The impact wasn't helped by the three day assault pack on his back.

He slumped slightly upon hitting the floor afterwards. He let out a pained groan as he got back on his feet, picking up the gun that had been dropped on hitting the wall. Upon standing up he could see and hear Rena duelling with her evil self. There was something graceful and stunning to watching two force wielders duking it out. He knew that as a none Jedi he would be of little help in a duel.

Rena's evil double didn't pay him any mind as she continued to duel Rena. He quickly started to feel up his vest to find a flashbang. He was a person that bought into the idea of have and not need, than need and not have philosophy. He found his second and last flashbang attached to his body armour's side plate.

"Look at you, so weak and pathetic. How do you expect to protect the men under your command from those things in the jungle if you can't even beat me." Sith Rena said viciously to Rena's face as their blades yet again locked in combat.

"Oh trust me, you haven't seen what I'm capable of yet." Said Rena defiantly, pushing Sith Rena's blade away. She then launched an overhead strike at Sith Rena who parried.

"While not untrue, but a bluff all the same." Rena growled in annoyance at her alter self. It was at this point that Luke noticed that the smoke/mist had mostly vanished and reveal the Sith version of Rena. She had here hair tied in a soft Dutch braid with tow bangs coming down either side of her face. She wore a black robe which contrasted Rena's light brown one and unlike the Jedi robes Rena wore the Sith version wore a mix of black and leather robes that fit in all the right places. Luke would be lying if his eyes didn't linger.

"Are you serious!" Rena shouted indignantly, catching him looking a bit longer than he should have at Sith Rena.

"Can you blame me." Luke retorted.

"She's me, but evil."

"Attractive is still attractive. Also you pull off the outfit marvellously. Accentuates all the right curves and places." He admitted. Both Rena and her evil counterpart were very attractive women but the way the dark robes and leather clung to the Sith version of Rena made her all that more alluring. Sith Rena used the distraction to Force push Rena into a wall with a lot of force. Rena let out a cry of pain and dropped her lightsabre which was then Force pushed away. Rena stood up again only to clutch her neck and gag for air. Sith Rena walked forward, a victorious grin plastered on her face and let out another dark chuckle.

"Now you'll die, I'll take your place, then I'll kill the clones above us, though I'll keep the Orionian, he could be useful. Then I will take over the fleet in orbit, break the Separatists and then conquer the Republic and the Orionians. Finally I'll kill every Jedi and Sith I can get my hands on." Rena's only response was a gasp and splutter as she tried to get some air into her lungs.

"And now, you, die." It was at that moment Luke threw the flashbang. It sailed through the air and Sith Rena caught it. By doing so she dropped Rena to the floor allowing her to breath as she had used to Force to catch the grenade a meter from her face.

"Tut, tut, tut. Wait your turn." She used the hand holding the lightsabre to force push once again into a wall.

"Just one thing." Luke said standing up.

"What's that?" Asked Sith Rena seductively. Luke held of the pin to the grenade in his hand and smiled. The look of surprise on Sith Rena's face was all she could do before the flashbang detonated. The force may be able to stop or move solids and gaseous substances, but it couldn't stop light or sound. As such dark Rena was blinded and deafened by the grenade. Rena who had now reclaimed her lightsabre sprung forth and swiped diagonally at dark Rena, slicing her in half.

Dark Rena's face contorted in pain before her body turned into the mist that had obscure the room.

"I should get hazard pay for this shit." Luke said, knowing in an hour or so the bruises would start to form.

"Isn't your entire profession hazardous?" Asked Rena, wiping the set from her brow.

"You mean other than the food?" Luke said partly out of breath walking over to Rena, "Now let's get those Holocron thingies."

"Yeah, sounds good." Rena said as she beelined for the two podiums holding the holocrons. Picking them both up Rena turned to him.

"We got what I was sensing, let's go now while we still can." Just as they turned for the exit the smoke suddenly swirled around them.

"I though we dealt with the Force apparition."

"We dealt with mine, this must be yours."

"What?!" Luke yelled.

"The Force apparitions embody your fears and or your darker side, you must have to deafeat them to enter and leave the room." Explained Rena.

"But I'm not connected to the Force." Luke responded.

"But the Force interacts with you on a superficial level."

"In English please."

"You can't use the Force and have a level of immunity to its effects, but it can still feel your lack of presence and some of your emotions."

"You should listen to her Darmanda, she is a Jed'ai after all."

"No. No No. you're dead, Tracinya confirmed it. This is impossible." Luke said frantically, the flashlight and laser sight following his rifle's frantic movements trying to locate the location of the voice belonging to Cassius Varad.

"Didn't your Jed'ai friend explain it to you. It's very possible. I'm sure you'll be able to kill me this time."

"After all, I did train you to fight as a one-man army for the Resistance." A new voice spoke which Luke had never wanted to hear again.

"Graves! Where are you, you sub-human piece of shit?!" Luke yelled.

"Come now, is that any way to speak to the man who oversaw your training that made you the soldier you are today."

"It's the perfect way to talk to you." Luke grumbled out.

"Still so petulant young Greyman. But as always despite the bravado you're still a coward."

"Really, might want to get your eyes and facts checked."

"Oh no, not a coward in the that sense, I mean a coward when it comes to yourself. Your identity." Luke said nothing in response.

"You didn't want to face what I did to you on Mandalor, so you ran back to the war." Cassuis said from behind him.

"You didn't want to face what you became under my training," Colonel Graves spoke, "So you betrayed your squadmates and ran to the Marines."

"And finally, you never wanted to face the fact that I sold you to Graves for beer money like the disposable piece of shit you were and are, and hide behind the lie of being cloned as Graves told you all," A final, gruff yet drunkenly slurred voice said, "You're a coward, your fellow Praetorians accepted who they were and what they are. Yet you still run like you have always done when there's something you can't or won't fight. You will always run. Becua-"

Luke didn't give him time to finish as he rather uncharacteristically unleashed a torrent of plasma fire in the direction of the voice. His features had become neutral and his eyes cold and precise as he waited for the voice of his father to speak up again, or not as he hopped.

"Come on now, you can do better than that. Stop running and accept what you are." All three voices said as the smoke in the room dissipated and revealed them. His father in his ragged worn and torn dirty clothes. Colonel Graves in his Grey Insurrection Officer uniform and Cassius Varad in his Mandalorian armour. The room became quiet, no one moving, waiting for the other to make the first move. Cassius made the first move by firing a wrist mounted wire that wrapped around his rifle and tightened. Cassius yanked his arm back and pulled the rifle from Luke's hands. Luke immediately reacted by drawing his sidearm and firing at Cassius.

The shots impacted against Cassius's chest piece and sizzled as the hot plasma reacted to the cool surface of the beskar armour. Graves drew his sidearm, an old .500 revolver and fired at Rena who's lightsabre melted the slugs fired. His father, Marcus Greyman, drew the switchblade he had and drunkenly charged at Luke. The sloppy swing from his father was easily deflected. Luke grabbed the blade from his father and jammed it into his shoulder. Marcus let out a cry of pain as blood seeped into the shirt staining it a dark crimson. Luke kicked hard into Marcus's knee and a crack could be heard as his father crumpled to the ground, unable to decide to clutch his broken knee or the switchblade in his shoulder.

Luke's back jolted when three blaster bolts slammed into his body armour. Turning he saw Cassius standing with his pistols drawn. Luke raised his own pistol and returned fire. There was no cover in the room and he didn't have a lightsabre like Rena. So he couldn't protect himself beyond the armour he wore. Both he and Cassius wore Beskar armour but only covered Luke's torso, upper arms and legs and most of his head unlike Cassius who was completely covered. As such the Westar 35 pistols and M9 plasma pistol did little other than burn and scorch the other's armour.

Cassius ran forward and drew a vibroknife, Luke drew the Kukri he'd been given but didn't stop firing his pistol. Cassius made a downward swing at Luke who side stepped and jammed the Kukri into Cassius's exposed elbow joint. Cassius let out a grunt in response. Cassius's knee connected with Luke's armour protected stomach. Luke felt the wind get knocked out of him a slightly doubled over. Luke retaliated by smashing his fist into Cassius's helmet and then tackling Cassius to the floor. He began to repeatedly hit Cassius in the face, and Cassius withdrew his arms to protect his face.

Luke heard Rena let out a cry of pain. A slug from Graves had entered her arm and was bleeding profusely. Luke ceased his attack on Varad and aimed his pistol at Graves and fired. The shot struck craves unprotected chest and the plasma began eating away at fabric of the uniform and Graves' flesh. He screamed as he clawed at his chest trying to stop the plasma eating through him. However, the plasma only began to eat through his fingers as well. Luke fired another shot that struck the apparition of Garves in the head which recoiled backwards from the impact. Graves collapsed backwards as the body turned to smoke.

This momentary distraction was all it took for Cassius to launch a swing of his own at Luke and knocked him off onto the floor. Luke made to get up but Cassius's boot slammed into his face sending him back to the floor, his head smacking against the stone floor. Despite the helmet the concussive force still disorientated him. Luke was brought out of his dazed state by a sharp pain then a slow throbbing sensation from a blade plunging into his waist. Luke held Cassius's hand in place and jammed his Kukri into the underside of Cassius's shoulder.

Luke rolled them over so he was on top and withdrew the kukri from Cassius's shoulder. Luke raised the Kukri to stab Cassius in the exposed keck armour that was protected by the thin black body suite. Cassius blocked the blow with his hands. The two grappled with the blade being centimetres from Cassius's neck. Luke applied his second hand on top of the blade's handle to give him more force behind it. The blade edged further towards its target but Cassius's two weakened arms still prevented him delivering the blow. Luke now lifted himself up a bit and with a combination of his own force and gravity placed his weight down on the blade. The Kukri pierced Cassius's neck momentarily. Cassius let out a cry of pain. Luke repeated it again and the Kukri found less resistance this time as it penetrated Cassius's neck and stayed in this time. Luke heard a gurgled response. He twisted the Kukri for good measure before withdrawing it. The blade was coated in a redish grey blood. Smoke seeped from the fatal wound on Cassius as the body also began to turn into smoke.

Standing up Luke pulled the blade still in his side out. He'd need to see a medic up top soon, if they still had a medic. He looked over at Rena who was a little wide eyed at the display of savagery between him and Cassius. Personally, he had found the fight cathartic despite the intensely stinging stab wound just above his waist, it wasn't the same as killing the real Cassius but it would have to do.

"You bastard," His father muttered out, still sprawled out on the floor. _Oh, he still breathing, is he?_

"Sure I am. What's your point," Luke quipped back.

"Disrespectful brat. You'll die here. You'll die in agony. Your nothing but a living weapon! Something to be discarded when outdated or no longer useful! You're nothing! How long do you think you can keep running from that fact! The Sông thần will never let you leave! The Sông thần wi-" Marcus Greyman never got to finish his little rant. Luke cut him off with a pistol shot to the head. The body dissolving into smoke like all the others.

"Are all force apparitions this talkative or just mine?" Luke said dryly.

"You just fought three Force apparitions of your darkest aspects of either yourself or past, one of them being your father and you make a poor joke!?" Rena said amusedly.

"Are you mad at the Joke or the fact I made one?"

"Both!"

"A sense of humour helps in our line of work."

"I… you… but… One of them was your father!"

"Only in the biological sense. Trust me there is no love lost there. Now come on, daylights burning." Luke said ending the conversation and heading to the doorway they entered through, hoping she hadn't caught the shaken look in his eye. The Force apparitions had reminded him of a past he had hoped to forget and repeatedly tried to bury.

He spied his rifle lying idly on the floor and picked it up. He checked that the weapon was intact. Happy that the weapon would perform as usual and he continued on. Rena hurried after his retreating form. The journey back to Echo Five was quiet and quick, neither one of the two wanted to stick around longer than they needed to.

"Glad to see your still alive Sirs," Commented Draft, "we were starting to get worried. Find anything interesting."

"Not really. Found two ancient holocrons, fought Force apparitions, decided to make a milk run on the way back." Luke said.

"I still don't see how this situation is so mundane to you." Rena exasperatedly let out.

"I have just spent two days fighting and being hunted by near unkillable creatures, I'm constantly on edge. We are waiting for an evac that we may not survive long enough to have. So fighting ghosts that can at least be killed is a welcome change of pace." Luke defended himself.

A screech came from the tunnels behind them that sounded very close. Foot falls could also be heard from the chitin carapace making contact with the cold stone floor.

"Those explosives set and ready?" Luke asked.

"Yes sir, we set them up as soon as you left." Zuc said.

"Seeing as we have the Holocrons and the explosives set, let's get topside." Rena ordered. Dex took point and Echo five followed behind with Luke, Draft and Rena bringing up the rear. When they were halfway up the stairs Draft activated the explosives. The resulting explosion rocked the stairway, dust and debris drifted of the ceiling from the force of the explosion. Luke could make out the faint noise of the tunnel passageway collapsing.

Reaching the top of the stairs the clones stopped to catch their breath, stairs were always a good workout. He himself was a little winded as well. Rena being a Jedi and having the Force to rely on didn't seem that effected either.

* * *

"Lieutenant, you and Echo Five go help with perimeter duty. Hopefully we don't have long until the gunships arrive."

"Yes Ma'am." Luke said and motioned with a wave of his arm for Echo Five to follow him. Being back outside again Luke realised just how cool it had been below ground. The heat felt more unbearable than before and the sun even more relentless. There was no breeze to cool anyone either so the stagnant humid air clung to everything it touched. Luke and Echo Five took up position on the south face of the pyramid. The pyramid side was entirely exposed, his only solace was the fact there was a meter and a half step up between each level. Being ten stories up gave him a wonderful view of the canopy and slightly beyond as well as the open area around the Pyramid to the start of the tree line.

"Movement South-Side." A voice rang out.

"Shit." Luke said. It was only matter of time before the creatures came after them. While they command a good strategic position the roaches were nearly immune to their small arms fire and clones didn't bring much heavy weaponry with them bar a few specialists if at all. They could really do with rocket launchers, machine guns and grenade launchers other than his own.

" _All squads be advised, we have confirmed the roaches are approaching from the South. Squads are to hunker down and hold this pyramid until evac arrives in five minutes."_

"You think the evac will make it in time sir?" Asked Mac.

Luke sighed, "We better hope so, I don't plan on dying on this world. Anyway, assume a defensive position and keep your eyes peeled on the tree line for any more of those roaches. The South side may just be a diversion." Luke and the rest of Echo Squad went prone on the pyramid surface to provide the roaches a smaller target. Luke wasn't sure if the roaches had any ranged capabilities, but he wasn't going to take any chances with an unknown enemy. Luke could here the clones on the South side begin to open fire at the roaches. After about twenty seconds the weapons fire became more intense, it suggested that the roaches were getting close.

" _Contact West Side!"_

" _Contact East Side!"_

"Shit their surrounding us." Dex cursed.

 _This isn't good, we're being assaulted on three sides bar the North side. They could be trying to force us into the into the jungle where they'll have placed an ambush, or they haven't attack from the North yet._

The gunfire increased in volume as blue bolts connected with the roaches or dirt. The roaches wither ran on all fours or like a humanoid would. When hit some would fall over and get back up but a few would stay down. Luke noticed that some of the roaches had clone armour on which suggested a person could be turned into one, he wasn't keen on finding out how.

His eye caught movement in the treeline and he moved his rifle's scope to get a better view of the movement. The shadows cast down by the trees and bushes created a natural camouflage for whatever chose to hide in it. A loud screech could be heard coming from the Northern treeline. There was a massive explosion of movement as dozens of roaches sprang out of their positions and started to race across the grassy plain in front of the pyramid. The massive meat armoured monster, the Sông thần, was also making it's way towards the pyramid, the meat armour sliding into place over the skeleton, it taking slow, precise paces towards their position.

"Contact North Side! All units engage!" Luke ordered as his assault rifle opened up followed by the dozen clones also on the North side. Just as in the previous engagement the clones rifles had little outward effect, it taking dozens of shots to bring one down. If he had to guess the bone like plating under the blackened skin acted as armour or it absorbed the energy stored within the blaster bolt. His own plasma bolts had no such problem, though that was down to the different effects both had. Blaster bolt plasma used heat energy to kill its target, plasma bolts used heat energy to both kill and then to melt the area of impact upon contact.

The roaches moved fast, what had taken them three minutes to walk the roaches had nearly covered the total area in less than one. A few had been killed in the time it took the roaches to get from the treeline to the temple. Standing up to be able to get a better angle of fire he could see that the roaches had to slow down to climb the large steps that made up the pyramid. Dutch grabbed a thermal detonator and threw it towards the base of the pyramid where the roaches had congregated. The grenade landed in the midst of the roaches starting to climb up the side, the resulting blast sent chitin, flesh, bone and rock flying into the air.

"Sir they're pushing out left flank further up the pyramid!" Zuc yelled. Sure enough the roaches were just below the west flanks position who were now falling back to the next tier. He watched as one clone got his le grabbed and subsequently pulled down screaming, screams that only got louder.

"Mac inform our right flank were falling back as well to the next tier. Meet us on the next tier after your done." Luke ordered, keeping his attention on the roaches who were now a tier away from their own position.

"Yes, Sir." Mac responded.

"Rancor squad, fall back up to the next tier. Echo, we'll hold this position until Rancor is laying down fire behind us." Rancor squad broke off and started to climb to the next level while Echo kept up the pressure on the roaches. The roaches that led the others died first and fell back down on top of their advancing comrades. Dutch threw another grenade at the roaches that blew up a dozen roaches and sent another lying off the ancient temple.

The sign of blaster bolts from overhead meant that Rancor squad was either in position or nearly there.

"Echo squad, fall back, now!" Luke ordered as he backed away from the edge not once letting up his stream of fire. Zuc and Dutch like him brought up the rear allowing the others to make their way up the rock face with some aid from Rancor squad. Luke turned a slung his rifle over his shoulder and with a little run up jumped and grabbed the ledge at the floor of the top of the two-meter wall. Heaving his right elbow onto the surface of his hand hold. He then swung his right leg onto the ledge and rolled onto the floor of the second last tier of the temple. He reached his hand down to pull up Dutch as the lead roaches made it onto the position they had just been holding.

"Sarge help me, help me!" Luke heard Zuc yelling, he hadn't been able to pull himself up like everyone else, and the roaches reaching the same level as him had caused panic to set in.

"I got you private, I'm going to pull you up." Said Dex surprisingly calm, grabbing Zuc's arm. Some roaches had now successfully made it onto the same level as Zuc. Luke switched his aim to those that seemed closest to Zuc.

"Thanks sarge, I-" a roach grabbed Zuc, "Sarge it's got me, sarge help, HELP!" All Zuc could do was scream and everyone else stand by in horror as Zuc was dragged screaming down into the masses o roaches that now covered the temple.

"Zuc! NO!" Dex yelled, now standing and firing blindly into the roaches, screaming and cursing like a madman. "You sons of Bitches, I'll kill ya! I'll kill all of you, you'll pay for -" He was cut off when he to was pulled over the edge by the roaches.

"Shit Dex!" yelled Dutch.

"Where's Mac!" yelled Luke, now firing full auto. It not making the slightest difference to the roaches numbers.

"Mac!" yelled Dutch trying to find his friend, "Mac! MAC!"

"Damn roaches got him Dutch, sorry." A yell replied from their right.

" _All forces fall back to the top of the temple, we'll hold there until the gunships arrive!"_ Captain Korun ordered.

Everyone broke off and scrambled to make it up the last tier to the square building on the top. Luke repeated his retreat from the last tier but this time he made sure he was the last up as to prevent another Zuc. Assuming his new position on top of the temple he could see the clones had lost another half of their number, there was now enough to fit inside a single, albeit crammed, gunship. He saw Rena and Korun standing on the stairs. Rena's lightsabre being one of the few effective weapons against the roaches and Korun duel wielding his two blaster pistols. How duel wielding was possible seeing as recoil on Orionian weapons prevent that.

They had been encircled with no chance of escape. The tunnels within had been sealed and the gunships were two to three minutes out. Their desperate defence was very much turning into a last stand. He and the remaining clones had taken up positions near the roof comb and as far as possible from the edges so to prevent themselves being dragged over the side.

The mag in Luke's rifle clicked empty. Releasing the mag and allowing it to fall to the ground he placed another mag back in its place. He had two mags left though he was having his doubts as to whether he'd live long enough to need them. He continued to provide cover fire for Rena and Korun who were in danger of being cut off. Rena's lightsabre cut through roaches with a single swing. The majority of the roach assault seemed to be coming from up the steps that Rena and Korun were defending with three other clones. Rena cut another roach in half and hen held her arms out in front of her, force pushing any roach in front of her down and off the temple.

A loud unearthly roar shook the clearing and temple and Luke felt a mental pressure being exerted on his head. Like someone was slowly applying more crushing force to it. He clutched his helmet with his left hand and shook his head to ease the feeling. The clones around him acted similarly to him but more severely, some kilting over or falling to their knees and removing their helmets. Rena appeared to be the only one unaffected. This meant that their suppressing fire ceased as no one was able to fire their gun, to busy trying to deal with the external pressure assaulting their cranium. Rena looked confused that all her men were clutching their heads and even more confused that the roaches had stopped attacking.

The roaches had halted and retreated back down to mid-way up the temple and completely off the stair way up the temple. The large meat armoured creature started to walk slowly and ominously up the steps towards Rena turned to face the creature that raised a single arm and pointed at the nap sack on her side where the holocrons were kept. Rena simply assumed a defensive stance.

"General, what's the plan?" Luke struggled out.

"Don't interfere lieutenant, if I can hold it of long enough the gunships can arrive." Luke shot her a dubious look, how she expected the clones who were immobile to get on a gunship as soon as possible before any roaches could get to them. Luke stumbled over to where Korun was crouched over and began to drag him away from his place next to Rena back to where the clones had gathered.

Luke turned back in time to see Rena force leap at the pseudo god of the planet, the Sông thần. Rena launched an overhead swing at the Sông thần which blocked her lightsabre with its hand. Rena looked shocked momentarily before force pushing it further down the steps to gain some distance. The Sông thần dug its other arm into the stone stairs that prevented it from being sent as far back as Rena intended. Rena then proceed to unleash a flurry of attacks at the creature, gracefully ducking and weaving around the creature's own attacks. However her sabre strikes seemed to have little actual effect. When her strikes managed to unexpectedly connect to the Sông thần's meat armour, the blade would cut through and expose the skeleton below. It seemed that if the creature was able to expect or see the attack it could block through some supernatural ability or the Force.

H watched as a strike from the Sông thần sent Rena into the temple's surface, a brief scream emanated from where she landed and the Sông thần walked to where she had been thrown.

The Sông thần leant back significantly to dodge a sizeable rock slab that was launched at it by Rena, who used the force to pick up another rock slab and throw it at the Sông thần again, which this time responded by punching it, scattering debris behind it. Rena paused for a moment before raising her hand toward the roof comb of the temple. Luke heard the large stone roof the of temple entrance being lifted from its foundations. He watched it levitate over his head until it was over the advancing Sông thần where she violently dropped it on top of the pseudo god.

Luke felt the mental pressure being exuded on his mind being lifted and a low angry growl could be heard coming from the dust where the Sông thần had been. Rena was panting and her face and hair were drenched in sweat. Looking around him he could see the clones shakily getting to their feet while groaning.

"Anyone get the number of the starship that hit me?" asked one clone.

"We're not dead yet so something must be going right." Said another.

"Lieutenant, status report?" asked Korun as he to got to his feet.

"Nearly overwhelmed by the roaches, we experienced some sort of psychic attack and Rena ended up fighting the Sông thần." Luke explained.

"What's the Sông thần?" asked Korun.

"The creature that Rena's fighting and the one that made the roaches probably."

"Ah." Responded Korun.

"How long until the gunships arrive?" asked Luke, aware of Rena's and the Sông thần's fight going on only a couple of meters away.

"A minute I assume, I'm not sure. After that psychic attack my heads still a little fuzzy." Looking to the sky Luke's vizor detected the IFFs of the three gunships.

" _Attention any ground forces, this is Sabre 1-1. If any one is still alive down there please respond."_ Luke's radio crackled.

"This is Captain Korun, there are eighteen of us situated at the top of the temple. We are currently surrounded by the enemy. I'm requesting danger close gun run on the temple."

" _Understood sir. Sabre 1-2 and 1-3 will provide fire support for you, ETA thirty seconds."_

"Get ready boys, we are leaving." Korun said to the relief of his borthers. Luke heard a rather loud and pain filled scream from the base of the temple. Looking down he saw Rena struggling to prop herself up in a small impact crater. He could make out a score of bruises and cuts present on her body and some of her robes had been torn. He saw the Sông thần stride confidently towards her beaten form.

"We need to help the general." Pointed out one of the clones.

"what are we supposed to do, the second we do anything before the gunships get here we're dead." Reminded Dutch.

"We need a plan." Korun added.

"Cover me." Luke said drawing his kurkri knife and sprinting down the temple stairs.

"Cover me! What kind of plan is that?" he heard a clone say from behind him.

"Shut up a cover him." Yelled Korun.

Luke continued his sprint toward the Sông thần that now loomed over Rena. The roaches didn't react at first, seemingly unaware of what was happening. The clones managed to grab their weapons and start firing before the first roaches began to react. Luke continued his mad dash down the temple to Rena's position. He ducked under a swing from a roach, rolled left under the next roach. He took another two steps and pushed off using his forward foot to leap onto the next roach and used it as a spring board to cover the remaining distance to the base of the temple. Commando rolling to control his momentum, he jammed the kukri into the neck of the roach that was in front of him. Removing the blade from the creatures neck.

Springing forward he approached either unnoticed or ignored by the Sông thần which was more concerned with the squirming Jedi it had by the neck. He could make out Rena's gasps and sputters for air. Luke was now behind the Sông thần. His right foot found purchase of the back of the knee joint on the creatures right leg and used it to push himself up. His left hand then grabbed one of the horns protruding from the Sông thần's meat armour clad armour that was surprisingly flesh like in its texture. The Sông thần lowered its arm holding Rena by the neck but did not let go and tried to grab Luke with its other hand. Luke didn't give it the chance.

Using his hand hold of the Sông thần's largest left should horn he hauled himself up until his right foot rested on a crevice in the Sông thần's armour and his torso was above the creature's head. His right arm was raised above his own head, Kukri ready to strike. The creature let out a frustrated growl. Luke jammed the Kukri into a joining the creatures neck armour. The blade sank through the creature's armour and if its scream was anything to go by it made it to the skeleton below. Withdrawing the blade and jumping down the creature grabbed it's neck and continued to howl in pain.

The sides of the temple erupted in minor explosions as the front mounted canons on two of the three gunships opened up, shredding any roaches within the targeted area. Sabre 1-1 touched down next to the embattled clones who quickly made their way onto the gunship which promptly dusted off once all the clones were onboard. Sabre 1-1 hovered slowly above Luke and Rena's position.

Luke helped Rena to her feet. The Sông thần had dropped her when he had stabbed it in the neck.

"Impeccable timing lieutenant." Rena mumbled out, supporting herself on him. She looked up to where the gunship was hovering above them. Pushing of his shoulder Rena stood on her own albeit with a slight limp.

"Get on the Gunship! Come on!" yelled Dutch down to them.

"Allow me to return the favour. See you up there Lieutenant." Rena said a little to smugly for Luke's liking.

"What are you -Whoaa." Luke said as Rena Force lifted him to the gunship. The sense of weightlessness and lack of control while he was dangling in the air was a tad disconcerting but Rena managed to lift him up and into the gunship before Force jumping into the gunship herself. The Sông thần was sill clutching it's neck and seemed uninterested in stopping their escape.

"We're all on board pilot, get us out of here!" Ordered Korun.

" _Yes Sir."_

* * *

 _25031 Galactic Standard Calendar_ _,_ _Jedi Knight Rena Shan, aboard the Tranquillity_

Rena walked through the _Tranquillity_ 's quite hanger. A few technicians and mechanics were out servicing their fleet of

vehicles but most the crew was currently asleep or relaxing. They were currently in hyperspace heading towards the rendezvous point with the four Orionian fleets were located. She wasn't sure what warranted so many fleets or six hundred thousand men to attack but it must be something important.

After debriefing with Admiral Darthur with Korun, Sparrow and the one surviving Sargent, she had contacted the temple about the two holocrons. Master Yoda instructed she hold on to them until such a time they could be brought to the temple. Sparrow had vanished since then but Rena guessed he had left to write and submit a report to his superiors. She had asked around as to pertain his location, she begrudgingly felt the need to thank him for saving her from the Song Than. She didn't like admitting when she needed help, it mad her feel weak and useless.

She spied the YT-1300 light freighter parked in the back of the hanger with its side entrance down. What intrigued her most about its design was the fact that unlike the usual freighters she had seen from time to time, the _Shadow_ had been heavily modified. Rather than the usual look it had been refitted with sleek light grey angled plates as seen on older stealth ships to break up radar. To assist that the large radar dish mounted on top had been removed and what looked like a sensor pod had been mounted on the front. The usual weapons had also been replaced with the Orionian equivalents.

Walking up the ramp into the stealth freighter she noticed how there were crates stacked nearly everywhere. Some had their lids off and contained various munitions or supplies. The ship was stacked with what look like enough supplies for a small army. Some of the walls had been turned into gunracks with shotguns, assault rifles, pistols, grenade launchers, rocket launchers and machine guns all over them. She realised that this ship was likely designed for a small team to infiltrate an enemy world and keep the special forces operatives supplied for their entire mission.

She noticed a light emanating from a nearby room to her left. Walking over to it she found what appeared to be a crew quarters. There was a leather sofa built into the side of the wall where a small cylindrical table was placed. On it she found three empty bottles and Lieutenant Sparrow sprawled on the sofa, a fourth bottle in hand. He turned his head to look at her. His eyes widened slightly and he quickly jumped to his feet and snapped of a salute.

"Sir."

"Lieutenant. Drinking on the job?" she asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"Sorry sir, it's just after the last mission, I needed something to take the edge off, you know." Luke said a little slurred.

"I suppose everyone needs to come to terms with what happened planetside don't they." She acknowledged. She hadn't yet given herself the time to process what they hand endured on the planet. The combat itself while more brutal wasn't that difficult coming to terms with, it was the constant paranoia that they had endured that was difficult getting over, especially for Sparrow and Dutch who had encountered the creature the most, discovering it a day before everyone else.

"There room for one more?" She asked.

"Yes Sir, drinks are in the fridge over there." Luke lazily gestured at a fridge that was behind her as he sat back down on the sofa, leaving some room for her to join him. Walking over to the fridge she opened it to find a mixture of cheap beer and some very pricy rare alchole.

"Where did you manage to get a hold of this?" She asked pulling out a sizeable bottle of expensive Nabooian wine which had been allowed to age for a century.

"Hex found a small store of Coruscant that had a good supply of wines, bought a whole score of them. You can help yourself." Gladly taking the expensive Nabooian wine Rena grabbed herself a glass from the counter and made her way over to the sofa to join Luke. Pouring a glass and giving it a brief swirl and took a sip. The Nabooian wine was made from a purple berry found near the many swamps on Naboo. It was very sweet and savoury, and it translated that same flavour to the wine with a high alcohol content.

She realised a contented sigh after the sip and took another.

"Good right?" Luke asked smirking.

"Indeed. Must have cost a hefty sum?"

"About five hundred credits each, managed to get it on a twenty percent discount being a serviceman and all. Do Jedi get discount benefits?"

"No, well, not that I'm aware of."

"You don't get any added benefits from being a Jedi?"

"Well, the Jedi temple takes care of any medical, housing or any other needs of a Jedi. We also get lower transportation fees to allow us to travel anywhere in the galaxy we need to."

"So no dental, medical, childcare, shopping or leisure benefits? Must suck to be a Jedi."

"Well you do get a lightsabre and trained to use the Force, so I guess that's the trade off." She watched as Luke finished off the remainder of his drink.

"How many does that make now?" She asked.

"One Cider, one Vodka and two beers." Luke answered, getting up and stumbling over to the fridge to retrieve another drink.

"How long ago did you start drinking?"

"Bout half an hour ago."

"And your already like this." She said as he wobbled back to his seat next to her.

"I'm not that -hic- drunk," He took a swig from the bottle he just got, "yet. Just have a fast metab, metabo, metabolism is all." She wasn't sure if the flushed face he supported was from tripping over his words or the alcohole.

"Just make sure you're not hungover when we arrive at the rendezvous point."

"Yes ma'am."

They sat in a comfortable silence for a couple moments. Rena was halfway through the bottle of Nabooian wine before she spoke up again.

"Thanks, by the way. For saving me from the Song Than. You didn't need to do that but you came for me anyway. So thanks." She clutched her left arm with her right self-consciously while not making eye contact.

"S'll right, didn't expect I'd make it out anyway, so might've well died heroically saving a fair damsel."

"Flirting will get you nowhere, I'm a Jedi after all and you're not that cute."

"Doesn't have to be flirting to be true and I'm certainly more roguishly handsome than cute." Rena rolled her eyes at his statement and blamed the alcohol for the light flush now covering her pale cheeks.

"Anyway, I wanted to know how you were doing after that… confrontation with the Force apparitions in the Holocron chamber? It seemed like you had some… rough… experiences." She put forth diplomatically, if she pushed too hard then he would close off. He'd been drinking and was obviously slightly uninhibited, so he might be more open to sharing.

"Fine, like always I guess. I mean, I can't really allow it to affect me less it effect my performance in the field. That would, woul-, would endanger myself but those around me, a far more unforgiveable thing." He replied looking slightly crestfallen, like a weight was on his shoulders and he only now revealed he had it.

"Surely that can't be healthy, you'll only be able to supress it for so long." She prodded.

"I've _-hic-_ repressed it for this long so what's another _-hic-_ eighteen years or more." She resisted the urge to crack a smile at his drunken hiccups that had developed.

"Eighteen years? What happened eighteen years ago?"

"I was born on some backwards colony world, only had a population of _-hic-_ two million at the time. Never knew my mum and my dad… well he'd never win the father of the year award. He often came home late at night drunk. I was never beaten but it was clear he never loved me. Either way, I was born in Insurrectionist space during the Insurrection, and the terrorist were beginning to lose the war. So they developed a super soldier programme to win the war. I was five at the time. One day a man in a grey dress uniform showed up with some guards. Next thing little ol' me knows I'm _-hic-_ in a cell and my father is handed a bag of cash. Five hundred credits. Five-fucking hundred measly credits. That's how much his own only son was worth to him. Do you have any idea what it's like to have a price tag placed on your existence, its degrading. In the back of your mind in every waking moment your aware that you were worth only so _-hic-_ much money to _-hic-_ the person who was supposed to love and protect you. I earn twenty-three thousand credits in my job, twenty-two and a half thousand more than what I was sold for." Luke threw his bottle at the opposite wall. The glass bottle shattered sending glass and booze over the metal wall's surface causing Rena to jump a little. She wasn't expecting him to open up so much, he must be drunker than she thought.

"Why did the Insurrectionist's need children?" She asked, a little horror creapping into her voice.

"To survive the full auge-, augueme-, augmentations made to the body you need to be a teen, so you have to train the child to be strong enough to survive. So just like the ancient Spartans, children were taken from their homes -hic- through bartering or force. There were five hundred of us in total split between three facilities. For ten years I was trained to kill, maim and destroy. They told us that we were _-hic-_ cloned to disconnect us more from our fellow man. At the time I believed it because it made the knowledge of what my father did more tolerable and I stuck to that story afterwards. Because I was to much of a coward to face the truth."

Rena was horrified, the Jedi separated children from their parents, this was all true, but it was both for the child's own good and with consent of the parents. If what Luke was saying was true then he was essentially a slave child soldier since he was five. No wonder he was such a good soldier, he'd be training to fight for most of his life and he had the augmentations.

"Wait if you had augmentations then why aren't they more noticeable. I mean, you're taller, a bit faster and have better endurance than most people I've seen but nothing all that impressive?"

"Suppressor chip in the back of my neck connects directly to my nervous system. It regulates the movements and strength of my augm-, augmentations, so they aren't so obvious or noticeable. It can be removed or deactivated if I re-joined the _-hic-_ Praetorian programme again."

Rena assumed that the Praetorian programme was the name of whatever project had made the children into war machines.

"When I was eighteen the E.U.G. finally closed down on the planet where we _-hic-_ were training. The E.U.G. won. Colonel Graves, the project director, was killed. And once again because I couldn't face what I had gone through, I _-hic-_ abandoned my squad and joined the Marines to escape my time as a Prae-, Praeto-, Praetorian." He slurred out.

"Stop that. You're not a coward for how you reacted to that trauma. The fact that your are here today is testament to how brave, tough and strong you are as a person. You've fought droids on countless worlds, the creatures on the planet we were just on. You've saved more lives than you have lost. You've done so much good because you endured things that would've broken a weaker person. I'm alive because of you and what your augmentations and training no doubt allowed you to do. What your reaction to what you went through is justified and by no means makes you a coward."

"Now who's the one flirting?" Luke quipped. Rena lightly punched his shoulder as they both chuckled at his attempt to lighten the mood and make light his drunken confession.

"So why didn't you just leave the military then if you wanted to get away from it all?" she asked curiously.

"Simple, there's no life for me outside the military." He stated like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"What?"

"I've been in a military force since I was _-hic-_ five years old. Sure I learnt everything primary school touches on and a lot of military history and theory and survival skills. But I've been trained to fight and kill. I'm to use to the _-hic-_ combat rush and the adrenaline, the sound of gunfire. And I love it all, the lifestyle, the routine, the combat. I can't imagine a life without it. And therein lies the problem. I'm unable to take the uniform off and go to civilian life. I'm forever looking over my _-hic-_ shoulder for an ambush or sniper. I feel unsafe outside without armour or a _-hic-_ weapon, even without a squadmate at my back. I can't transition to civilian life. Civilian life scares the living _-hic-_ daylights out of me. I have nothing waiting for me. No family, only two friends who are still alive and an empty cottage in the Cotswold in England. I'm trapped in the _-hic-_ military, institutionalised. I can't leave, doubt I ever could've."

Silence descended on the room. Rena had no idea how to respond to that. She'd never had that problem. It was near impossible to leave the Jedi order without being exiled or becoming a Sith. Two things she never planned on doing. She would never have to worry about a life outside the Jedi. Luke on the other hand would have to leave the military eventually. Either though injury or retiring. He would then have no option but to transition into civilian life, something that scared him and would be the opposite of what he was used to. The regimented and routine lifestyle of the military that gave one a sense of control and purpose would be gone and replaced with the chaos and infinite choices of civilian life. The decisions he would make would seem so unimportant to someone who had to either chose between life or death or never had the option of choosing.

Most significantly he would never be able to lose that combat mentality that developed over years of training and especially war. Civilian life offered little that could equate to the rush and intensity of combat. No wonder he was afraid of civilian life, he was not prepared for it nor could he escape the childhood trauma of his abandonment and time as a child soldier. The military was his crutch, without that crutch… She didn't want to think what he would do. His entire identity as a person was built upon him being a soldier. It was now clear that beneath all the confidence, the can-do attitude and hardened exterior, that he had some form of depression and certainly a degree of anxiety. She had no doubt that he had come to the same conclusion years ago.

She felt sorry for him. A soldier, abandoned by his blood family, replaced it with one in the form of the military, survived being trained as a child soldier, whatever this war had thrown at him, the loss, the pain, whatever the Mandalorian had done to him to appear as one of his demons and now the Song Than. He'd survived if not overcome it all. But he only hard scare after scare to show for it with no possible happy life afterwards, at least in his mind. She leant forward and wrapped her arms around him, drawing him into a comforting hug.

"Don't worry, you will be fine. You're a fighter. You'll overcome whatever this war or civilian life throws at you. You mention you had two friends, they'll support you and be there for you when you need it the most," She comforted him, "your father was wrong to sell you for five hundred credits, your worth infinitely more than that. You may have left your Praetorian friends behind when you joined the Marines but you needed to get away from all that. No one morale can fault you for that. You'll make it. You just have to have hope and work for it."

She heard him let out a sniffle and the corner of her eye caught him trying not to tear up, either because he did not want to for fear or embarrassment or pride. It didn't matter. She could only hope her words got through to his troubled soul so that he could move on. She started to rub his back soothingly to comfort him, it was the least she could do for the soldier that saved her life.

* * *

 _2623 9th January Earth Standard Calendar, Classified, Classified_

"Sir, I've forwarded this report which i think you'll find most interesting." The deep silky voice of Malcom, the smart A.I assigned to his facility spoke as a notification sprang up on his computer. He quickly began to skim over it as Malcom continued speaking.

"Its from a Special Forces operative currently part of Taskforce two hundred and forty-two. It details an action report of the three hundred and seventeenth legion, Jedi Knight Rena Shan and himself against a most interesting creature, known only as the Sông thần. As you'll see it documents how this creature uses smaller creatures nicknamed roaches that are blacked with chitin armour under their outer flesh with an oily like blood, resistant to blaster fire. The creature itself displayed telekinetic abilities that bordered reality defying or bending. it being able to block lightsabre attacks or divert blaster and plasma fire around it. It is also suggested that the creature turned some of the clones killed into the roaches. Should i dispatch a team to investigate further Director?"

"Yes, do so immediately. This animal can greatly help advanced our goals and is a major discovery. Give it tier seven level clearance. Codename River God. That will be all Marcus."

"Of Course Director. Logging off."

* * *

 **A/N: The conversation between Luke and Rena over the issues with the Jedi were all points I got from an article I read here, (** The Jedi Code Absolutes - Star Wars Anonymous - **), and agreed with. I am simply repeating the points that I feel were correct. I do not claim them as my own but that I simply agree with them and couldn't explain them better myself.**

 **Also sorry for taking so long to update, mocks got in the way and I had to temporarily hiatus the writing.**

 **P.S. Happy Easter**


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